Fight Wounds and Abscesses.
What is an Abscess?
An abscess is a behavioural problem, contrary to most thinking. Just because they are common, does not mean they are benign.
An abscess is the medical term for an area which has been damaged and then invaded by the white cells of the body. It is the death of these cells which create the characteristic yellow slimy, smelly material we call pus. Pus in its own right is toxic and kills further cells around it, as well as causing a blood poisoning for the rest of the body, including the heart and kidneys. Where bacteria are involved - and they usually are - the pus commonly changes its character with the type of bug. Lots of types of bugs can be involved, but usually are they same ones found in the mouth of cats. Abscesses can be fatal and are always debilitating. Fixing the problem very frequently requires surgery. That is the boring details of the medical / surgical malaise.
Why do cats get abscesses?
What is much more interesting is why cats get abscesses, and why they should be taken seriously. I used to think that if abscesses are so common (and upwards of 85% of cats who go out and about will get one or more in their life), then the cat’s body must have evolved to deal with them efficiently and they could not be a big deal. Not so.
In the wild, where cats have choices, they will do their best not to meet another cat. Hence the trail-marking with urine and facial pheromones. These are kitty e-mails announcing time of arrival and sexual status, they are not repellant messages and they very effectively distance cats by time and space. Males do not even fight over females - they have been seen to line up and wait! A cat fight is a final resort when the distancing messages have failed, and even there, the cats will try to maintain distance. The problem comes when one cat runs, the other goes into hunting mode and bites them anyway! If a cat is chased or confronted close to its home, it will turn and face the aggressor and get bitten on the head and front legs. If the victim is further from home, it will be bitten on the rear end as it runs.
Every bite from a cat injects masses of bacteria, and often a piece of hair, under the skin, and damages tissue on the way. This results in a perfect growth medium for the bacteria - common and uncommon types thrive, while the body produces white cells and tries to kill and remove them.The end result is a large pus-filled swelling which will eventually kill the skin over the top and release the toxic mix. If the cat lives long enough through the blood poisoning which damages its kidneys and other organs in the meanwhile.
What can cat owners do to help prevent abscesses?
Owner intervention can help, and can sometimes avoid abscesses forming. Finding and removing the plug of damaged tissue early can sometimes be enough to avert an abscess. Bathing with saltwater can help to remove infected debris, but no antiseptics are useful and some are toxic on cat’s skin. Often though, depending on where the bite is and how far advanced (it only takes 24 - 48hours to form a pretty severe one), veterinary intervention will be required. Pain relief, antibiotics and often surgical drainage are needed.
Abscesses are a failure of the cat’s communication in its neighbourhood. With increasing numbers of cats in any one area, they are coming into contact closer to the area they want to defend. Some cats want more area than they are allocated. Many cats have disrupted routines and are outside when they would normally be inside. The common scenario for the worst bites is a cat who stays out at night unexpectedly. They will almost certainly come across an unfamiliar cat and frequently get bitten. Regular timetables, confinement indoors and prompt attention to painful, swollen areas are the preventions of choice. Abscesses are a serious, painful and debilitating problem. They are probably the cat world equivalent of car accidents - preventable if everyone is paying attention, but inevitable if communication fails.