Help! My cat has a lump on her back!

mira's_mommy

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She was fine when I left for work today...I come home 6 hours later and she suddenly has a strange growth on her back. It is just to the right of her spine, about four inches up from the base of her tail. It is about an inch in diameter. It doesn't seem to hurt her, even when I poke at it, and the fur and skin covering it look normal. I am worried...She just had a litter of kittens about 3 weeks ago and has been fighting alot with the other cats ever since (I assume this is to establish dominance so they don't bother the kittens???) so it may be a result of that, since she is covered with many other wounds. She has never had any shots, so I know it's nothing to do with that and she isn't even a year old yet, so it's not likely to be cancer, right? What could this be? I am really hoping it isn't necessary to take her to the vet, as I already lost one kitty cat earlier this month to liver failure and it cost me a fortune. Of course I will take her if I have to, but I really would prefer not to...Please, any ideas or suggestions?

ALSO, if I take her to the vet and they have to admit her, would the kittens be okay without her for that long, and would any medications they give her (or anesthesia in the event she needs surgery) harm her babies? They are only 3 weeks old and still nursing.
 

darlili

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So sorry all this is happening to you and your cat.

I really think you need to talk to your vet about all of these questions - and I would think if you're talking to the same vet you worked with about your recently lost kitty (and so sorry for that as well), I'd think they'd take into consideration that you've had a huge financial outlay and won't suggest anything to just run up a bill.
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

I am worried...She just had a litter of kittens about 3 weeks ago and has been fighting alot with the other cats ever since (I assume this is to establish dominance so they don't bother the kittens???) so it may be a result of that, since she is covered with many other wounds. She has never had any shots, so I know it's nothing to do with that and she isn't even a year old yet, so it's not likely to be cancer, right? What could this be? I am really hoping it isn't necessary to take her to the vet, as I already lost one kitty cat earlier this month to liver failure and it cost me a fortune. Of course I will take her if I have to, but I really would prefer not to...Please, any ideas or suggestions?
Is she an outside cat? Or is she fighting with your other indoor cats?

The lump could be anything from an abcess, tumor, cyst, infection from fighting with the other cats, etc. If it is swollen from an infection, that can be very dangerous and you could be left with motherless kittens. I would take her in asap, or at least call your vet and see what they say?

Can you spread the fur and "see" the lump? If so, is there any wounds, redness, etc.? Is the lump hard or soft? Is it movable or quite rigid?

ALSO, if I take her to the vet and they have to admit her, would the kittens be okay without her for that long, and would any medications they give her (or anesthesia in the event she needs surgery) harm her babies? They are only 3 weeks old and still nursing.
I would definately tell your vet that she is nursing, and perhaps there are meds that are ok for her to have while nursing.

I have read that milk supplies can dry up quite quickly, but I'm not knowledgable on that aspect.

If she does have to be admitted, you'd need to pick up some KMR for the babies while she's gone (bottles too).

Good luck, I hope it isn't anything serious
 
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mira's_mommy

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She's an indoor cat, but fights with my other cats, who are all indoors-only too. The lump felt really hard at first but yesterday when I checked on it, it felt almost squishy. There is no redness, no visible bite or scratch, nothing. I called my vet and was told it was most likely an abcess but they can't know for sure until I bring her in. They told me to keep an eye on it til Monday and call then if it hadn't popped.
 

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Does anyone know if the following would help with a cat...once, I had an infected cyst that ended up being removed surgically. But, before surgery, the doctor had me hold warm compresses to it several times a day, to sort of help in shrink and, I gather, work to keep the infection relatively small. Now, granted, trying to hold a compress to a cat may be impossible, but I wonder if it might help.

Mira's mommy, bless you for calling the vet - I know things always seem to happen with money's tight, but I think you're doing totally the right thing but asking for the vet's counsel.
 
