Strange lump on 2-3 year old cat

Hey guys! So I noticed that Indie has been loosing hair for for the past two weeks, and when he FINALLY let me check him over yesterday, I noticed two large hard lumps under his skin. They seemed to look like blisters, but didn't look infected, and they were completely bald and kind of red. I pressed them and they didn't seem to hurt him. I should have checked him earlier, but he's a very aggressive cat (even more so after he was neutered, he's frightened of his best friend now..) and touching him anywhere but his head sets him into a rage.

I'm just wondering what this could be? Aside from being aggressive he is also very anxious and gets worried if anything is out of routine. He eats a raw diet mostly, but gets a handful of  biscuits every night before bed, but he's been having them for the past 2 years now.

Also, my mum, who was his favourite human, has been out of the country for the past month, and I'm wondering if this could've triggered whatever this is to happen? Other than the lumps and hair loss (which are both on his back legs) he's happy and active and eating fine!

I am a human doctor, not a vet.  The lumps could be harmless or something more serious, it is impossible to say without an examination of the lumps and the cat. 

I suggest that you take the cat to a vet as soon as you can.  He will be able to examine the cat, and the lumps, and advise you.

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

Geoffrey said:

 
I am a human doctor, not a vet.  The lumps could be harmless or something more serious, it is impossible to say without an examination of the lumps and the cat. 

I suggest that you take the cat to a vet as soon as you can.  He will be able to examine the cat, and the lumps, and advise you.

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

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I'm off to med school in a week, so the time to get him to the vet is very short, and my Dad isn't much experienced with treating cats etc. What would be the possibility of it being something serious? I will do my best to get him into the vets before I leave for Uni, I hope that me leaving won't stress him out more [emoji]128545[/emoji]

He may be perceiving the other cats with testosterone as a threat now. Things will calm down when everyone is spayed and neutered. He could also be acting out because he is unwell. He needs to see a vet.

Who is going to take over cat care when you leave?

Please take your cat to a vet.  Over the years I have had a number of cats.  Five of them have had tumors.  Two of them were just cysts, nothing to worry about.  Three of them were cancer and all removed successfully.. I don't want to worry you, but I also don't think you should let this go, just in case.  Call around to vet clinics until you find one you can get into this week.  Or is it possible for you to take your cat with you?

talkingpeanut said:

He may be perceiving the other cats with testosterone as a threat now. Things will calm down when everyone is spayed and neutered. He could also be acting out because he is unwell. He needs to see a vet.

Who is going to take over cat care when you leave?

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He certainly does... he's very frightened of Button now, and Button has been attacking him too, not too viciously, but enough to make Indie hiss. I will book him in this week, hopefully I will have a free-day soon.

My Dad will, and Mum should be back just in time for me to leave, so she'll pitch in too :-)

Also! I had a look at his legs today and the roughness seems to have faded. I've taken him off the biscuits to see if it's an allergy, don't know if that's why his leg looks a little better? He isn't limping on it or anything, and he isn't licking it as much. But I don't know if things can improve in just a day :-/

How great are the chances that a 2 year old cat could have cancer? I've minimised his risks A LOT, there's hardly any smoke anywhere in the house and his raw diet is because of the iffy-ness I feel about some cancer-inducing ingredients in commercial food. Would the hair loss point towards cancer too? It's not anywhere else, the rest of his coat is amazing as usual, it's just where he's been excessively licking at that one leg.

BaileyJane said:

 
Please take your cat to a vet.  Over the years I have had a number of cats.  Five of them have had tumors.  Two of them were just cysts, nothing to worry about.  Three of them were cancer and all removed successfully.. I don't want to worry you, but I also don't think you should let this go, just in case.  Call around to vet clinics until you find one you can get into this week.  Or is it possible for you to take your cat with you?

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And I'm in Pakistan, so any vet clinics cost a real arm and a leg... there is a University that I really trust, that's where I'm getting all my cats treated and neutered etc. But it's a good distance away, I think about 14km

indie-n-button said:

He certainly does... he's very frightened of Button now, and Button has been attacking him too, not too viciously, but enough to make Indie hiss. I will book him in this week, hopefully I will have a free-day soon.

