Originally Posted By Kira Calling all cat lovers and owners...past and present!! This one is for you! I came home from work this morning and to my surprise my cat, Sassy, has a huge swollen lump on the right side of her face =( She doesn't pull away when I pet her she actually enjoyed me petting her swollen face, but the lump is under her eye and around her "cheekbone" area down to the corner of her mouth. She seems to have been feeling a bit under the weather lately as she has been sick sporadically within the last week and a half (only actually tossing her cookies about 3 or 4 times). She's mostly an indoor cat, spending way too many hours sleeping on my bed but I do put her outside daily for a few hours to get some fresh air. For the most part she never travels further than the front steps. There are no obvious wounds and I can't see anything when I look inside her mouth, although I can't get her to open it very far =/. The lump seems to have appeared overnight because there were no signs of it last night before bed. she has no back teeth as she lost them several years ago before we even adopted her, she only has her front and canine teeth. We have guessed her age to be around 8 or 9 years old. Have any of you animal lovers had this happen to your pet before? I'm trying to get some opinions as to what it may be. I've googled for answers but it hasn't really narrowed the problem down, there are many different answers out there (infected tooth, allergies, infections from a wound,insect bites, abcess etc...), so I'm asking for your answers! straight from the wealth of knowledge here at LP! post your experiences, stories, and suggestions! I have made an appointment with the vet today to take her in around 1. So hopefully we can get her shots taken care of and up to date while we are at it. Poor thing...she already knows where she is going, I pulled out the cat carrier and she gave me an evil look and darted away haha. ((((Sassy))))
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Oohhh, poor baby. I'm glad to hear she didn't pull away from you. At least that way you know she's not in pain so that's good. I'm betting on a spider bite or the like. This'll probably be an easy answer for the vet. I'm glad you're taking her to see one. (even though she's not. lol)
Originally Posted By Kira Update! good news is that it looks like it's a wound in the back of her mouth and we were given antibiotics. bad news is if the antibiotics don't help we are gonna have to send her under the knife to get the absess drained and that's gonna round us out to about $400 for this "surgery". The vet claims that she can't tell if it's because of a bad tooth or not (I'm pretty sure she has no teeth in the back of her mouth so I'm guessing it's just a wound). The infection in her mouth is what is causing her to get sick...poor thing. I was amazed at how calm and collected and QUIET she was in the vet's office...this coming from a cat who meows for no reason at all 24/7 haha. so for those of you out there that have had kitties with infected injuries/teeth...what have you primarily done? have the antibiotics worked or have you had to put the poor things under the knife to get the infection drained? I know we certainly can't afford a $400 vet bill =S so keep the fingers crossed in hopes that the antibiotics to work!
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x Kira, if you have to have the surgery for Sassy (LOVE the name by the way, see my email address), we'll have a drive to raise money. Poor kitty. Hope she gets better soon. P.S. Did Kimmy say bye to you???? She left without saying bye to Alandra, who was spending the week there, and she's upset. LOL
Originally Posted By bAmboo1 It's hard to say without actually seeing your kitty and the size of the abscess, but from my experience a good portion of these DO need to be drained to heal properly. Infections assosiated with a tooth are almost always surgical. Even if the infection is cleared up with antibiotics it is very likely to come back at some point in the future unless the bad tooth is extracted. What antiibotic did your vet put Sassy on? If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask!
Originally Posted By smeeeko eep! I'm glad you got Sassy looked at! Our Kiki has had 'puffy face' before but she is prone to 'sinus issues' which make her eyes tear up and congested. When we took her in the vet had given us ear & eye drops to help. We've never had their teeth cleaned yet (either cat) so now you have me thinking we should make sure they look at that at the next annual! (we're a couple months overdue on their annual as it is) =)
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Poor Sassy,XXXX <<fingers crossed for the antibiotics to do their work. What a good girl for being so patient and quiet at the Vets, she was probably so happy and grateful that she was being taken care of Or maybe just put herself in a kitty trance, "if I'm quiet, maybe they won't notice I'm here"
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Okay, so in retrospect my "spider bite" theory does sound kinda stupid, lol. I'm glad you have an answer and I will keep my fingers crossed that the antibiotics work quickly and completely.
Originally Posted By Kira Thank you all for your comments and thoughts! Smeeko that is ironic that your cat's name is Kiki...Kiki is my nick name haha =) and Jamie...Sassy is a great name isn't it? describes those strong personalities very well! I have taken a few photos for those of you that are curious, don't worry they aren't graphic...she just looks like a chipmunk on one side of her face. Here is "normal" sassy, this photo was taken about 2 nights ago...now that I look at it it looks like she may have had just a tad bit of swelling beginning here on her left side, but it was un noticable to the touch. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BeautiflMystry/sassy.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/alb ums/v288/BeautiflMystry/sassy.jpg</a> then here she is earlier today after a trip to the vet. Front view (look at the left cheek) <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BeautiflMystry/000_0462.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/alb ums/v288/BeautiflMystry/000_0462.jpg</a> here is a side view where you can see the abcess a bit better. I would say it's about the size of half a walnut right now =( <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BeautiflMystry/000_0464_0001.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/alb ums/v288/BeautiflMystry/000_0464_0001.jpg</a> BAmboo...the antibiotics the vet gave her are "Antirobe Drops". I gave some to her at 2 this after noon and I will probably give her a second dose tonight at midnight. I just got home from dinner and checked on her but the sweeling doesn't look like it's gone down too much and she's pretty sluggish =( and ChickenD, don't worry your theory wasn't stupid =) It's actually quite common for animals who get stings or bites to get swollen if they are allergic =)
Originally Posted By Kira P.S. Jamie, Kimberly didn't say "goodbye" in person but she did leave me a comment on my myspace! I am glad that she made it there safe & sound. Just remind alandra that she won't be gone forever and she will be back to see her! Poor thing, she is probably traumatized! And thank you for the kitty cat surgery drive idea =) I will keep you all posted on Sassy's condition.
