Abcess/collapsing/please help

I think Bilbo has one on the back of the neck where he was scratched by a cat last week. He has been on baytril and metacam for a week and the course has just finished today. He seemed off when out to play and although he is eating he is not that interested in food. He has a softish lump on the back of his neck with a scab on top from where the scratch was given. This lump has come up relatively fast over the last two days or so. I have phoned the vet and the VN said it was pretty normal and sounded like an abscess. He is going in tomorrow for a check up but all I have ever read about abscesses suggests he will need surgery. I know the pus is really thick and hard to drain but I have never had to deal with an abscess before.

Bilbo seems a bit down today, will he be in pain from the abscess?
Is there anything I can do for him? He has just had his final metacam dose which should help with any pain and he has had some extra pellets and two small slices of apple as well so I know he is eating but its not with his usual relish.

If it is an abscess it needs to drained.

I think the op depends on where it is. With Mischa's they were in his ear where they couldn't be drained so he had to have an op to do that. With my friends bunny the cause was a tooth so he had to have an op to remove it.

Thoughts for Bilbo, hopefully the location will mean it's easier to clean and get rid of.

With abscesses in general the best chance of getting rid of it is to remove the entire abscess capsule. Just opening it and clearing out the pus is seldom curative unless it is very small and not very deep.

If the Vet does opt for just clearing out the pus then I would advise that the abscess capsule is flushed out at least twice a day using sterile saline and then pack it with manuka honey, the higher the UMF the better

Thanks guys, I feel more prepared for tomorrow now.

Could it be hurting him at all? Or is he a bit low because the abscess signifys an infection which means he is not 100%?





ETA is it also likely to reoccur even after removal?

Fifibutton said:

Thanks guys, I feel more prepared for tomorrow now.

Could it be hurting him at all? Or is he a bit low because the abscess signifys an infection which means he is not 100%?

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It may be painful if it is now very full of pus. You could try to soften the scab with cooled boiled water and try to remove it, or part of it. That would release some of the pus and it would not then be so painful.

Fifibutton said:

Thanks guys, I feel more prepared for tomorrow now.

Could it be hurting him at all? Or is he a bit low because the abscess signifys an infection which means he is not 100%?





ETA is it also likely to reoccur even after removal?

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If the entire capsule is surgically removed, along with a good margin of healthy tissue then hopefully not.

Thank you Jane, your advice is so helpful

The scab is black and fairly small so it might be ready to come away soon anyway so I shall try and remove it. I think Bilbo might be in pain, he certainly doesn't like me touching the lump and doesn't want to be over handled.

Well the scab came away pretty easily but the skin underneath is not broken, its all healed so there was no pus to come out. I gave the lump wee squeeze which he did not like of course but I was able to discern that is feels large, like a cherry and its hard for the most part but the surface feels softish like a sponge.

Fifibutton said:

Well the scab came away pretty easily but the skin underneath is not broken, its all healed so there was no pus to come out. I gave the lump wee squeeze which he did not like of course but I was able to discern that is feels large, like a cherry and its hard for the most part but the surface feels softish like a sponge.

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It does sound like an abscess.

Jack's-Jane said:

It does sound like an abscess.

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Do you think surgery is the best option in that case?

Fifibutton said:

Do you think surgery is the best option in that case?

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It is impossible to say without knowing how much tissue is involved xx

Personally yes. I read on here about people trying to clear up abscesses for months on end and sometimes they still never go, and poor bunny just gets more and more worn down, plus I don't think it is good to keep giving buns meds for months on end. My bunny Dipsy developed an abscess on his head in-between his ears, and we think one of my daughters guinea pigs nipped him. My vet had him in and removed it surgically immediately, he said it would be literally like removing a tumour, and the capsule was removed intact and there has never been a problem since, and that was 5 months ago.



Dipsy after his op. To be honest the worse thing about it was that his head was shaved :lol::lol:

Aww poor Dipsy. The abscess is is quite big and I have just done the night feed and Bilbo is not eating. He is a really unhappy chap this evening Thankfully he took some parsley and because he is I gave him a wee raisin. I'll keep an eye on him through the night just in case.

I've had a small abscess before and omg the pain was excruciating. I almost involuntarily whacked the doctor when she touched it as it was so sore. I wouldn't underestimate how much pain (or at least discomfort) he might be in and would definitely ask about pain relief for him when you see the vet.

