Please help - found lumps on my cat's neck and tummy

Hello - I just found this site late last night, searching for what could possibly be wrong with my cat. On Saturday I noticed that she has a few small lumps on her neck - throat, really - and a couple on her belly - they seem rather hard. They are approximately the size of small peas, but are not perfectly round - the biggest one on her throat feels "bumpy" and more flat and elongated than round. (My first thought was swollen lymph glands, but don't know if they would be uneven/flat/bumpy like these are). I'm terrified that it's some type of tumors?? My baby (kitty) is only about 5 years old.

She appears healthy otherwise - eating, sleeping, grooming, and playing normally, litter-box contents are "normal" She doesn't seem sick or in pain and doesn't look like she has lost any weight. I am pretty sure that these lumps were not there until just the last week or so, as I **very** frequently pet her under throat and belly, as she loves that. She doesn't seem bothered when I touch/feel the lumpy areas. The only difference I note in her behavior is that she doesn't want me to brush under her throat, which she normally ADORES and purrs loudly for - she'll let me pet her there, but not brush.

Any ideas? Please tell me that this DOESN't sound like some kind of tumors...

Thank you

Jill in MN

Not being able to see or feel your cat and not being trained vets, it would be impossible for any of us to know what may be wrong with your cat. We could all take guesses based on similar happenings in our lives but each case would still probably be different.

The obvious answer to your dilemma is book a vet appointment sooner rather than later and have your kitty looked at.

Please keep us posted on what the vet says after your appointment.

Your kitty needs to seen by your vet.Only he can tell you for sure what the lumps are.

Thank you for your replies. Yes, I am going to make a vet appointment ASAP - I was just hoping someone would know any alternate reasons she might have these lumps, other than tumors - if there is any common thing that presents like this. Thanks

Hopefully there will be some folks along with more experience with this sort of thing to advise you.

Glad to hear you have your vet appointment. Keep us informed as to your progress.

I`m sorry your kitty is having this problem. Thankfully she will be seeing the vet soon. I hope it turns out to NOT be serious. PLEASE do inform us when you get back from the vets.
Linda

I have had two cats with lumps. One had a slow growing fibro sarcoma and the other had a precancerous lump. The only way to find out is to have a vet examine her. Most likely they will need to be removed and biopsied to be sure. Get her in right away. The earlier this is address the better it is for your cat.

Good luck.

BTW - One cat died of something else two years later; the other cat is now 1 1/2 years after surgery and is doing fine.

How old is she? Does she go outside? They could be cysts, flea bites, abscesses, or any number of things. Are they warm to the touch? Let us know what the vet says.

It could be benign cysts, which sometimes spread by connecting fibres. But I am glad you are going to the vet - it is the only thing to do.

can you see the actual bumps on the skin or do you just feel them when you pet her? how long is your cats fur and do you brush it regularly?

sometimes if you don't brush it for a couple of days the hair will start to clump pretty quick and they will feel bumpy when you pet them, you especially mentioned that one of them is more flat then round ... that sounds like a hair clumping together, once that happens it's prettey much impossible to comb it out and it will be uncomfortable for the cat when you try to comb it out. Also the areas that you describe are very prone to this as they cannot groom themselves under the throat or the belly

please let us know.
-radek

Hello - Sorry to leave you all hanging so long - been a BUSY week!

Well, the vet felt kitty's lumps, and feels that the one on her belly is probably scar tissue from her being spayed last spring. He said this is about the time when scar tissue would be most obvious, and should slowly break down/decrease over the next 6 months or so.

With the neck lump, it *seems* to have gotten a bit smaller than when I first felt it, and vet feels it is most likely a benign cyst, but wants to keep an eye on it, so we will go back in 2 months and see what he thinks then. He said the fact that she seems completely healthy otherwise (eats well, is content, runs/jumps/plays/etc., hasn't lost any weight, is not cranky or seem in pain, litterbox "activity" is normal, etc.) leads him to believe that it's "probably not anything to be very worried about" He just wants to re-check it to be on the safe side.

I am SOOooo relieved I was, of course, fearing the worst, so this is a great relief to me. (Even though vet wants to re-check in a couple months - at least he doesn't feel she has some agressive tumors that are going to kill her).

Answers:

For Radek - My kitty is brushed every day (and she absolutely ADORES it!). She has medium-length fur - not quite "short", but not terribly long either. Her mom was pure siamese, and dad was long-hair mixed breed. She would technically be called a "short-hair" (as per her vet record). I know it's not any matted fur, as I know how that feels, having had a very long-haired cat about 10 years ago, who did NOT like to be brushed - especially on her belly! (Too bad for her she got brushed anyway! )

For Cloud_shade - She is just over 5 years old, and doesn't go outside. (Well, except when she DASHES out the door when someone else goes in/out - she likes to do this, but always gets caught and brought back inside) Lumps don't seem warm to the touch.

Thank you again for your helpful replies.

Have a great day!
Jill

Glad to hear that it doesn't sound serious. My old boy has a benign cyst on his back. It occasionally grows a little but the vet can drain it without a problem. It doesn't cause him any pain, so I generally leave it alone.

my dog had a lump like that on her back i didnt think it to serious so just kept an eye on it and it did go a way over time. my cat now has several of them. the vet didn't mention them tho he checked her thoroughly and since my dog had it. i don't worry to much about it...