# Can Metacam cause abscess bleeding?



## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

My 2 year old girl Beatrice has had a rough go the last couple of weeks. She was treated for a respitory infection a few weeks ago with baytril twice a day for one week. Her symptoms went away but she continued to loose weight and formed a large abscess on her neck. Her weight Is now down to 218 grams and the vet put her on more baytril to fight infection in the abscess and metacam for pain. She started this two days ago. Today I went to check I her and she had bled all over her cage. Like a lot of blood. It had already stopped and she seems ok now if a little tired. Sorry for the novel but my question is did the metacam cause the bleeding? I can't call my vet till tomorrow, but is this serious enough to warrant an emergency visit?


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## LadyCat (Jul 8, 2012)

Where is the blood coming from? Is it actually coming from the abscess on her neck? 

The reason I ask is because my rattie Freckles is about the same age is on Baytril and Metacam for an ear infection and a few days ago when she was doing a lot of rolling and not eating her normal food; I fed her baby food (apples/bananas and then baby turkey food), I took her out to clean her mouth off because she was being a little piggie and I think she got over-excited and doing her normal teeth chattering she must have bit her upper lip/next to her left tooth and she was bleeding, first bleeding was okay but a few hours later she must have bit it again and it was worse, but I cleaned it more thoroughly and she was okay. 

I'd keep a close eye on her. If she doesn't seem to be getting better, take her to the vet asap.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Metacam in this case is warranted. NSAIDS can affect uncontrolled bleeding and is not advisable say before surgery or if the rat is wounded and it won't clot. But this sounds like something different. Abscesses generally do not bleed...they are encapsulated pockets of infection (pus, etc)...tumours can and do bleed. Can you take a pic of her neck for us?


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

I'll take a picture when i get home from work, but it has already drained, so how could it be a tumour? It's sort of scabbed but theres till some pus. I've been putting polysporin on it (vet told me to) and feeding her baby food.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Cocobeware said:


> I'll take a picture when i get home from work, but it has already drained, so how could it be a tumour? It's sort of scabbed but theres till some pus. I've been putting polysporin on it (vet told me to) and feeding her baby food.


OK no more polysporin. It encourages healing over the surface...its best to just flush with saline solution until its healed up to teh surface. There's a very good sticky in Health on how to deal with abscesses at home.

I just want to make sure you ARE dealing with an abscess and how bad it is.


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

This is the best picture i could manage, she's a squirmer.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Cocobeware said:


> View attachment 7288
> This is the best picture i could manage, she's a squirmer.


That is a very tiny pic...do you have a bigger version? 

But I saw enough to worry. That location (on the bottom of her jaw) is a typical one for a tooth abscess (probably molar).  

a long time ago with a new rescue Maddy










We had the abscess healing nicely, but then it got really bad and these do bleed  It didn't respond to abs the 2nd time and other things got worse for her and I had to have her pts.


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

Yeah, when i was talking to the vet he said he cant even consider putting her under to clean it out because she's lost so much weight. Right now it's up to her to eat as much as she can and fight unfortunately  Im keeping her as comfortable as i can and monitering her as closely, but I'm afraid she's not going to get any better at this rate.


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## riotfox (Apr 16, 2010)

definitely want to keep her on the metacam for that, looks painful . i really do hope things get better for her. hugs and prayers from me and my flock wishing her a full recovery!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Cocobeware said:


> Yeah, when i was talking to the vet he said he cant even consider putting her under to clean it out because she's lost so much weight. Right now it's up to her to eat as much as she can and fight unfortunately  Im keeping her as comfortable as i can and monitering her as closely, but I'm afraid she's not going to get any better at this rate.


I am so sorry, just keep as comfortable as you can until its time to let your love go.


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

She just wont let me touch it. If I could only clean it out..Is it worth the stress on her to try to clean it really thoroughly at this point? or would I do more harm than good?


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

She hasn't gotten any better and she still stinks. I don't know what to do at this point, I'm taking her back to the vet on Monday. I'm terrified of what they'll say. She has another small abscess on the side of her mouth and still wont touch hard food. The hole hasnt healed and there is more pus. This is awful. I'm a wreck


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

She needs it cleaned out...see if your vet will do a small whiff of anesthetic to clean it out properly. If she passes it would be just like humane euthanasia. I am very sorry


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## riotfox (Apr 16, 2010)

i agree, it needs to be cleaned for sure! it will hurt but its the only chance for her to get better or improve. it may make her feel better in the long run.


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

*Yay!*

Vet visit was better than expected last night. She was back up to 250 grams (still small but much better than 218 ). He booked her in for a quick surgery to clean it up in 2 weeks so she can get stronger.He's basically going to clean it out and cut out any dead tissue so it will heal correctly, then sew it up. In the meantime she's still on Baytril twice a day and antiseptic wash for the outside.  There is hope still!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Very good!!! Yeah sometimes these things need a vet to clean them up before they can heal properly.


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## Cocobeware (Jul 15, 2012)

She ended up deteriorating rapidly this weekend. The second abscess on her mouth started packing her mouth with pus an swelled so much she couldn't/wouldn't eat. She started peeing blood at this point, so I had to make the hard choice. I had her pts Sunday morning. She's not hurting anymore that's all that matters.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Cocobeware said:


> She ended up deteriorating rapidly this weekend. The second abscess on her mouth started packing her mouth with pus an swelled so much she couldn't/wouldn't eat. She started peeing blood at this point, so I had to make the hard choice. I had her pts Sunday morning. She's not hurting anymore that's all that matters.


I am so very sorry.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I'm so sorry to hear this.  You did a wonderful job caring for her and she'll be waiting for you at the Bridge to thank you.


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## KsK (Oct 18, 2012)

Know this is an older post, but this is exactly what is going on with Piper tonight (1st page). after she bled on me for quite awhile I was able to get the bleeding to stop. LilSpaz, do you know if in your case it was tooth related or anything? She's 34.5 months old and this is her first health issue ever. Luckily she's been letting me clean it and is taking her meds well.


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