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Hi, Candy,Apollo my 8 year old Maine Coon has an established abscess under his left TMJ. Can I get rid of it by antibiotics, or must it be drained at this point? It is close enough to his throat that he swallows because it's bothersome.
Hello,Oh Apollo.In some cases antibiotics alone will clear the problem but draining it would be recommended . What you can do if he will allow it is to apply warm compresses a few times per day. This will often open it up and allow it to drain. If it does open you want to keep it clean and try to keep it from forming a scab so it does not refill with infection. If its bothering him to the point it is making him swallow keep an eye on it to make sure it is not a growth or problems with a salivary gland. Unfortunately in many cases oral cancer will spread to the jaw bone so it is important to keep an eye on it I hope everyone else is doing well.Candy
I'm not sure if my response was sent or not.
How long should I give him oral antibiotics to ensure that bugger is finally dead? I just applied a warm compress to it. He didn't seem to mind and actually he acted like it felt soothing. (I treated this same abscess last week for three days with oral antibiotic and massaging and it seemed to disappear, but it came back a couple of days ago.)
My others...let's see. Snowshoe (1/2 Siamese) had an outbreak of chin zits, but they have drained and are in the healing process.
George had either a zit, nail scratch or hair gone crosswise on his chin, but it drained and has a scab on it.
Otherwise, everyone is doing well. I have a possum that is pooping cow patties every night in my cattery cat box...<sigh> and it stinks! But at least it's where it's supposed to be. Smar possum.
I bought a new hurricane-style vacuum (Kenmore) and boy is that sucking up the cat hair. My old vacuum is 23 years and it was 2 amps(?) less in power than the new one. Now we all can breathe again.
How are you?
No your response did not go through Oh boy sounds like you are cleaning a lot of faces lol... Antibiotics are normally given for 7-10 days. The trick is to keep it from scabbing over so it heals from the inside out. Cats skin wounds close so quickly letting the infection brew underneath. You want to clean any scab off for at least a week. It sounds like the possum wants to be adopted too hahha. He is trying to show you how smart he is .
Yes, I know about keeping the wound open to drain, but it hasn't opened yet..ever. It's pushing its way to the surface though. It's going to be a gooey mess when it does break. I have Novalsan that I can use when it finally drains. He is eating dry and wet food just fine and doesn't feel feverish, which are encouraging signs, so it has encapsulated pretty tightly. The poor thing.
My Leghorn hens are three months old now. I was able to introduce them to my rooster when they were one month old and he never, ever harmed them. He's just now showing improvement in the protection department. They all seemed to have bonded quite quickly. We have fun talking to them and petting them. My one hen, Alice, chases the cats around the yard. So the barnyard is active and content.
Sorry I lost my internet connection we are having some crazy storms here.LOL I can just picture Alice chasing the cats. My kids had a rooster named ET when they wee little and that was the meanest darn thing ever you used to have to look for him in the morning and run like crazy to the barn or he would flog you .It sounds like you have a good handle on things as always. Keep me posted on how everyone is doing
That's funny. He attacks my son on a regular basis but rarely does with me unless we have a change in barometric pressure, otherwise I can pet him and pick him up and he's pretty tame with me. I have discovered recently that he doesn't like the sound of flip-flops and was hunting me down that day I wore them. It must have sounded like flapping wings of a big rooster.
I'll keep you informed. Thanks for the info.
If he is anything like ours I can picture him hunting you down. He made me afraid of roosters hahahahaha.. I bet your son does not like him too much either. Unfortunately we lost ET when he decided he was going to attack the horses and one day he learned his spurs were no match for a hoof. I honestly did not miss him much :( Give everyone pets from me and tell Alice to keep them all in line
Experience: Practicing Veterinary Technician for 23 years.Former Veterinary Practice Owner, Technician Trainer