Hope your little one is ok x x

Dipsy's was really big as well. Didn't realise just how big until they shaved his head. Dipsy was very subdued and it was obviously very painful for him, and he wasn't eating great, but he was seen by the emergency vet new years day, and then went in for the op Jan 2nd, and was instantly back to his usual self when the anaesthetic worn off and eating well, so it must have been a relief for him when it was gone.

Dipsy had pain relief by injection and a gut stimulant on new years day, and was booked in for surgery the next morning. So it was only 24hrs really from when I noticed it to when it was removed. When the vet touched it though it obviously really hurt him.

Thanks for confirming this ladies. I think he must be in pain as he is not eating of his own accord. This is despite having had metacam. I can't believe he has developed an abscess so long after the attack. I'll probably have to syringe feed him his pellets at this rate.
If he gets any worse its off to the vet although the emergency vets are just not that good as my regular vet. They failed to spot Bilbo's wound last week.
I hope he will be ok for tonight and we'll see how things go tomorrow. But I doubt they will perform any surgery tomorrow as the practice is only open till 1am. Is he likely to come away with metacam and antibiotics perhaps?

Fifibutton said:

Thanks for confirming this ladies. I think he must be in pain as he is not eating of his own accord. This is despite having had metacam. I can't believe he has developed an abscess so long after the attack. I'll probably have to syringe feed him his pellets at this rate.
If he gets any worse its off to the vet although the emergency vets are just not that good as my regular vet. They failed to spot Bilbo's wound last week.
I hope he will be ok for tonight and we'll see how things go tomorrow. But I doubt they will perform any surgery tomorrow as the practice is only open till 1am. Is he likely to come away with metacam and antibiotics perhaps?

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Oh dear your vets haven't been very good have they. I would be furious. To be honest Dipsy had a much stronger pain killer by injection, he didn't have metacam, and it would be ridiculous them just giving you baytril when it has been what a couple of weeks. I really think they should have considered removing this a lot sooner, and I have no idea why they have messed about like this. All my vet did was look at Dipsy's head. I do remember him feeling it and kind of being able to get hold of it if that makes sense. It was like it was a marble under the skin but much bigger and he could move it about, and he just said the best thing to do was to remove it like you would a tumour, but from when I noticed the injury, because his head was bleeding and took him straight to the emergency vets, where they got him comfortable, to when he had then had it removed was less than 24hrs, and there was only that slight delay because of him being a 'special needs' bunny with neurological problems, and he needed to be stabilised first, just to eliminate any real risk, because Simon hadn't given Dips a GA before.

He is obviously in pain because of not eating and the poor little guy must be feeling dreadful after having this for the time that he has, and because of that, I think they have no option but to operate tomorrow as an emergency, if you are happy with the vet that will be on doing the op. Is he insured? I say about them having no choice really because sod's law, it is a bank holiday weekend I've only just realised, and 3 days seems a long time for him to have to wait. If you're not happy for the vet tomorrow to do the op or if for some reason they are not prepared too, I think I would be looking at having him admitted, and being given the pain killers by injection that Dipsy had that were much stronger. Maybe he needs to be got more comfortable and get him eating before a GA now to get his strength back up, but they have really put you in a difficult situation now haven't they. I do hope when your bun is better that you are going to complain to the Practice Manager about how useless they have been. Sorry to be so blunt, but they have been and I can tell you're not very happy with them either and quite rightly so.

Please let us know how he gets on. I really hope he gets sorted tomorrow. We are all sending him lots of get strong and healing vibes xxx

We are back from the vet. It was a locum we saw but she seemed to know her stuff thankfully. It is an abscess as suspected. She checked to see if it was ready to pop which it isn't although it might tomorrow so we have saline just in case. However Bilbo is booked in for surgery on Monday. He was given three injections as well of metacam, baytril and emeprid to keep him going through the weekend. He is not eating at all so he is on recovery food so if you have any spare vibes for good appetite please send them Bilbo's way.

That is brilliant news and thank you so much for letting us know. I've been thinking about your Bilbo. That's good news that they plan to remove it on Monday. Ideally nothing will happen with it, so that the complete capsule can just be removed as Dipsy's was, because that seems to be the only way to successfully treat these awful things, if it can be contained so to speak and then just removed intact.

It does sound like he has got a lot more pain relief on-board, which hopefully will keep him comfortable over the weekend. I would try and get as much Recovery into him as you can to get him stronger for the GA. We are all sending millions of fibes for Bilbo for the weekend and then on Monday.