Skin Bump

[karp30534]

About a week ago, my 6.5 year old cat was in for her annual vaccinations and dental cleaning. Prior to the cleaning the pre-anesthetic blood work was done, to which everything was fine. The post-dental antibiotics resulted in some soft stool /butt scooting that we're currently working through (that was yesterday's call to the vet).

Last night when I was petting her, I felt a small lump on her right side below her right front leg. I have (another) call into the vet now but as I'm waiting to hear back, I thought I'd reach out here to see if anyone has any input or experience with skin lumps. It is under the skin and no cut/scrape as far as I can tell. If it were higher and more toward the shoulder, I'd lean toward thinking it was from one of the shots but it seems an odd place for a shot to be. Any thoughts? (I should also state she is a nightmare to get into the carrier otherwise we'd be at the vet right now instead of me seeking self help for us here). Thanks in advance.

 

[Tobermory]

Hi, karp30534. I'm sorry I don't have any words of wisdom regarding the lump. I do have some experience with cats who absolutely do NOT want to go into carriers, though. I'm sure you've tried everything, but just in case, here's how I manage it with Lily who seems suddenly to add about 25 pounds and several additional legs when I try to get her into her carrier. Part 1: I get the carrier out the day before so we can get the "I hear the carrier and I'm going to hide under the bed" part of the experience out of the way. I open the carrier door so the noise of that doesn't cause her to shoot off into parts unknown the next day either. Part 2: If the spouse is at home, I have him quietly pick up the carrier and wait around the corner while I pick up Lily and tell her she's going to get a treat. (She's overweight. Treats are a rarity for her and highly motivating! ) Spouse sneaks up behind me and holds the carrier in mid-air while I keep my back to him. With one hand between her front legs and the other under her bum with her tail tucked under, I turn around suddenly and pop her into the carrier before she sees what's happening. Alternative Part 2: If spouse is not at home, I put the carrier up on the counter in the kitchen so the back of it is against the backsplash and the door is facing out (so it won't move when I insert Cat A into Opening B). I pick up Lily in the other room, tell her she's going to get a treat and walk into the kitchen, making sure she can't see the carrier. Then it's the same: I whip around and pop her in. It really seems to help to have the carrier up off the floor. Good luck with the carrier and with her lump!

 

[karp30534]

Thanks for the advice! We've pretty much tried everything but nothing really works. We leave the carrier out all year long in the family room (where we hang out the most) with a bed in there and frequently put treats in for her. She will sometimes go sniff around it but rarely goes into it. If she does go in for the treats, it's usually when we're not around. Every now and again, if we're watching her look at the carrier, she'll turn around and give a hearty hiss just to remind us she hates it. Unfortunately for us, the vet has to give us a sedative for her prior to the annual trek to the office. It helps to calm her down but it's still almost impossible to get her into the carrier. The only thing that has really worked for us besides the sedative (which I really don't like giving her) has been to carefully scoop her up in a pillow case (actually a big beach towel that we sewed together to look like a pillowcase) and carefully place her into the carrier. She gets so, so stressed out having to go the vet. Even the Feliway doesn't help her. It really only makes her hiss and become aggressive. She's not one to like to be handled very much as it is, but she's not a bad cat either. She loves to play and snuggle when she feels like it. It's just these vet visits are awful for her and she hates them. For a good week or so after the visit she walks around giving us the side eye wondering when it's okay to trust us again. Makes me feel so terrible.

 

[duncansmommy]

I've taken to putting the cat in a pillow case in the bathroom (so they can't escape) then putting the pillowcase into the carrier. The other thing that seems to work is doing the "purrito" wrap in a towel and then putting cat in carrier. I don't bring the carrier into the house because the sight and sound of it strikes fear into their hearts. You can google on "purrito" to see how to do that.

 

[karp30534]

Thanks! I've never heard of the purrito, but after Googling it, I think my pillow case is my safest bet!

