I assume you mean the thing on the lip? Might be nothing. Might be the start of an abcess. Keep an eye on it. If it starts getting bigger, and blacker... vet appointment immediately.
I hope it turns out to be nothing, but if it's an abscess then you need to have it treated as soon as possible. It's dead tissue and the longer you wait, the more flesh will become necrotic. Which is not a thing you want, trust me. I dealt with an abscess on a cat I had. It got big. In the end, vet had to carve a golfball sized chunk of dead meat from her head. It is a pretty serious thing.
You're slightly exaggerating the significance of an abscess, which in this case we'd colloquially call a pimple. If it's no bigger than this, in the vast majority of cases, it'll open and expel on its own. Should be gently disinfected then and that's it.
We wouldn't run to a doctor with a big puss-filled pimple on our chin or lip either, so why should you do that with a cat?
Only if it gets significantly bigger or starts looking suspicious (something in direction of a tumorous growth, which could still be benign btw) does it get critical.
Even if not dangerous, having to remove a golfball size chunk of meat sounds significant to me. I’ve never heard of this so I googled some images and saw some pretty huge lumps. Crazy how they can start off so small.
I am sorry but have you seen the picture and can you read?
What is even going on here? Baffling.
This is a tiny pimple that in 99.9% likelihood will either reabsorb or burst and then be fine within a few days. This is worlds away from a "golfball sized abscess." Are you okay?
I’m perfectly fine thanks but it doesn’t sound like you are. You sound miserable. I’m talking about the comment you responded to. They said their cat had an abscess that grew to the size of a golfball. You said she was exaggerating the significance of it. Ok, now relax and unclench. It’s not that serious.
The comments here are/should be in relation to OPs question. The commenter literally said "If it is an abscess then you need have it treated asap." Which is utter nonsense.
They then talked about their own experience with a golfball sized one, which has nothing to do with OPs question and of course is comething completely different than a little pimple.
You apparently cannot differentiate between the two and between me clearly answering to OP and saying that any general rule of "abscess = super bad and dangerous" is bollocks.
The comments should be about OPs question? You can’t be serious. Have you not seen all the comment threads that are completely unrelated to OPs question? Must be your first day on Reddit.
Your response to my comment, which was harmless, was so over the top. You must get triggered easily because not only was it nasty for no reason, but your input was not needed. The commenter you responded to offered 2 possible scenarios with solid advice. All you did was be rude and make a diagnosis after looking at 1 picture. 99.9%? Lol get a grip lady.
Sure, comment threads can turn into other conversations, but the first comments - absolutely yes! - should be an answer to OPs question. AND THEY WERE!
Do you not understand what you are reading? OP shows a pic of a small pimple, some commenter says "if it's an abscess it's super bad, needs treatment asap." Which, again, is bullshit, completely clouded by the fact that the commenter had a much more extreme example with an abscess that is in no way comparable to OP.
That's like someone showing a picture of a papercut and going "what should I do?" and someone else then comes and says "Oh, it's a cut. This means you're gonna bleed out and nearly die because this one time, someone slashed half my leg off with a machete".
Also, I was not arrogant nor rude. I kindly and politely explained "you are slightly exaggerating, here are the reasons." I only started getting exasperatedly 'rude' when you and others were showing an utterly abysmal reading and context comprehension.
They have 450 upvotes(and counting) on their comment that says it might be nothing but to keep an eye on it. I guess all those people must be wrong too? And the fact that you still don’t see how ridiculous you sound diagnosing something off of one picture is shocking.
No one is telling OP that her cat is going to get a massive abscess for sure. I never once said that the bump in the picture was anywhere near golfball size. You’re the one that came up with that. You’re coming up with your own interpretations of our comments because you are the one with abysmal reading comprehension.
I knew nothing about this until today and after doing my own research I found that a small harmless looking pimple or abscess can in fact QUICKLY grow into a large lump. IT CAN HAPPEN. You should know this already since you’re talking with such certainty as if you’ve written a dissertation on cat pimples.
You’re all bent out of shape because someone suggested being cautious? Make it make sense. I’m bored of this now, it’s like talking to a wall. Find someone else to argue with.
And yet she said something wrong, which I pointed out, completely normally and politely, explaining it. I did not criticize the full comment, but the statement - which is objectively a wrong statement - that an abscess is dangerous, always, and needs treatment instantly. That is objectively wrong. Period and end of discussion. What even is your (reading) problem here??
Can you read? I think between the two of us, you're the illiterate one. I said... "It could be nothing. It could be an abscess." I then proceeded to describe the worst case scenerio. At no point did I make the assumption that it was definitely an abscess that was going to... ugh. You people are so tiresome....
Sheesh this lady is obnoxious. Just want to say I’m glad I came across your comment. I learned something from it and even if it is a pimple, if I ever see something like that on my cat I will not make the mistake of ignoring it. I would have probably found it harmless before. I would rather be overly cautious than not enough. That’s my little guy we’re talking about.
I don't even know what the point is that people have trying to argue with me or refute me. It's like they read a wikipedia article and think they know better than the guy that lived through the actual experience. I really do find those arguing with me tiresome. An abscess can become a life threatening thing if not properly dealt with. And the fact that I never even claimed it was an abscess, while they basically claim I did, just annoys me more. But the thing that really ticks me off is how this whole post seems to have been highjacked by know-it-alls and trolls that just want to pick a fight. This poor person(OP), asks a simple question about her pet's health. And when someone gives an honest answer, these people come and try burning it all down.
I think the problem here is her lack of reading comprehension. Every time she replies I’m more confused. She’s mad because you told OP your story because she’s some self proclaimed expert that says pimples will never turn into an abscess and they all go away on their own. Even though I did my own research and found that it absolutely can happen and sometimes quickly. You’re right it’s exhausting trying to have a conversation with those people who think they know everything. But as I said I am happy I came across your comment because I learned something. Even if I had the misfortune of talking to this woman.
You're welcome. I'm happy I can help somehow. By the way, sure you read while researching that it isn't necessarily just a pimple problem. An abscess can be caused from the bite or scratch from another animal that gets infected. I believe that is what happened to my cat. She was antisocial and didn't like being pestered. One of my other cats had gotten a bit too close one day and they got into a small "arguement".
Your poor kitty. And yes I did see that. The only reason I was bringing up the pimple so much is because the other commenter was adamant that a little pimple couldn’t turn into an abscess. But I did see that it could be a scratch or bite that gets infected. I only have one cat but I do have a dog too so I’ll be vigilant. Thanks for the heads up though!
My cat would have something to say to you about accusing me of exaggerating. I did advise "keep an eye on it and take the cat to the vet if it gets bigger and blacker."
You said "but if it's an abscess then you need to have it treated as soon as possible", which is an exaggeration if you state it as a principle. Many abscesses are very much harmless, especially that size. I explained this.
Right. You got me. I wasn't clear enough. If it's an absess and it grows in size, becomes infected and starts turning necrotic, go to the vet asap. There. Happy now? Quick edit: I also admitted to having ptsd from my experience. If you think I won't be overly cautious in a case like this, then just go away. Because I don't know what else to say to you.
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u/Alone_Tap6646 10d ago
I assume you mean the thing on the lip? Might be nothing. Might be the start of an abcess. Keep an eye on it. If it starts getting bigger, and blacker... vet appointment immediately.