Abscesses are localized pockets of pus. They are walled off in a cavity. They can be painful and can rupture with a foul smelling discharge tinged with blood. It can start from an irritation but they usually start with a scratch, bite or puncture wound which becomes infected with bacteria. They are not to be taken lightly as this infection can spread quickly through the blood becoming systemic and can lead to the potentially life-threatening complication known as sepsis. Sepsis occurs when the body releases chemicals into the bloodstream to fight the infection but it triggers an inflammatory response which can injure its own tissues and organs.

Bandit has suffered with a couple of abscesses in his life. When the first one started I didn’t realize at first what was developing. One day when he was lying on the mat at the front door. He was lying in the direct sunshine and he looked as if he was squinting. Later that day I realized that his eye was not opening all the way. When I examined him, the area under his eye was puffy and it was obviously tender when I touched it. Thinking that he had somehow developed a bacterial infection, I gave him Silver Guard orally and a couple of drops in his eye. I was fully expecting him to be fine the next day. But he wasn’t.

Overnight his eye had completely closed and his cheek was extremely swollen. Kinesiology, also known as muscle testing, confirmed that he did have a bacterial infection. He wasn’t eating from his bowl but he would take treats from my hand. From this I determined that it wasn’t a tooth infection. I considered having x-rays taken and also considered having the abscess drained but knew this would be very traumatic for him. Bandit was an indoor cat and had never been out of our home. He was in obvious distress and I didn’t want to make it worse for him by putting him a pet carrier and taking him to a strange place full of new people.

When a pet has an infection, whether it be bacterial or viral, the supplements must be administered every two hours for maximum benefit. I have frequently told the owners of my pet patients that if they are not prepared to do this, and can only find the time for the ‘once-a-day super antibiotic’ then do what they must to ensure their pet receives treatment.

We embarked on a day and night two hour schedule for Bandit’s recovery. This meant setting the alarm every two hours! I decided if he wasn’t showing sufficient recovery in 2 days, that he would have to go for drainage even though he would be very traumatized by it.

Bandit was lethargic and it was obvious that he wasn’t happy. We would pick him up and wrap him in a towel effectively stopping him from struggling or swatting at the syringe with his paws. This enabled us to administer Silver Guard orally and drop some of it in his eye as well. He would cuddle with us for about 15 minutes after, still wrapped in his towel. Two hours later he would see me coming with the towel but he wouldn’t run away or try to hide. After a full 36 hours of every 2 hours (yes it went into the second night!) the abscess started to drain on its own. Foul smelling, pink coloured puss was coming out of a hole at the bottom of his check and out of his eye socket. I was able to apply gentle pressure to help it drain. However, it would keep refilling. It wasn’t until later that day after several manual drainage sessions that it didn’t refill.

We kept giving Bandit the Silver Guard orally and dropping it in his eye for the next couple of days. Just when we thought we were done with this situation, a patch of skin from his cheek about the size of a loonie with fur attached, sloughed off. Inside we could see the drainage hole and raw tissue. We continued with the oral dosages of Silver Guard and started to apply Silver Shield Gel as gently as possible to the open tissue. By the next day, the area was starting to mend. A few days later, it was almost completely healed! Silver Guard and Silver Shield Gel saved Bandit from a very traumatic experience and changed it to one that was filled with love and cuddles.

A couple of years later he developed another abscess under his tail. He was walking stiffly and he just wasn’t himself. I hadn’t yet determined the cause of him ‘not being himself’ when I noticed pink tinged droplets on the floor. A closer and more invasive muscle testing found the abscess which had already started to drain. The small area was red and raw with a visible draining hole. I started him immediately on Silver Guard and Silver Shield Gel. Within a few days, the area was completely healed!

Depending on where the abscess is located, a hot/warm compress can also help with the drainage.