Abscess?

[alli713]

Monday nights are my cleaning nights and tonight while cleaning MuShu and Keiki's cage I happened to notice this patch on MuShu's side that was missing fur. I couldn't see much so I took her out and blew on the fur. What I was shocked to see is this huge lump. It's about an inch or so long and all the fur in the surrounding areas is bare, not scaley at all though. I feel horrible for not noticing this before, I'm not sure how I didn't.

There is one red patch on it which is really small and on the side of it, but you can't see it in the pics. I'm sorry the pics are so crappy, it's hard to take a picture while holding a chin at the same time.

I'm going to take her into the vet obviously, but I want to know what to expect a head of time. I haven't had the best results with vets and chins in the past so I don't want them to tell me to do something that is wrong. I'm contacting Tawana to make sure I get into a good vet.

If it is an abscess what should I expect? I know sometimes they drain them, do they prescribe antibiotics if this is the case? Is Baytril the normal one or do they prescribe a less intense one?

I always get into a mess when something happens to one of the girls, so I'm rather upset about this. I hope she'll be okay.

I know it's hard to tell in the pics, but the skin around the lump is bare, and the lump is like an inch long and is more of the shape of a pill versus a circle.

Or if not an abscess what else would produce a lump on the side? It's right under her arm, like below the armpit on her side.

 

[cintistatern2005]

AWWW I hope your baby is ok!! Hopefully someone on here will help you!! I am just writing to bump it up!!

 

[tunes]

It could be an abscess, it's really hard to tell from the picture. Maybe she got poked by something during play time or maybe they scuffled a bit? There's even an outside chance it could be fungus, especially with you describing the extra red patch. It's probably not, but it is a possibility.

Usually with an abscess they open it and drain it, and want you to keep it open. I've used both Baytril and Sulfa for an abscess, and both worked well. The Sulfa was for a little kit, so we didn't want to go with Baytril for obvious reasons.

If you can go to the one Tawana goes to in Appleton, she's fantastic. She's very knowledgeable with chins. I left a couple chins at Tawana's to see her vet, and she was outstanding with their care.

 

[alli713]

Oh okay thanks Peggy. I'm going to call Tawana's vet right when they open tomorrow so hopefully they can get her in.

Yeah, I realize the pics are horrible. You can barely see that it's a lump in them. But the lump sticks out a good 1/4" from the rest of the skin. Which is why I don't know how I didn't notice it sooner other than the fact that it's toward her belly, so most of the time the fur is scrunched up.

 

[Riven]

Is it hot? It almost looks like mastitis to me. They tend to be longer than more "round" and if it's under the arm area that would be the right area for mastitis It USUALLY happens in lactating animals ( and people animals ) but it CAN occur in non-lactating critters, it's just not as common.

Just from the shape and redness of it, that's what it's looking like to me. The redness usually comes from the heat, if you touch a mastitis area it's usually very warm or almost even hot.

Good luck!

 

[alli713]

I just went and felt it, it didn't feel any warmer than what I imagine the rest of her body feels like, definitely not hot. It isn't hard, it really doesn't feel much different than the rest of her other than being a lump.

Thankfully she didn't mind me touching it so I didn't have to grab her again to examine it.

 

[Stackie]

Yikes! Hope you get some answers at the vet. Keep us updated.

 

[Sandi]

Glad you got a hold of Tawana. Good luck tomorrow with MuShu! :crossfingers:

 

[threewingedfury]

Poor Baby! Good luck at the vet tomorrow Alli.

 

[Luci]

good luck alli, i'll be thinking of both of you!!!!!

 

[alli713]

Thanks guys. I just hope I can get her in before our snow storm hits! We're supposed to get a foot of snow tomorrow afternoon into evening Not fun to drive in!

 

[tunes]

You can always camp out at T's if you get stranded Alli. She has a somewhat pet friendly home. <snicker>

 

[alli713]

Haha yeah, well I think my one chin might throw her over the edge, it'd be too much to handle! )

 

[alli713]

Okay, well we're back from the vet. While there we discovered that MuShu actually had another lump on her other side, in the same area. It wasn't as big, about half as big, but it was also missing fur.

Both of the vets looked at the lumps and said they weren't quite sure what they are, as they haven't seen anything like it in the past. So they took a sample of blood out from the larger lump, and it only bled, no pus came out. They looked under the microscope to look for any bacteria. From what I can gather they didn't really see anything major in the sample.

They're both near where her nipples are (I actually got to see one of her nipples, which was pretty interesting) so at first they thought maybe something with her mammary glands or something, but seeing as it wasn't full of pus, it's not an abscess.

So.. they put her on metacam and SMZ to see if it goes away. All the vet said that she could gather is maybe the area was irritating her and so she was doing it to herself, and it's only gotten worse.

They also put her in a collar. Which I was a bit iffy on since I've heard it's hard for them to eat, but if she is bothering it she needs to leave it alone so it can heal. I put a huge bowl of food in there for her, as well as hay that she can get with the cone on. When I went and checked on her last she was eating, so I know she can with the collar on. I sat and watched and she was able to pick up the pellets in her mouth and munch on them without the use of her hands.

 

[tunes]

Awwww - Little Bo Peep! LOL I see many pictures in her future before the collar comes off.

Did they recommend any kind of warm compresses or anything Allison?

I hope she clears up quickly for you.

 

[alli713]

No, they didn't. Do you think I should do one anyways?

She is going to be so ticked at me by the end of this ordeal. She did so well at the vets though! They couldn't get over how calm she was. At one point she was laying upside down in the vet assistants arms.

Thankfully she loves the taste of the medicine, it was hilarious watching her little tongue lap it all up from the syringe.

 

[tunes]

I was just thinking that might help with the swelling and inflammation. If it was mastitis, you would use compresses and I've used them on abscesses and other swellings before.

 

[alli713]

Alrighty, I'll give it a try. How long would I do one for? And is once a day enough or twice a day?

Do I then need to worry about drying her off real good or should she be okay with just having it in those two areas?

I've never done a warm compress on a chin before. I did one on a bird at work once though lol

 

[Riven]

Alli, you sew, make a rice pack.

Make a little "pillow" filled with rice, warm it up in the microwave, no need for any water. Much better.

 

[alli713]

Ooo good idea! I'll make one up tonight! That will work better so then I can wrap it around her belly and get both sides at once. How long should I keep her on it for?