Protruding Lump

Hi all

My cat Bella is 2 years old. She was found in a tire yard with her mum and siblings. The owner was drowning the kittens when a passer by saved Bella. I got landed with her shortly after.

I noticed Bella did not like to be held but thought nothing of it due to her rough start to life. Soon I noticed a bulge in her chest that would come and go. It is painful to touch but only sticks out every so often. Every time I had a vet apt for her, it was no where to be found, when she got desexed they also looked for it.
Bella had a harness to go outside with but I had to switch to a collar because the under part would rub on her lump.

One day FINALLY a vet saw it and said its a hernia. I googled it and found a condition called "Flat chested kitten syndrome" which sounds fitting as when she was a kitten she could not meow..she would open her mouth but no noise would come out. She can make noise now, but its rare.

Has anyone seen anything similar?
Thanks in advance

Hi

I wish that the guy who was killing the kittens went to jail!

I've never heard of this syndrome.  Did you vet suggest a treatment?  How is she doing? Maybe someone else will have heard of this. 

I did read up on is though and here are some websites that talk about it.

http://pawpeds.com/pawacademy/health/flatchest/

http://www.ramesescats.co.uk/health/FCKS/FCKStreatment/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat-chested_kitten_syndrome

Stephen

Yes, I dont understand people like that! She is good within herself but I have to be super careful when I pick her up. Thanks for the extra reading

I did have a flat chested kitten in a litter last year, but that is not the same as a hernia.  It didn't change, and the literature says that if they make it beyond a certain age (3 weeks?) then they will recover.  I had to help her learn to walk because she was a "swimmer" rather like a turtle, but by lifting her enough so her legs went under her, eventually she did learn to walk.  She's totally fine now.  Unlike a hernia, the chest was the opposite, concave, not convex, and it also did not change, or "come and go" as you said.  If your cat has a hernia, of course it is painful.  It is also dangerous because it can get trapped in the "out" position and blood supply can get cut off, then it is major surgery and life threatening.  I suggest you talk to the vet who saw the hernia about the possibility of getting it repaired.  It is pretty simple as long as the hernia is not protruding, because all the vet has to do is close the gap where the hernia protrudes.  In the meantime, try not to pick her up or put any pressure on her chest or abdomen that might cause her pain or make the hernia protrude.

Ok thanks! You cant always believe what you read but I do go back and forth to the vets with any ideas I have found online. This particular male vet said not to worry about it at all. Bella is such a little fuss pot, nobody usually believes this but she cries real tears when she is scared. It took her a long time to not pee herself too. She is the most timid girl, hates loud noises, fast things, pretty much everything frightens her. She has massive anxiety and the vets just horrifies her. I feel horrible because she takes ages to settle. I might chat to the vet more about it but he did say to me her little heart may not make it through a tough surgery, so that worried me. He said if it does not directly affect her life to just leave it. Also to find out that it is a hernia equals surgery. The whole thing scares me to death!

What you are describing doesn't sound at ALL like Flat Chested Kitten syndrome, to me, as that has to do with the ribcage, which wouldn't normally "come and go".  But, be that as it may, there have been several kittens over the years here on this site with this issue, and if you do a search at the top of the page of "flat chested kitten" you will get all kinds of hits.  Also, here is an article about it from our Health archives:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/flat-chested-kitten-fck

Since the Vet finally saw it and diagnosed it as a hernia, what did they suggest doing about it?  Isn't surgery the norm with hernias? As Red Top Rescue indicated,   I would think it would need to be fixed

When I googled her symptoms that was the only similar symptoms I found but I could have been on a dodgy page. This particular vet said to leave it because Bella is a little panic pants and the stress of surgery might kill her. The rspca vets were worried to desex her because of her rapid heart. I didnt think she would make it through that. I have been wanting my fave American lady vet to see it and get her opinion. Bella is fine within herself.

At 1st the vets said it was a prob with her breast bone that it was deformed but then could not tell me what was going on with it.

Also when I feel the lump (it sits just where the big part of her cat harness sits) it feels like a bone, hard and pointed. That is why I did not believe the hernia diagnosis :/