Cat Health: Post Surgical Problems & Symptoms of Abscesses

Post-Surgical Problems

• Most animals attempt to hide signs of discomfort after surgery, and your cat is probably no exception. Typical symptoms of pain or distress include lethargy, an unwillingness to move and/or an inability to put weight on an affected limb. The cat may sit over in a hunched posture, with its head up and sterna (breast bone) lowered, and be slow to rise. Particularly vocal cats often cry out in pain, or will not vocalize at all for food or greetings. Some cats refuse food and either retreat to the back of their kennel, go under furniture or find a quiet room in the house to stay in. Your cat may urinate or defecate in inappropriate places or may lie in a dirty litter box after use. Your cat may lick at its surgical site and the wound may appear painful when you try to touch it. The cat may appear restless, may be unable to comfortably lie down, and it might shows signs of trembling or shaking.

  Any of these signs or symptoms needs to be investigated by your veterinarian who will check for infection, and normally prescribe antibiotics and pain killing medication.

Seromas

• If your cat presents with a soft pocket of fluid around its incision after surgery, it has developed a seroma. Seromas occur when the leucocytes used to promote healing in tissue accumulate around and under cut skin and form pockets filled with blood serum. Unlike abscesses, seromas are typically non-painful and cool to the touch. According to the University of Iowa Animal Research Institute, "Careful tissue handling during surgery and careful closure of 'dead' spaces created during surgery help to decrease the incidence of seroma formation." These pockets may become contaminated with bacteria and grow into a typical abscess, causing the adjacent sutures to dehisce (decompose) and pull away from healing tissue. Your cat needs veterinary care if it develops a seroma.

Abscess Symptoms

• Abscesses develop when your cat's immune system detects bacteria, insects or foreign objects under the skin and increases blood flow to the area. Leucocytes (white blood cells) invade the abnormal spot in an attempt to get rid of the invasive object, forming large pockets of pus in the wound. Common in cat-fight bite wounds, the abscess appears swollen and inflamed, is usually painful and may be missing hair. Normally, the fibrous pocket surrounding the wound ruptures, and pus drains from the abscess. If the pocket stays intact, the wound may need to be drained by your veterinarian. Your vet will need to see all wounds and abscesses to assess for infection and prescribe antibiotics.