Cat has blueish lump on nipple.

[zoeelse]

Hi!
Last Tuesday, I found a bump on my cats nipple. It’s a sort of blueish black (hasn’t picked up very well on camera) and is hard. She has an appointment with the vets this Tuesday (earliest appointment we could get unfortunately), but i’m really worried and would appreciate any input you could give! We don’t think it’s a tic, as it doesn’t seems to look like it’s completely attached to the nipple. The first photo is from the day we noticed it, and the last two are from today. It’s developed some black specs around it since we first noticed. She’s eating and drinking as normal and is her normal self, and really isn’t bothered by us touching it. Thanks so much for any help that you can give

 

[CaseysMom]

Hi, zoeelse.
I don’t want to scare you, but my cat that had mammary adenocarcinoma had a bump that started out like that. I thought it might be a tick at first too. Of course, that is worse-case scenario, and it may be other things. If I learned anything through what I went through with my cat, it’s that there’s a lot I don’t know about cats! So I share not to scare you but to try to help in any way I can.

What ever it is, work closely with your vet. Is your baby girl spayed? (I ask because the kind of cancer I mentioned is very tied to hormones). Do you have a good trusting relationship with your vet? Even if so, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion.

What I learned from my mistakes? Don’t let the vet blindly start cutting things off. If they think it needs to be removed, insist on a biopsy and a firm diagnosis so you can proceed from there. It looks very small, so there’s a chance of good treatment whatever it is. Good on you for taking her in early to get checked! You are obviously a great cat mom!

I will send you and your baby thoughts and prayers that it is not what my cat had. Like I said, I am no expert or vet. I hope someone else will chime in here and say, “No, it’s probably xyz”. Please keep us posted though.

 

[zoeelse]

Hi, zoeelse.
I don’t want to scare you, but my cat that had mammary adenocarcinoma had a bump that started out like that. I thought it might be a tick at first too. Of course, that is worse-case scenario, and it may be other things. If I learned anything through what I went through with my cat, it’s that there’s a lot I don’t know about cats! So I share not to scare you but to try to help in any way I can.

What ever it is, work closely with your vet. Is your baby girl spayed? (I ask because the kind of cancer I mentioned is very tied to hormones). Do you have a good trusting relationship with your vet? Even if so, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion.

What I learned from my mistakes? Don’t let the vet blindly start cutting things off. If they think it needs to be removed, insist on a biopsy and a firm diagnosis so you can proceed from there. It looks very small, so there’s a chance of good treatment whatever it is. Good on you for taking her in early to get checked! You are obviously a great cat mom!

I will send you and your baby thoughts and prayers that it is not what my cat had. Like I said, I am no expert or vet. I hope someone else will chime in here and say, “No, it’s probably xyz”. Please keep us posted though.

Hey!
Thank you so very much for your reply, I really appreciate it.

I’ve been looking into mammary conditions the past week, and I’m really hoping that it’s something much less serious than that. It would break my heart seeing her having go through that, and i’m so sorry that you had to go through it as well with your cat.

I’ll be sure to, I’m glad i made an appointment when I did as there seems to be quite a waiting list for our vets. She is spayed, has been since she was very young (she’s 12 right now).

Thank you again for your kind words, they mean a lot! I’ll be sure to keep you updated

 

[CaseysMom]

Hi, zoeelse!

Thank you for YOUR kind words! That is what is so awesome about this site! Everyone here is so supportive, and there is a lot of collective knowledge to go around too!

I am continuing to pray and believe your cat has something very different than what mine did. I debated if I should even share my experience since it is a worst-case scenario, and I agonized over it after I went to bed hoping I did not upset you.

I think right now, following through with your vet appointment ,keeping a positive mindset, and taking it one step at at time is the way to go! You are so right about having to wait so long for an appointment! It seems like that is how it is everywhere right now! So, to make sure you make the most of your appointment time, you may want to take some notes to keep yourself organized and help you remember what you want to ask the vet and what your vet says in response. I know I was so emotional and scatterbrained when I went in, it was hard for me to remember half the questions I had at home! It's almost impossible not to get emotional over anything that concerns our fur babies, so any little tools you can use to keep yourself on track and as rational as possible are good!

I'll be thinking about you and your sweet girl tomorrow and hoping for a good report!

