A lump on my kitten's back... What could it be?

Just a couple of days ago I noticed a lump on my 5 mo. old kitten's back. It is toward the front of her back, but not in her neck. It's not by the spine, but about an inch or two to the side of it, but still pretty high up on her back and not on her side.
It's about the size of a cooked kidney bean, so it's pretty significant and noticable.
I can't see that there is any injury to her at all, and she's healthy otherwise. She doesn't seem to be in pain, and it doesn't seem to hurt when I touch it.
Any thoughts as to what this could be? Wouldn't it be unlikely for a kitten to have cancer?
I will probably take her in to the vet in a few days to check it out; we've spent so much money on getting our kittens vaccinated and spayed etc, and my dh it getting tired of the vet bills. I'm hoping it'll go away on it's own if I give it a few days??? I mean,is it really critical that she gets seen right away? I realize it's always nice to get these things checked out, but isn't it OK to wait a few days sometimes, to see if it passes on it's own?

By the way, she was spayed about 3 weeks ago, and had a rabies shot 2 weeks ago, in case it matters...

after talking to the vet about shots and cancer lumps ... I would make an appt for kitty Asap with vet..

Originally Posted by HappyViking

By the way, she was spayed about 3 weeks ago, and had a rabies shot 2 weeks ago, in case it matters...

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Sometimes cats develop cancer at a vaccination site. Since your cat was recently vaccinated, it needs to be soon ASAP by the vet, no compromises.

That sounds exactly like what happened to Alex after a shot. He developed a small, kidney bean-like lump at the site of the shot. The vet said this is normal, but to monitor it. It went away in a couple of weeks. Is the lump moveable? Alex's lump was moveable under the skin. I hold it between my fingers and move it around. It was syst-like. Call your vet and describe the lump to him/her. He may tell you what mine told me. A few tests may be needed in order to be on the safe side. Good luck and let us know what happens.

The lump is rather firm, and can be moved along with her skin. But it's not possible to move it away from the skin where it's located. It feels like it is in her skin or rather right under it, attached to her skin. I will call and talk to the vet later today and see what he says.
It kind of is located in that injection area, so it wouldn't surprise me if it is from a shot.

What I am surprised about is that your vet still vaccinates in the shoulder area. Nowadays Vets vaccinate on the upper hind quaters in case a vaccination related sarcoma (cancer) develops. You see the leg can be amputated and the cat saved whereby on the neck the chnaces are not good. Might want to discuss this with your vet as well.

maybe it is where they gave her her vaccination,that ususally does happen after given.

Originally Posted by HappyViking

The lump is rather firm, and can be moved along with her skin. But it's not possible to move it away from the skin where it's located. It feels like it is in her skin or rather right under it, attached to her skin. I will call and talk to the vet later today and see what he says.
It kind of is located in that injection area, so it wouldn't surprise me if it is from a shot.

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That sounds exactly like what happened with Alex. My vet vaccinates in the shoulder area too.

I called and talked to the tecnichian at the vet's, and she seemed to know what I was talking about, right away. She said it's not common, but it's not uncommon for this to happen after a shot. She said it was an irritation that will go away again, but to bring the cat in to be seen if it hasn't gone away within 2-3 weeks. So I'll give it some time I guess.

Has she been microchipped?

Sometimes the microchip moves around, and can be felt under the skin and can be moved with your fingers.

Cats can develop sarcomas from vaccinations but it does tend to be rare. YY had a lump about a week post her last vaccination but it finally (much to my happiness!) dissipated on its own. I would contact your vet for good measure. There is a new way of giving vaccinations that will prevent sarcomas but they have not been studied long enough to know whether it will actually work - referring to vaccinating in different locations and the new nasal vaccinations.

My cat developed one within a few weeks of going to the vets for shots, we had it biopsied, it was fine and dissapeared a few weeks later.

The lump is getting smaller already!!!!!! Yahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!