Sunday, September 21, 2014

The Adventures of Alvin: Episode 18

The Abscess 

As Alvin is in his old age, he has had many cysts developing and growing all over his body for the past few years. We didn't think much of them as they didn't seem to be bothering him, until one lump on his right side started growing in size, and actually became red and irritated as the golf ball sized mass actually became visible through his fur. I emailed our vet and planned to make an appointment the next day.

By the morning, Alvin had already ripped it apart with his teeth, getting blood and pus all over the apartment. After a nice visit at the vet and a sample was taken, we were able to determine it was benign and most likely just an abscess, and with some antibiotics and cleaning materials we hoped the swelling would go down. In the case that it may not go down, surgery would be the only option. Fingers crossed, I brought him home hoping it would just heal and he wouldn't be taking another hit to my pocketbook soon.




With the daily wearing of a T-shirt to keep him from licking the gross wound, excessive cleaning, and some antibiotics, the swelling came down within a week and it is now beginning to heal up. This was a more mild adventure for Alvin, but as an old guy that doesn't get to go anywhere anymore because of his bad behavior, most of our "adventures" now take place inside of the apartment.


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