I've tried to do research & talk to my vet but things with corvid19 are making it hard. A little back story: My cat Sammy was born in my bath tub. He's never been without me for long. He does have separation anxiety and since I work from home... yeah. he's used to me being with him 24/7. Or if I'm not, my mom is. He's a momma's boy for sure and words cannot express how deeply I love this cat. He was born from a stray we found and took in and he's just been my best friend since day 1 (seriously his momma didn't wanna momma, so I had to do a LOT for him.)
I recently discovered what I thought was a lump (I posted about this when I asked about adams apples in cats, if anyone was on that thread -- i created this one because I didn't want to confuse anyone) when I feel it, it isn't rock hard, but it isn't soft and squishy either. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like a muscle. I can feel around it, like around the top and sides. My initial thought, because of the 'small thumb' like shape it seems to have is that maybe it's a swollen lymph node. Of course,the paranoid side of me is worried that it's cancer.
I lost a cat and dog both in February. Because of this, I'm having a really hard time trusting my gut and instincts lately.
About Sammy:
- Eating just fine.
- Eating as many treats as he's allowed to have.
- Peeing/using the litter box normally.
- Nose is off and on dry/warm & cold/wet
- Gums look pink and healthy
- Sleeping normally. He does not appear to be lethargic and sleeps quite comfortably.
- Semi active, which is normal for him. He was running around the house the other night with Jasper and then a bit this morning when Mia decided to try and make him play with her.
- His gums are white.
- He is grooming himself.
- Has no problem jumping to the very top of the cat tree to sleep.
- Does not appear to be in any pain, will let me touch the lump until he's annoyed that i'm bothering him.
- No personality changes.
- His coat is in good condition
Things to note:
- He was having hairball/hacking issues that seem to be flea related as they have since stopped after having treated him with flea medication & hairball gel.
- We noticed him scratching again and since it's been a month since his dose, I'm wondering if the fleas could possibly cause an allergic reaction in him that cause the lymph nodes to swell?
- The lump appears to be moveable & and is not visible.
- I believe I felt this a few weeks ago but I honestly thought I might have been imagining it, it could have very well been back before he was given his first dose of flea medication and then I don't think I noticed it again until now, and he has been itching a bit (which is why we gave him that new dose today)
- This past month we started giving him salmon oil in his food
He is absolutely not in distress (unless you count him being utterly annoyed that I'm hovering over him.)
My situation though:
- His carrier broke, so we need to order him a new one.
- The vets aren't letting us in, which means if I bring him to the vet now i'm potentially going to be giving him an anxiety attack.
Your thoughts: Is this emergent? Should I rush him to the vet or should I try and wait to see if the lump gets bigger/if he shows symptoms? Thank you all in advance for any answers you give... It has not been a good year for me in terms of constant worrying
This is a picture of him taken only a few moments ago:
I recently discovered what I thought was a lump (I posted about this when I asked about adams apples in cats, if anyone was on that thread -- i created this one because I didn't want to confuse anyone) when I feel it, it isn't rock hard, but it isn't soft and squishy either. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like a muscle. I can feel around it, like around the top and sides. My initial thought, because of the 'small thumb' like shape it seems to have is that maybe it's a swollen lymph node. Of course,the paranoid side of me is worried that it's cancer.
I lost a cat and dog both in February. Because of this, I'm having a really hard time trusting my gut and instincts lately.
About Sammy:
- Eating just fine.
- Eating as many treats as he's allowed to have.
- Peeing/using the litter box normally.
- Nose is off and on dry/warm & cold/wet
- Gums look pink and healthy
- Sleeping normally. He does not appear to be lethargic and sleeps quite comfortably.
- Semi active, which is normal for him. He was running around the house the other night with Jasper and then a bit this morning when Mia decided to try and make him play with her.
- His gums are white.
- He is grooming himself.
- Has no problem jumping to the very top of the cat tree to sleep.
- Does not appear to be in any pain, will let me touch the lump until he's annoyed that i'm bothering him.
- No personality changes.
- His coat is in good condition
Things to note:
- He was having hairball/hacking issues that seem to be flea related as they have since stopped after having treated him with flea medication & hairball gel.
- We noticed him scratching again and since it's been a month since his dose, I'm wondering if the fleas could possibly cause an allergic reaction in him that cause the lymph nodes to swell?
- The lump appears to be moveable & and is not visible.
- I believe I felt this a few weeks ago but I honestly thought I might have been imagining it, it could have very well been back before he was given his first dose of flea medication and then I don't think I noticed it again until now, and he has been itching a bit (which is why we gave him that new dose today)
- This past month we started giving him salmon oil in his food
He is absolutely not in distress (unless you count him being utterly annoyed that I'm hovering over him.)
My situation though:
- His carrier broke, so we need to order him a new one.
- The vets aren't letting us in, which means if I bring him to the vet now i'm potentially going to be giving him an anxiety attack.
Your thoughts: Is this emergent? Should I rush him to the vet or should I try and wait to see if the lump gets bigger/if he shows symptoms? Thank you all in advance for any answers you give... It has not been a good year for me in terms of constant worrying
This is a picture of him taken only a few moments ago:
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