Lipoma (fatty tumor) removal

[carlycat831]

Yesterday my husband found a nickel sized lump on our 8 year old cat's tail. I took him to the vet today and the doctor did a cytology and determined it was a fatty tumor (lipoma). She said lipomas are fairly common in dogs and usually you can leave them alone. But in cats, they are pretty rare and may turn cancerous. She strongly recommended removing the tumor. We scheduled him for surgery next week. 

Of course I did some Googling after I got home, and I am finding mixed information. For the most part, it doesn't seem like lipomas are a big deal, even in cats. It sounds like it's very rare that they turn into cancer, and most vets recommend just keeping an eye on the tumor for changes. 

Now I'm feeling a little reluctance to do the surgery. Cost isn't a factor, as I will pay what I need to pay to keep our animals safe and healthy. But I don't want to put him through surgery if it's not that necessary. She also said there is a small chance she won't be able to close the incision due to the size and location, and he would have to heal by second intention (packing the wound until it closes on its own). I'm torn because there is a chance they would have to amputate his tail if it grew large and/or became cancerous (or even worse, it would be too late and we wouldn't be able to do anything to save him).

So my question is, does anyone here have experience with this? What would you do in this situation?

Thank you in advance for any advice, and of course, positive kitty vibes for Yuki are appreciated

 

[2Cats4everLoved]

The only experience with Lipoma is with myself.

I had a small lump in between my shoulder blades, looking at it, it was the size of the tip on a thumb, but I had limited mobility in my arm, my neck was stiff and I became prone to headaches.  After the x ray, it showed a football size fatty mass that was slowly adhering to my spine.  Even though it wasn't cancerous it was causing damage in other ways and I could have ended up losing mobility permanently.

Now, I know nothing about a cat, but a cats tail could be weighed down by the mass if it gets larger.  

I would take notes from what you've read from the interweb, and call your vets with your concerns, and really talk about possibilities.

I personally would have it removed sooner than later, but that's based on my experience.

Best of luck.  Please keep us posted.