Originally Posted By Kira bAmboo I have a question that you may or may not be able to answer. I'm being an overzealous and paranoid cat mom since the swelling seems to have not gone down at all. I know, I know..it takes some time for the meds to work, but I feel absolutly horrible about how sad she looks and acts =( I just wish there was something I could do to help her feel more comfortable right now. I have the etimate sitting in front of me for what all MIGHT be done, if Sassy does has to have the abcess drained. I'm wondering if you could tell me what would be included in a "Dental Package" and why it would cost $100 dollars, and if this package would even be an absolute nessacery after the abcess is drained. Is the package just a follow up package that would incluse generic care items like a tooth brush etc...to help take care of the teeth after surgery to prevent from a future infection? or do you think it would be specialized equipment etc. Hopefully you can help me out with those questions. I should have asked about them today but the vet seemed to be in a hurry and I didn't want to be talked into buying something if I don't have to, since I already have kitty toothpaste and a kitty toothbrush =) The basic layout of the estimate is as follows in case you were curious: Examination-$43 (I paid for this today) Open & Drain Abcess-$50 Penrose Drain-$10 Anesthesia (inhalent) Isoflurane (20 minuts...if all goes well)-$80 Antirobe Drops-$20 (I purchased these today) Metacam-$15 Dental Package-$100 Extract Tooth Major-$45 (this was an option only if it is a tooth that is causing the infection) Pain Management Package-$37
Originally Posted By Kira please forgive my terrible spelling typos in the last few posts lol! It has been a long week (finals, work and christmas, and now cat stress all in one) so my typing habits are worse than usual!
Originally Posted By bAmboo1 Unfortunately each hospital is different so I'm not entirely sure what a "dental package" at your hospital is. My best guess is that would entail a scaling and polishing of all teeth, probing for any other abnormalities, etc. This may also include application of various dental products (sealants, antibiotic gels, etc). If that is what the dental package is it is not absolutely necessary for treatment of an abscess. But, I would highly recommend it. Afterall, your baby will already be under anesthesia and if she has one bad tooth it would be worth finding or preventing more so a similar situation does not occur in the future. Something else I don't see on the estimate, but you should ask about is preanesthetic bloodwork. If Sassy does need the procedure it would be extremely important to run some bloodwork to make sure she will handle the anesthesia properly. It is very possible that bloodwork is included under something else on that estimate.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Question from a dog person (who did have a 19year old cat): Are you supposed to brush your cat's teeth? I never knew that you were supposed to brush your dog's teeth until I started volunteering at CPL. I imagine it's a lot easier brushing a dog's teeth rather than a cat's, lol.
Originally Posted By bAmboo1 >>Question from a dog person (who did have a 19year old cat): Are you supposed to brush your cat's teeth?<< Yes. Cats are not immune to dental disease. Now how many cats are there out there that let their owners regularly and adequately brush their teeth? Not many. My own cats don't allow me to. That's why it's up to us veterinarians to notify owners of dental disease and make appropriate recommendations for regular cleanings. Dental disease is the most common disease veterinarians see. Studies have shown that 80% of dogs over the age of 2 have dental disease. It's not really surprising when you think about it though. We (humans) brush at least twice a day, floss daily, and go to the dentist every 6 months for cleanings and we still get dental disease. Imagine if we did nothing!
Originally Posted By Kira Thank you for the response bamboo. you are probably right on the money (literally) about what the dental package is. also a big thank you for the suggestion about the bloodwork, that is something I didn't think of and since she has never had any major injuries since we have had her we are unsure of how she we handle it. I went to give her the meds this morning and she went darting under the bed where I can't reach her, I can't say I blame her these drops smell aweful haha. her swelling looks about the same as it did yesterday so, that's good and bad..at least it's not growing larger.
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer Kira, Your poor kitty! Tinkeroon ans I have been through this a few times with our kitties. Ours are indoor/outdoor and the vet thought the abscesses were caused by bites from other cats. We were lucky that none were inside the mouth. Our kitties will tolerate a lot from us but I can't say they like us poking around in their mouths. We've paid a fortune in vet bills over the years and all I can say is that, if given the choice, I'd do it again. Our last was $1400.00 for a a hernia. The poor kitty's intestines were making a fist sized bulge in his stomach area. Of course we were at DL when this happened but our DS26 ran him down to the Vet right away. Happy to report that aforementioned kitty is healthy and as ornery as ever. Some things you can't put a price on, you just do it. Please keep us updated on how Sassy is doing. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed.
Originally Posted By JazzCat Hugs from our kitties to yours! We've never had to take our cats in for dental disease (thank goodness!) but we did have to take a cat in for a hernia operation. Glad to say it wasn't $1400 though! I hope Sassy is better now and I would definately donate to help your cat.
Originally Posted By Kira New update... Sassy is now on her 4th dose of meds and as of right now the swelling in her face has seemed to have gone down quite a bit. She doesn't look so much like a pathetic chipmunk anymore! Her mouth IS still swollen but it's no where near as big or as hard as it was. The abcess has softened quite a bit, so I'm hoping these are the meds doing their trick! if the abcess does drain by its self we will be taking her into the vet soon to have the tooth extraction. From what we can tell (after holding her down to take a better look in her mouth) it looks like an old broken off tooth might be the cause of the whole issue. thank you all for the thoughts and hugs and fingers crossed! they seem to be doing the trick so far =)
Originally Posted By beamerdog Fingers cross twice! btw, I have chicken flavored toothpaste for my dogs and when they see the toothbrush, they come running to me, lol.
