Turns out Smudge had an abcessed wound on her chest. It has mostly
drained since I first discovered it, at which time it was the size of
an extremely large grape, or very small chicken egg. By the time I
brought her to the vet today, it had gotten very small, but the fur
at that spot was all matted and clumped.

The vet shaved the area, and surprise, there was an open wound about
1/4 inch across. So she got a shot of penicillin and some liquid
antiobiotics for me to give her over the next week.

Meanwhile, I've decided to keep her in my bedroom with her own food
and litter box, separated from the other two. It's quite possible she
got into a cat fight outside, but it could just as easily have been
Licky, or even Roxy, who did it. So I'll keep her in the bedroom for
a few days, at least until the wound looks closed up.

That cat gets herself into more trouble - outdoors or in!

Joyce