Strange bump? Lesion?

Hello! I'm new here. My name is Laura. My baby's name is Batman and he is a 9-year-old Maine Coon who has developed a strange bump on his little chin.

I went one day without seeing him, and I am fairly sure it happened that day. I noticed it yesterday, a couple days later.

It was hard to the touch, kind of flaked off like it was a very thick scab, if that makes sense. Today, my other cat (Susie) was messing with him and some of it came off. I picked him up and gently picked off the stuff that was caught in his fur, and it does appear to be like a blood clot or scab (?) and under it is pink, like is has healed, but it is raised or maybe swollen. A little oozy.

I have an appointment with the vet on Friday, but was wondering if anybody had seen anything like this. Maybe a bug bite of some kind? Not a burn and most likely not a scrape, he stays indoors. Any advice on something to put on it in the meantime? It doesn't seem to hurt him, but he did get a little annoyed when I picked off the piece that was stuck in his fur.

Obviously, because he's getting old and has never had any problems like this before, my brain is screaming "CANCER!" and I am just hoping that's not the case. Haha. Thanks for any info anyone can give! 



The flash hurts him little eyes. 

It could be feline acne.  Does he eat or drink out of a plastic bowl?  It's best to use stainless steel or ceramic or even a paper plate or bowl.

Stephanie, he both eats and drinks out of glass bowls. He HAS had some kitty acne before, actually. It was probably about 5 or 6 years ago when we were moved 3 times during the year and I think he was stressed. It was a lot smaller bumps than this. :-/ This is probably about the size of a dime and raised up maybe 1/4-inch.

Do you think I could try putting something on it? I have seen people mention colloidal silver?

Well, it looks like "acne" to me. More properly. it's Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex and you can read about it here: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/eosinophilic_granuloma.html Because it's cause is an immune response, effective treatment uses a steroid.

One of my guys developed an almost identical looking lesion. It was 'cleaned up' a little under anesthesia a sample taken and sent off to a pathology lab for a definitive diagnosis. He got one shot of Depo-Medrol and has been fine 'ever after'.

Oh wow! That looks very painful! I'll have to give it a better look when I get home from work and see what's appearing under the scab-thing. Thanks for the link. Do you know how they develop this kind of thing? Just from an immune response to a bite or an irritation of some sort?

Sometimes it's just an immune thing.  Have things been different in your home recently?  Any new routines, new people, change in schedule?
 

lmfdavis said:

...Thanks for the link. Do you know how they develop this kind of thing?

Click to expand...

Well, the very first few sentences of that link will answer your question........

An eosinophil is a type of white blood cell that is commonly associated with allergic responses or with parasitism. Eosinophil counts will go up on a blood test when a pet has fleas or worms or when an allergy is flaring up. Eosinophils can circulate in the blood or they can infiltrate tissue. They are part of the immune system and are “on patrol” for biochemical signals from tissue (calls for help, if you will) telling them that a parasite has invaded. Eosinophils home to the signal and release chemicals to attack the parasite. Unfortunately, they can be tricked into thinking that some sort of benign materials (pollens, dust, etc) are attempting invasion. In this instance (allergy) they release their inflammatory chemicals inappropriately, creating the sensations of itching, swelling, redness and other symptoms of allergy.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/eosinophilic_granuloma.html

Click to expand...

So, while you're not using plastic dishes and, while Batman may not be reacting to flea saliva or worms, it's possible that he contacted some other transient allergen - or, it may be that the Eosinophils in his system have been "tricked" into reacting. That, by itself, causes itchiness...the cat will scratch the area and that scratching itself will cause the Eosinophils to react again.......so, potentially there's an endless cycle in play. That's why the only effective measure to stop it is to reduce/stop the immune response via a short term steroid treatment.

Painful? No, not unless the scratching produces a large lesion......usually it's 'simply' an itchiness.

No one likes itch-ies...so, for Batman, Friday's Vet visit can't come soon enough!

Let us know what the vet says tomorrow!

I hope it's acne or a scale and nothing serious