lump/growth on cat -- new member

Hi--

I brougth my 13 year old cat to the vet today for a six month check up on his kidney functions (bloodwork), and showed the vet a small growth on his underside. It looks like a small wart -- smaller than a penny. The vet wants to remove it immediately -- said that too many of these come back malignant and that it's just important to get rid of it. Obviously I scheduled the surgery, and will nervously await the result of the biopsy next week. I checked all over the Internet, and the closest I could come to naming this tumor was a cell mast tumor. The results for cats were fairly reassuring, but I am a nervous wreck and want to know if anyone else has been through this (hopefully with good results).

Thanks--

Jamie

We didn't have that exact problem. 1 1/2 years ago Much had a growth between her shoulder blades which turned out to be a precancerous growth the size of a small fist. Our vet removed it and since we caught it early enough, she has been healthy since. It all depends on the type of growth and where it is.

I'm sending you good vibes. I hope your prognosis is just as successful. Please keep us updated.

Thanks for your good wishes. He's always been healthy, so I was very surprised when the vet recommended surgery. I have to remember he's 13 and these things happen, but he still seems like a baby to me. . . I'm glad your cat recovered well -- most of these probably turn out just fine! I'll let you know on Friday.

The thing about these growths is that the cats don't show any symptoms. My other cat who was 13 also had growths (fibro sarcoma) behind her hip bones. Fortunately she had the slower growing kind of sarcome and all we had to do was remove the growths. She lived another two years and actually died of something else. Because of her, all of our cats now get kitty "massages" and that is how we found Much's growth. We were surprised at how big it ended up being because we could only feel something the size of a pea. So it is good that your vet said to operate immediately.

I know that the waiting is hard but I'm here to lend you any support I can.

We had the same experience with Claibourne. We found a small growth on her back leg the vet told us boxers/bulldogs normally get these wart like lumps. He insisted on removal of the growth because it would drain and become very messy. Hats off to your vet Jamie for performing a biopsy. Our vet cut off the growth and sent Claibourne on her way. She passed away a week ago so we'll never know exactly what the growth was.

Mast cell tumors are fairly common and as long as the tumor is removed along with a pretty sizeable "clean" margin, a complete recovery can be expected. There is no harm in removing the mass immediately even if it is benign and if it is something significant, your cat will benefit greatly from having it removed right away.

I'm very glad my vet is removing it. I've done a little reading on mast cells, and the odds are good that surgery will take care of it. I can even take Fletch home the same day , which is great because (like most cats) he is terrified of going to the vet.

This will sound stupid, but I feel worse about the whole thing because we just adopted a puppy and the cat's had a hard time adjusting to the change in his very stable environment. I hate to do anything else to stress him out!!

Thanks again for your insights.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Let us know how the surgery goes.

Hope all goes well with your cat. Prayers going his way.

Hi--

I just brought Fletch home and he's mad as can be, but at least he is home. He has to wear that cone for 10 days which will be interesting, to say the least. I will get the biopsy results on Monday or Tuesday, so I'll keep my fingers crossed until then. I called the vet, even though I'm sure she has nothing new to tell me, but I'm hoping she will call back and tell me it all looked good.

Jamie

We're trying to keep an eye on Fletch so he doesn't lick rather than having the cone on him -- poor thing kept walking into the walls. We'll put it on him at bedtime. I hate going through this with animals -- I just hope Fletch knows this is all in his best interest!

Everyone, thank you for your kind words and thoughts.

Hang in there, sweet little Fletch.

With Much's surgery, it was on her back and they gave her enough pain killers that it didn't bother her. So I was fortunate there.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the biopsy comes out favorable.