• Clinical signs vary according to the site and severity of the lesion.
• Bite or scratch wounds are generally found on the head, leg, back or base tail.
• Usually painful, giving rise to:

• altered gait
• guarding of the site
• altered behaviour including depression, inappetance, and aggression.

• Cats may be pyrexic and have enlarged local lymph nodes.
• Mature abscesses can be palpated but may not be so obvious early in development.
• Possible sequelae depend on the site of the lesions, the organisms involved and the immune status of the cat. They include:

• pyothorax
• osteomyelitis
• rhinitis
• otitis
• meningitis
• pyaemia with localisation at distant sites
• bacterial endocarditis (rare).

• If abscesses persist or recur, unusual organisms such as immunosuppression by feline immunodeficiency virus or feline virus infection or a hidden foreign body should be suspected.

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