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mira's_mommy

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The lump is feeling smaller today, I don't know why but it is...if it just goes away should I still go have her checked out? I think I will try the warm compress thing, she won't sit with me for long lately because she doesn't like being away from the kittens, but if I bring them out and let her nurse them on the couch, she'll lay still and I should be able to reach it to hold the compress there.
 

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Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

The lump is feeling smaller today, I don't know why but it is...if it just goes away should I still go have her checked out? I think I will try the warm compress thing, she won't sit with me for long lately because she doesn't like being away from the kittens, but if I bring them out and let her nurse them on the couch, she'll lay still and I should be able to reach it to hold the compress there.
Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

They told me to keep an eye on it til Monday and call then if it hadn't popped.
If its going away on its own, I would just call your vet and say that since they said you could call back today if it hadn't popped.

In my non-vet opinion, if it goes away on its own, there's not much a vet could do to tell you what it is or isn't, if its not there.
 
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mira's_mommy

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As of today it hasn't gotten any smaller than it was when I last posted. I called the vet, and they can see Mira at 5:45 p.m. tomorrow. I will be working but my fiance said he could take her. So we will know something soon.
 

otto

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I'm glad you are getting her seen, abscesses have to be opened up to heal, because they have to drain and heal from the inside to out. Meaning they HAVE to be kept open. If they close up before being fully healed the poison will stay in the kitty and cause other health problems.

And they need antibiotics. If it happens that she can no longer nurse the kittens anyway, and you will have to bottle feed them and get them on solid food soonest, once the abscess is healed up, you might as well get her spayed right away.

Let us know how the vet visit goes.

.
 

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It honestly does sound like a abscess (with current events). Did you mention that possibility to the vet? They might blow off a description of a vague "lump" but abscesses can be serious.

A lot of bite wounds from other cats tend to end up in three main areas - front legs, neck, and butt area. This isn't to say they don't happen elsewhere, but whenever I see or hear about anything on a cat in these areas I tend to always assume abscess/infected bite and that the cat needs to see a vet now.

If some of us are right, they'll may decide to open it up/lance it, and she will be given antibiotics.


Her kittens did get some antibodies needed from her milk, so if you have to take over feedings they'll have a much better chance than kittens who haven't had that. You should keep her away from the other cats if at all possible. She's going to naturally be protective of her kittens, and probably smells a bit odd to them.

I also suggest you thoroughly check all of your other cats for signs of bite wounds. Chances are if one of them bite her badly enough to (get through the fur and) cause an infection she returned the favor.
 
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mira's_mommy

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Saw the vet today and it is an abcess. He said it's really close to popping on its own so he just shaved the area, told me how to care for it once it does open up, and prescribed antibiotics. Said it would be fine. And all that only cost me about $50 bucks, so it was very easy on the bank account.
Thanks everyone for your help. It at least kept me from going nuts til I could have her checked out.
 

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So glad that it turned out to be something light on the kitty and the pocketbook.


Thx for updating.
 

otto

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Thanks for the update. Continue to warm pack it, that will help it open up. I'm surprised the vet didn't open it, it needs to drain, and I'm sure it's painful for kitty.

the warm packs will help. If she'll tolerate it, go in the bathroom with her, shut the door, put the plug in the tub, and run the shower on hot while doing the warm packing, the steam will help will help open it, too.

let us know how she is doing.
 

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I know $50 isn't great, but at least you have the piece of mind of knowing what the lump is, and how to treat it - and at least vet has seen it and it's in the records, in case any changes occur and you need to call again. Good luck!
 
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mira's_mommy

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Well I told the vet how I had taken care of her other wounds (she fights with my other cats alot, which is how she got this abcess); I cleaned them regularly with peroxide and kept triple antibiotic ointment on them. He said that is what I was going to need to do with this once it opened up, and also keep her form licking it too much. And for those who are wondering why he didn't drain it, I think he was trying to save me some money. I did just spend a lot of $$$ to try and save my Klein earlier this month.
 

otto

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While it's admirable for a vet to want to save a client money, opening the abscess isn't something that should be an extra charge, it should have come with the vet visit.