My Dad will, and Mum should be back just in time for me to leave, so she'll pitch in too :-)

Also! I had a look at his legs today and the roughness seems to have faded. I've taken him off the biscuits to see if it's an allergy, don't know if that's why his leg looks a little better? He isn't limping on it or anything, and he isn't licking it as much. But I don't know if things can improve in just a day :-/

How great are the chances that a 2 year old cat could have cancer? I've minimised his risks A LOT, there's hardly any smoke anywhere in the house and his raw diet is because of the iffy-ness I feel about some cancer-inducing ingredients in commercial food. Would the hair loss point towards cancer too? It's not anywhere else, the rest of his coat is amazing as usual, it's just where he's been excessively licking at that one leg.

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I don't know about cancer risks, but he sounds like he's sick. It makes sense for there to be a power shift if one is neutered and one is not, and also if one is unwell.

I'm off to med school in a week, so the time to get him to the vet is very short, and my Dad isn't much experienced with treating cats etc. What would be the possibility of it being something serious? I will do my best to get him into the vets before I leave for Uni, I hope that me leaving won't stress him out more [emoji]128545[/emoji]

indie-n-button, I don't like hard lumps and it was this that suggested the possibility of a malignancy.  In general I would think that two year old cats are unlikely to get cancer, just as 14 year old humans are unlikely, but I have seen malignancy in this group, although usually the malignancy was leukaemia.  However I doubt that the hard lumps are anything to do with leukaemia. 

You did say that Indie was losing hair, but I cannot relate this to the lumps directly.   I am afraid that you will have to wait until you see a vet, and perhaps have a biopsy taken, before you can be reassured.

With all best wishes to you and Indie, and all the best with your medical studies, I remember mine well in London, even though they were 1949 -1954,

Geoffrey

talkingpeanut said:

I don't know about cancer risks, but he sounds like he's sick. It makes sense for there to be a power shift if one is neutered and one is not, and also if one is unwell.

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I checked the lump over again this morning, becuse I was going to get him in for the vets today, but I noticed that the lump was well, pretty much almost gone? He isn't licking himself as much either, so I'm really confused as to whether or not I should still take him in? The only thing that I've changed is I've cut down on his kibble and increased his raw, could it have been an allergy? The hair hasn't grown back yet, but I know that could take like a month. I did give him a dose of homeopathic medicine yesterday before I went to visit the Uni because I didn't just want to sit around and do NOTHING (the uni ate away all my day yesterday so I couldn't get him in then), I'm wondering if that worked?

Anyway, would you say I still take him in? I read up a bit about stress in cats and I think that he could have a case of dermatitis, what do you guys think?

indie-n-button said:

I checked the lump over again this morning, becuse I was going to get him in for the vets today, but I noticed that the lump was well, pretty much almost gone? He isn't licking himself as much either, so I'm really confused as to whether or not I should still take him in? The only thing that I've changed is I've cut down on his kibble and increased his raw, could it have been an allergy? The hair hasn't grown back yet, but I know that could take like a month. I did give him a dose of homeopathic medicine yesterday before I went to visit the Uni because I didn't just want to sit around and do NOTHING (the uni ate away all my day yesterday so I couldn't get him in then), I'm wondering if that worked?

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   Anyway, would you say I still take him in? I read up a bit about stress in cats and I think that he could have a case of dermatitis, what do you guys think?

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One thing I can think of for the lump to go so fast is that the lump was a haematoma with a collection of blood under the skin from an injury.  These bruises can occur in the presence of a bleeding disorder, so I suggest that you should still see the vet for advice, although there will probably be nothing found.  I had a cat who ate rat poison and he died of this.  There were bruises,  presenting as lumps under the skin, but these were multiple and soft, not hard.

Incidentally, allergies do not present like this and I very much doubt that the homeopathic medicine could possibly have had any therapeutic effect.

With best wishes,

Geoffrey

Geoffrey said:

 
One thing I can think of for the lump to go so fast is that the lump was a haematoma with a collection of blood under the skin from an injury.  These bruises can occur in the presence of a bleeding disorder, so I suggest that you should still see the vet for advice, although there will probably be nothing found.  I had a cat who ate rat poison and he died of this.  There were bruises,  presenting as lumps under the skin, but these were multiple and soft, not hard.

Incidentally, allergies do not present like this and I very much doubt that the homeopathic medicine could possibly have had any therapeutic effect.

With best wishes,

Geoffrey

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I, too, would like to caution against using homeopathy in place of medicine or medical advice.  

Also, his change in behavior still leads me to think that something is medically wrong, though it could also be the other cat's testosterone.  I would still bring him in.

Okay, I'll bring him in just in case :-) Thanks so much for your help! He's also an indoor cat, Geoffrey, so I don't think he could have got into anything poisonous!

how did it go?