Lump On Chin...

My baby, Poe, (born 8/28/2009) has a sudden lump on his chin. I noticed it 1, maybe 2 days ago now. It is firm, and warm to the touch. There are some brown flecks as you can see, but I don't think they're acne as they don't produce any oil when I try to gently express it. There's no wound under the fur. Just very, very tight skin.

He DOES have bad breath, but he always has had since the day he was born. No additional lost teeth or change in color to gums. He doesn't necessarily like it being pressed on, but doesn't vocalize; just pulls his face away. There's no change in his behavior or eating. He gets along with my other cats and I haven't WITNESSED him fighting. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened, though. No history of food allergies. (I have a cat who does, on occasion, get a small swelling in her chin when she eats the wrong kind of canned food, and it looks nothing like her reaction.)

They're on a grain-free, soy-free food. It's not the best, but it isn't crap.

I gave him 5mg of prednisone (corticosteroid I use when the food allergy cat's chin flares up) 24 hours ago with no improvement.

How can I tell if this is cyst, tumor, or abscess? Again, it's warm, and pretty dang firm. Wouldn't an abscess feel squishy?

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If it's warm, there's inflammation that needs to be checked by a vet.  Probably not a good idea to try to express it, even gently, as it could exacerbate the problem. 

Prednisone is a pretty full-on drug that can have some bad side-effects if used incorrectly.

I don't know what it is, but I'd be getting him to the vet asap.

Let us know how you get on...

Whatever it is it looks inflamed, so l would get a vet to look at it asap with the weekend being upon us 

Cats are very good at hiding pain, so although he may act normal he could be suffering in  silence?

I have always found with mine when i notice an abscess, that it is firm and warm to the touch and gets softer as time goes. I also dont always see a puncture mark, i find after a few days that there is also some hair loss as well because of the warmth.

Good luck with Poe.

Thanks, Mani!

I have my vet's cell number and I called him before administering, since his office is way downtown and I haven't had the best luck with vehicles lately, lol. He said it was okay to try and use the small dose of prednisone to see if there was any improvement; if not, he said he'd try a steroid shot and perhaps a little clavamox or other liquid antibiotic.

I'm just mainly concerned about how to tell WHAT it may be, what the differences between cysts, tumors, and just plain old inflammation is.

Are you saying the vets telling you to use this medication without actually seeing the problem?. If that's the case l would contact another vet nearer to you

Bentliy said:

Thanks, Mani!

I have my vet's cell number and I called him before administering, since his office is way downtown and I haven't had the best luck with vehicles lately, lol. He said it was okay to try and use the small dose of prednisone to see if there was any improvement; if not, he said he'd try a steroid shot and perhaps a little clavamox or other liquid antibiotic.

I'm just mainly concerned about how to tell WHAT it may be, what the differences between cysts, tumors, and just plain old inflammation is.

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They seem to be huge on steroids in the States...  Vets don't prescribe it so much here...

I don't think anyone can tell you what the differences are, although Cats Ma's comment about abcesses being very hard at first, then softening, is interesting.  My boy just had a cyst and I used a holistic tumeric ointment from the vet as he's compromised health-wise so she didn't want to do anything with an anaesthetic.  I was amazed that it actually cleared it up.  Certainly using some kind of antibiotic and/or antibacterial topically seens the way to go.. you need to be guided by your vet.

RosieMac (who posted almost exactly when I did) would know more about this than me..  Both of us are keen you get him to the vet, but your he doesn't seem too concerned, so you're doing the best you can.  Were you able to send the vet the photo?

EDIT:  Rosie did it again, (the post above) and I must say I agree with her...

No, I wasn't able to send the photo. He doesn't use picture texts, but did mention like Mani that the fact that it's warm to the touch and near the mouth could be some kind of allergic reaction. He's familiar with Kekei's problem (the one with the food allergy) and considering my luck with vehicles in the last week, said that if I couldn't make it in before Monday to try the prednisone. He did ask if I saw acne pustules and I said no. He's aware I use stainless steel dishes to prevent that. Also, he explained that a cat came in at the start of this week with an identical sounding problem and he gave it a steroid shot and the swelling has since gone down.

It may sound like an irresponsible thing for a vet to do, but he's trying to give me the best route possible until I can actually drive to his office.

Bentliy said:

No, I wasn't able to send the photo. He doesn't use picture texts, but did mention like Mani that the fact that it's warm to the touch and near the mouth could be some kind of allergic reaction. He's familiar with Kekei's problem (the one with the food allergy) and considering my luck with vehicles in the last week, said that if I couldn't make it in before Monday to try the prednisone. He did ask if I saw acne pustules and I said no. He's aware I use stainless steel dishes to prevent that. Also, he explained that a cat came in at the start of this week with an identical sounding problem and he gave it a steroid shot and the swelling has since gone down.

It may sound like an irresponsible thing for a vet to do, but he's trying to give me the best route possible until I can actually drive to his office.

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It's not irresponsible if you can't get to him... I hadn't really picked up on that, and it does make it difficult. 

It's good you can call him, and just keep a close eye on it.  Do you have any antibiotic ointment at home?

Bentliy said:

  He's familiar with Kekei's problem 

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That makes a difference then.

Let us know what was said when you've taken him to the vet though

Don't be alarmed but my old cat used to have blackheads in his chin, and he used to love having them taken out with the tweezers 

To me that looks like an infected cat acne case..... Not an inflammation.... And if it was me the last thing I would be doing is giving the cat steroids..... But that's me, my opinion and my experience with cat acne. I don't know, but I think if the vet actually saw this she would probably think this is acne too. An infection is treated with antibiotics - steroids are counterproductive and can make the problem worst.

Update: Haven't seen vet yet, but the inflammation has gone down and the lump does not feel as warm or as firm. :]

Bentliy said:

Update: Haven't seen vet yet, but the inflammation has gone down and the lump does not feel as warm or as firm. :]

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That's good.  Did you put anything on it?

Nope! The lump has further reduced today on it's own (though he has a habit of curling his face VERY TIGHTLY into my pillow at night, so, maybe that generated some heat to help it go down?) and is barely noticable, but still there. If it doesn't completely go away by Monday, poor Poe will be going in for a steroid shot. :<

Glad to hear that it is going down  and what ever you are doing is working