 

[Tobermory]

Thanks for the advice! We've pretty much tried everything but nothing really works. We leave the carrier out all year long in the family room (where we hang out the most) with a bed in there and frequently put treats in for her. She will sometimes go sniff around it but rarely goes into it. If she does go in for the treats, it's usually when we're not around. Every now and again, if we're watching her look at the carrier, she'll turn around and give a hearty hiss just to remind us she hates it. Unfortunately for us, the vet has to give us a sedative for her prior to the annual trek to the office. It helps to calm her down but it's still almost impossible to get her into the carrier. The only thing that has really worked for us besides the sedative (which I really don't like giving her) has been to carefully scoop her up in a pillow case (actually a big beach towel that we sewed together to look like a pillowcase) and carefully place her into the carrier. She gets so, so stressed out having to go the vet. Even the Feliway doesn't help her. It really only makes her hiss and become aggressive. She's not one to like to be handled very much as it is, but she's not a bad cat either. She loves to play and snuggle when she feels like it. It's just these vet visits are awful for her and she hates them. For a good week or so after the visit she walks around giving us the side eye wondering when it's okay to trust us again. Makes me feel so terrible.

Poor little girl...and poor you! I sometimes wonder whose stress level is higher when we go the vet, mine or the kitties’. I just feel so bad for them. Iris freezes in the exam room. Lily is what one vet termed “fractious.” I’ve discovered that if I take Lily’s brush and gently brush her jawline while she’s being handled by the tech or the vet, we can get through the visit without bloodshed and minimal growling. Even for food-motivated Lily, treats won’t work. I’m probably going to have to employ some of your techniques when I try to take Mocha. She’s the three-year-old semi feral kitty I adopted in October. I can pet her but I can’t pick her up. She was notorious at the rescue place for not being able to be examined.

I hope everything is okay with your kitty.

 

[karp30534]

Poor little girl...and poor you! I sometimes wonder whose stress level is higher when we go the vet, mine or the kitties’. I just feel so bad for them. Iris freezes in the exam room. Lily is what one vet termed “fractious.” I’ve discovered that if I take Lily’s brush and gently brush her jawline while she’s being handled by the tech or the vet, we can get through the visit without bloodshed and minimal growling. Even for food-motivated Lily, treats won’t work. I’m probably going to have to employ some of your techniques when I try to take Mocha. She’s the three-year-old semi feral kitty I adopted in October. I can pet her but I can’t pick her up. She was notorious at the rescue place for not being able to be examined.

I hope everything is okay with your kitty.

Thanks! We have an appointment on Friday so we'll see how it goes then. The vet confirmed the blood work was all fine but still wants to take a look at the bump. I'll be stopping by there in the next day or two for another sedative. And you're absolutely correct. Hands down it's worse for me than her!

 

[karp30534]

Okay. So. I thought I'd close the loop on this:

While this may be common knowledge for some, I'd never heard of it until now.

After a very, very long last few days, a lot of emotions, worry, and very little sleep, we went through the stress of loading Chloe into the carrier and making the trip back this morning. Thankfully, it turns out, the 'lump' ended up being her microchip. Again, the 'lump' is on her side nearly under her right front arm.

Our vet explained that while the standard practice is to implant the chip between the shoulder blades, there was a time 6-7 years ago where some techs were either not properly trained or not paying attention and went "down the assembly line" implanting on the side versus shoulder blades. The location of Chloe's was the first he said he'd seen in past few years. Additionally, I've heard from others it's possible the chip just migrated over the years although our vet clearly indicated this was not Chloe's case.

I am so incredibly relieved that it is what it is, but also thought I'd share this with the rest of you considering our vet cautioned us that if Chloe were to ever be lost, many people wouldn't think to scan for the chip behind the arm versus where it should be. Again, I've heard from others today many shelters and vets now do full body scans.

Moral of the story: Know where your microchip is just to be on the safe side.

Have a great weekend!

 

[Tobermory]

Thanks for letting us know! I’m glad that’s all it is...and glad to know it’s a possibility.