hi, my 10 y/o cat Lola suddenly developed a swelling on the right side of her neck/jaw. I didn't even noticed this. She is otherwise very healthy, got a clean bill of health from her vet this February. She is strictly indoor and alpha cat. On Wednesday 11/15/23 i noticed that she did not greet me at the door, which is unusual, she always meets me at the door. She also did not come out to ask me for food, also unusual, she loves eating. So i went to check on her, she was lying in her large bed, looking sleepy, so i encouraged her to come out and eat but she didnt want to be bothered. I let her rest and decided to get her into the vet next day. I brought her in on Thursday 11/16/2023, the vet ran labs, took images, we were thinking it might be a GI bug or something. During the exam, the tech noted swelling right side of neck which prompted imaging. The vet said it was soft tissue with no bony involvement. Labs didn't show white count. She was given shot of convenia and we went home to continue monitoring. She ate when she got home and then went to bed. Friday, swelling was now more noticeable. Saturday a little more worse, she didn't eat much. I decided to take her to the ER because who known what will happen on Sunday. The vet in the ER ran labs, Lola was febrile with fever of 105, she had leukopenia with suspected bands and low platelet count, picture looked infectious. The vet decided to sedate her then shave her to take further look in her mouth. She also took images and was concerned that opacity of soft tissue was same as rest of her body, she was thinking tumor more than infection. She said her teeth didn't look bad enough to be causing this infection and she could not find an area to lance. Also she was concerned about grayish looking tissue in the back of the mouth on right side further concerning for tumor. She told me to follow up with primary vet for biopsy to see what this is. She sent us home on buprenorphine for pain and clindamycin. A day later, the swelling seems about the same if not worse, she is not able to fully close her mouth, she is now drooling. She is in so much pain that she is unable to eat. She wants to eat but unable to bring her head down. Ive done everything to accommodate her, but she starts growling at me and moves away. i dont want to stress her too much.
I have so many questions. I did have a discussion with ER vet, she says this could be a really bad infection but possibly a tumor. I asked her if tumors pop out of nowhere and grow this fast? she said they do what they want to do. I've looked online, didn't find much. This think popped out of nowhere, overnight, and grew, and is sore and painful. Nothing about this sounds like a tumor. I feel like we are losing time. I took tomorrow off from work so i can get her in to see a vet ASAP. i will post pictures so you can see evolution of this swelling. I am just looking for information, see what you guys think? i am feeling so confused, sad, heart broken. Does anyone have any experience with this?
I have so many questions. I did have a discussion with ER vet, she says this could be a really bad infection but possibly a tumor. I asked her if tumors pop out of nowhere and grow this fast? she said they do what they want to do. I've looked online, didn't find much. This think popped out of nowhere, overnight, and grew, and is sore and painful. Nothing about this sounds like a tumor. I feel like we are losing time. I took tomorrow off from work so i can get her in to see a vet ASAP. i will post pictures so you can see evolution of this swelling. I am just looking for information, see what you guys think? i am feeling so confused, sad, heart broken. Does anyone have any experience with this?
