Found lump on back leg of my cat

I was using the computer and my sweet baby Bailey hopped on the desk to lay beside me. I was petting him as I looked online. When I reached his left leg I noticed that at the very back of it, he had a lump. I would say the size of a dime. There was nothing hard or crusty, nothing coming from it, not red in color. It was just the color of his skin.

I called the vet right away and got him in. When I took him and she examined him, she said she didn't think it was anything to worry about. She extracted some fluid from it. When she came back in to talk to me, she said there wasn't pus like she thought there would be. She did mention that where she extracted from might have a spot of blood. There wasn't though. She then said we had to wait until Monday for results.

Has anyone had lumps in their cats (Bailey is 4) in the same place? Or sound like the same circumstances? Any advice, or honest opinions? He is just the most incredibly sweet baby and I'm over the moon for him. I can't imagine anything happening to him. He's my baby.

Can anyone tell me if vaccines are given in the very back of legs? He went for his shots in November, and I'm just wondering if one of them was given there, I can't remember.

Here is a good site about vaccines and related side effects. I think it says on this site that vaccines should be given as far down on the leg as possible (item 5 in the list). So yes it might be possible that he got a shot there. http://www.2ndchance.info/fibrosarcoma.htm

My cat has a vaccine related sarcoma. It was not at the site of the vaccine, it is small intestine large cell lymphosarcoma. I had heard that sarcomas could occur from vaccines but did not know details of how it could develop. This is closing the barn door after the fire, but I will share this with you for anyone else reading this thread:

After he was diagnosed I read up on it and learned that aside from avoiding vaccines altogether, people can make sure to use a vet that gives only Merial Purevac brand of vaccine which is non-adjuvanted. I learned that most vaccines have an adjuvant added to them, which is a serum designed to trigger an immune response and boost the power of the vaccine. But some cats have an idiocyncratic reaction and the adjuvant triggers a dormant sarcoma or causes a reaction at the vaccine site. 

By the way, the above link says to use only three year non-adjuvanted vaccines for your cat. To my knowledge, all three year vaccines contain adjuvants. So if anyone MUST get a vaccine for their cat, get the one year non-adjuvanted merial purevac vaccine ONLY.

It sounds like you have already done some research on this and it also sounds like you are on top of it. I will pray that your baby will be ok! I know you already think this, but honestly, any of us whose cats are indoor cats and not at risk of contracting anything from other cats, I don't think they should ever get any other vaccines. After this happened to my cat, I am avoiding them altogether for my other cats. And I never wanted him to get one to begin with, but it is the law here. I asked the vet is it safe because this is our baby and she said yes. So I learned, vets don't know or don't care what is safe and what is not. A vet's promise means nothing to me now.

But also, from what I read on the internet, many vets feel that the laws about vaccines are way too heavy-handed and a lot of vets cringe when people bring in their older pet and have to get a shot. What I do is to wait until they bring up the shot and then tell the vet my kitty has been off his/her food lately and I'd like to do the shot next time since they aren't in tip top shape this time around. If your vet is a good one, they will respect you and not argue for the shot. 

Anyhow here are my vibes and prayers that all will be well for you and your kitty. If that is his picture, he is indeed a gorgeous adorable sweet little boy!! I am hoping he will be ok!!!

 

Thank you for the response and I am so, so sorry about your baby! I have been doing nothing but reading up.

I just currently read a page on feline cysts. I am wondering of course if this could be one of those cysts that rupture on its own. But I feel like if that were the case, there would have been pus that came out of it when the vet did the Cytology. She said no pus really came out. So I am unsure if that's something I should worry about, or not. She said there would be a bit of dried blood (after doing the cytology) on the lump. And it's there, just a bit. 

He's not acting as if anything is wrong, but I'm in a constant panic. And I can't help it. He's my baby. I love him like family. All I keep thinking is, what if...what if.

http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-cyst.html  Is what I had just read. I wish I could have more info so I could understand better. But I think I could read info to death and I still wouldn't know because I'm not the vet/doctor looking at the cells that were extracted. I'm just the mom. But I'd rather know as much as I can so that when I do speak to the vet on Monday (which feels like forever away) I wont be totally clueless.

Has anyone else had any other situations of lumps on their cat? Whether the situation worked out, or not? I am hoping for the very best, but preparing for the worst. 

Okay, I got a call back from the vet. 

She said that it is benign and it's a fatty tissue lump. She recommended not removing it unless it has rapid growth. But said it wont go away.

I am going to stop by on Monday to pick up paperwork so I can see the results in hand and get a better understanding of what the lump is called, etc. Until then I will stay calm and know that at this time, he is okay. 

Yay!!! yay!!! I am so glad to hear that!!! I think they would know if it were sarcoma. It sounds as if those kinds of tumors have tentacles that are very insidious. 
 

I am SO happy to hear your boy is ok :-). 

Thank you Barb! I am happy too. But even though it is benign at the moment, things could change. So I will be keeping a constant eye on him. And I think even if it stays the same size I will probably have it checked at least 1x a year to be sure it stays benign.