 

[zoeelse]

Hi!
You truly have the kindest soul! I really appreciated your reply, one of the worst parts of waiting for her appointment was worrying over all the possibilities of what it could be, and having some names made me feel a little bit prepared if the worst were to come; and i’m so very sorry for what you and your little cat had to go through, i can’t imagine how absolutely heartbreaking and painful it must’ve been for you both. I hope the universe has been treating you kindly, and that you are finding peace. You have all my love and prayers! You have helped me so much with your messages, I can’t thank you enough for that. It meant a lot to speak to someone about it

I’ve just come back from her appointment, and honestly it was a stressful experience, she’s quite an anxious cat to begin with so she was struggling a lot in the cat carrier. I tried to make it as comfortable as possible for her by putting things that smelt like home in, but she was getting herself very worked up. Seeing her so distressed made me upset, which, in turn, i can only imagine made it worse for her Once we got into the examination room, however, it was definitely an easier process thankfully!! The vet was absolutely lovely, she looked at the bump and told us it was most likely hematoma, which is basically where the capillaries under the skin burst by traumas but the skin doesn’t, so the blood just pools underneath, although she agreed with us that the placement of it was a bit worrying. But the thing is she does really really over groom that area of her abdomen, so we think she’s just overdone it a bit and bitten it when grooming or something and caused this pooling of blood under the skin. Anyways, the vet managed to get a bit of the blood from it out (she was very wriggly, making it harder for the vet to get it all out), and we were given an antiseptic wash called Hibiscrub to bathe twice a day for 5 days, which i’ll start later this evening when she’s feeling a little less stressed from this whole ordeal. She’s eaten though, after we got back, laid in the sun is currently having a little sleep, so I think she’s already feeling a bit better which is good! Hematomas usually resolve themselves, but i’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on it and taking her back if there isn’t any signs of improvement over the next week or so.

Thank you so much again for all your help, me and Daphne (realised i had never told you her name!!) send you all our love, hugs and thanks! I’m really grateful to you, and I wish you the absolute best in everything you do! Much love from us both, you’re truly a wonderfully kind person! This is her having a little nap after her appointment!

 

[CaseysMom]

Daphne! What a wonderful name!! And what a joyous report!
That is such good news!! Is a hematoma like what we call a "blood blister"? I actually started to wonder if that was something cats could get because it does look like that! I am so to hear that is what it is!

It sounds like you have a wonderful vet, and that means everything in the world, doesn't it? The fact that she examined her so thoroughly and did a procedure she needed (removing some of the blood) without saying she'd have to be sedated first...that shows me she is a vet that is comfortable with cats. Which I learned the hard way is not every vet! So, you and Daphne are blessed to have that kind of care! And I know what you mean about travel being stressful. My Casey never liked riding in the car or going to the vet at all. But she'd always forgive me pretty quickly afterwards. LOL.

Please keep me updated on Daphne, and feel free to reach out to me for anything else as well! Hugs!

 

[CaseysMom]

Oh, and I would be remiss not to comment on what a beautiful girl she is! I love tuxedos!

 

[zoeelse]

Daphne! What a wonderful name!! And what a joyous report!
That is such good news!! Is a hematoma like what we call a "blood blister"? I actually started to wonder if that was something cats could get because it does look like that! I am so to hear that is what it is!

It sounds like you have a wonderful vet, and that means everything in the world, doesn't it? The fact that she examined her so thoroughly and did a procedure she needed (removing some of the blood) without saying she'd have to be sedated first...that shows me she is a vet that is comfortable with cats. Which I learned the hard way is not every vet! So, you and Daphne are blessed to have that kind of care! And I know what you mean about travel being stressful. My Casey never liked riding in the car or going to the vet at all. But she'd always forgive me pretty quickly afterwards. LOL.

Please keep me updated on Daphne, and feel free to reach out to me for anything else as well! Hugs!

I’m so pleased! We were very lucky with getting such a wonderful vet, she even said herself that she had a cat very similar in appearance to Daphne which made me feel a little more secure. I believe it is very similar to a blood blister, as it sounds exactly the same to me as what the vet described. I’m not too sure why they just don’t call it a blood blister, there might be some small difference between the two but sounds exactly the same to me

I actually had a quick look again at it before and it’s SO much better thankfully (i’ll include a photo), so i’m very relieved and happy.

We have another black and white boy, Rocky, who is a tuxedo! he looks very charming- but looks are deceiving as he’s a little terror! I love him to bits however

 

[CaseysMom]

Oh, that looks sooooo much better!! I am so glad!

What beautiful babies you have! I know you are proud of them! Are they siblings? Is that Rocky being a terror in the second picture? How fun!