TBT: This is not a good Mancat Monday post. Marley has some swelling on one side of his mouth. It doesn't seem to be bothering him, but I will call the vet for an urgent appointment as soon as they open for the day!
The timeline:
Saturday afternoon, I noticed a small wound at the back of his right jaw. It looked like the kind of mouse-bite cats sometimes get. Most of my cats have gotten a few. It heals normally.
Saturday evening, the spot was sensitive and he wouldn't let me touch it or even examine it. But what I could see looked uninfected.
Later that evening, I made a serious attempt to examine it. No luck. He was not allowing it at all. Front claws in shirt and rear paws up defensively. He fought to get free, and even at 12, he is still all muscle. But he was eating both canned food and kibble normally. So I did not try to force things further.
Sunday early afternoon, I noticed some slight swelling there. Oddly, he didn't react when I touched him there carefully.
Later Sunday, there was slightly more swelling, but he was still eating without problems and seemed to feel fine. I know cats can hide pain, but he really seemed not to be distressed.
Now, Monday just as I type this, the swelling is no worse, he seems content and happy and ate Last Dinner without any sign of problem. That is one of several reasons we are not at the local 24 hour Pet Hospital right now. First, yeah he is eating, and doesn't mind attention to the swelling. Second, this isn't the 1st abscess I have dealt with and the Vets suggested it was more scary than serious, given prompt attention. Third, the one time I brought a cat to the 24 hour hospital, the Vet was literally a zombie (2nd or 3rd job?) and seemed not to actually care about the animals.
I decided Marley could wait for my regular Vet to open and would be better off in their care. And I will repeat that he seems fine.
For now, I have revisited some vet sites about the likely causes of facial swelling. Some causes are indeed very serious, but those are slow to develop; this was just in a few hours. The likeliest causes are dental, a cat-fight, or a fall.
Last thing first, Marley can't get up high these days. Joining me at the dining room table requires him to get on a chair first and then the table. I can't imagine him falling far enough to cause an injury. Second, I haven't heard any cat fights. I would even if it was outside. My ears are attuned to that. Marley is still a great defender of our yard, but I don't think a fight was the cause.
Which leaves a mouse-bite. We don't have rats, I haven't seen a groundhog for months, and I haven't seen a raccoon here ever or a possum for 2 years.. So, I'm guessing an infected mouse-bite. I wish I had smeared some of that triple antiseptic ointment on it when I first saw it (the stuff works great for me and the vet sites say it is OK for cats - but I didn't know that then), but he fought violently.
As easily as I can manage him on my lap while he is napping there and all calm, he won't tolerate being held down. Indeed, the only look I could get at the initial small wound was while I was giving him wire-brushies (he adores that).
So Marley will see the Vet ASAP (hopefully, later today) with my expectations that it is not any serious problem but something that needs some attention for his safety.
Just wanted to let everyone know, in case it turns out to be more serious than I think...