However I am not trying to make you feel defensive of your vet. Your vet knows you better than I do, and if he feels confident that you are able to treat the abscess on your own, that's all that matters.

But for general information, in my opinion, an abscess should be opened and drained while at the vet, then home care instructions given along with antibiotics.

An abscess has to heal from the inside out. In fact, often drains are implanted in abscesses for the express purpose of keeping them open, until they heal.

I'm sorry for your loss of your beloved Klein. I wasn't in during that time and missed what you went through.

Please do keep us updated!
 

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Originally Posted by otto

While it's admirable for a vet to want to save a client money, opening the abscess isn't something that should be an extra charge, it should have come with the vet visit.

However I am not trying to make you feel defensive of your vet. Your vet knows you better than I do, and if he feels confident that you are able to treat the abscess on your own, that's all that matters.

But for general information, in my opinion, an abscess should be opened and drained while at the vet, then home care instructions given along with antibiotics.

An abscess has to heal from the inside out. In fact, often drains are implanted in abscesses for the express purpose of keeping them open, until they heal.

I'm sorry for your loss of your beloved Klein. I wasn't in during that time and missed what you went through.

Please do keep us updated!
I have to agree. Bijou had one on his back and they put a tube in it to keep it open while it healed. I did some looking around on the internet when it happened, and while I don't believe everything I read on the internet, I read that if an abscess goes unattended, the poisons can enter the cat's system and in some cases have caused death.

If it doesn't pop soon of it's own accord, I would be taking my kitty back to the vet.
 
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mira's_mommy

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Thanks for the warning guys. It hasn't popped yet but I will def be keeping an eye on it once it does. Since the poisons need to come out before it closes, do you think it would be a good idea to flush it out with an antiseptic, like pour it on there and let it run clean instead of just dabbing it on with a cotton ball? Also would it be bad to put bag balm or something similar on there to keep her form licking it because I know she will, she just will, I know it! I am going to try to do this at home and take her back to the vet only if I have to, but how will I know if something's gone wrong after it pops? Will I be able to tell if something isn't right?

And she LOATHES her medicine. It's a liquid I give with a dropper. I tried to hold her until she swallowed it but she clawed me all up to get away and spit it all out on the floor.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

Thanks for the warning guys. It hasn't popped yet but I will def be keeping an eye on it once it does. Since the poisons need to come out before it closes, do you think it would be a good idea to flush it out with an antiseptic, like pour it on there and let it run clean instead of just dabbing it on with a cotton ball? Also would it be bad to put bag balm or something similar on there to keep her form licking it because I know she will, she just will, I know it! I am going to try to do this at home and take her back to the vet only if I have to, but how will I know if something's gone wrong after it pops? Will I be able to tell if something isn't right?

And she LOATHES her medicine. It's a liquid I give with a dropper. I tried to hold her until she swallowed it but she clawed me all up to get away and spit it all out on the floor.
I wouldn't put bag balm on it because she is going to just lick that off and I don't know how safe that is if they ingest it. If she doesn't over-lick it, that may not be a bad thing because she will keep it open while it heals from the inside. Did the vet recommend any specific antiseptic? Be aware that hydrogen peroxide burns tissue including healthy tissue so if you use that make sure you dilute it before using.

Your vet seems like a reasonable sort so I would just call the office and get as much information as I could, i.e., what to clean it with, whether leaving it open is going to be alright, whether her licking it will be OK as long as she doesn't over-lick, if there is any ointment/salve that they would recommend. When Bijou had his abscess, they opened it, cleaned it, put the tube in, sutured the tube at each end to keep it in place and basically that was it - no ointments or salve. He did get an antibiotic though.

Now, I just remembered when he got the smaller abscess over his eye, they did not cut it open, the vet just gave him one shot of antibiotic that was supposed to work for 10 days and within 24 hours the abscess was down and barely noticeable.
 
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