Needle Aspiration Test - Nothing Came Out In The Syringe?

Adelei

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Hi all! This has been a bad few weeks for my cats... I'm located in China where the vets are not very knowledgeable at all.

My youngest kitten, Shade, is 6 months and just finished his last round of vaccinations 2 weeks ago. I think they gave him all the normal ones, even though he actually had Feline Distemper as a young kitten and so has lifetime immunity. He has a few issues left over from that, falls more than most cats, but generally is in good condition.

So on Monday I found a large lump on the back of his neck, to the right of his spine, not directly on it. It's probably 2 cm wide I think. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, like I can gently hold it between my fingers and feel around and he's not bothered by it. I'm not sure how long he's actually had it because he doesn't like to be petted as much as most cats, possibly because if he's standing up it makes him fall over. I know they can have lumps at the injection site so I waited a few days to see if it would shrink, but it didn't. He hasn't shown any other symptoms.

I took him to the vet today and the guy pinched it quite a bit, felt it, etc. Then he got a needle and stuck it in, but nothing came out. He moved the needle around a bunch, tried different depths, different angles, etc. but nothing at all came out, not even blood. (He was moving the syringe in and out trying to suck something in, so if there was anything microscopic in there, he was just depositing it right back in). Anyway, his final verdict was that as long as it doesn't get bigger, don't worry about it. If it does get bigger, they can remove it. He didn't say what it was - well, he did, but the translator app just said "mass", but I find that their translator apps are really incorrect a good portion of the time. I specifically asked if it was cancer and he said no.

Is it normal for nothing at all to come out in the needle (or at least nothing visible)?

One of my main concerns right now is that I'm leaving for America on Sunday for a month long trip - my first in over a year. I had someone lined up who would have taken great care of my cats, but then my other cat got ringworm a couple of weeks ago. I really think Shade brought it from the "shelter" I got him from, but the vet looked at him (and nothing more) and said he doesn't have it. So the person that was supposed to look after the cats backed out and now I have another person who will just do the basics of food, water, litter boxes, etc. I'll have to tackle the ringworm when I get back. And on top of that, it's Chinese New Years, so all the stinking vets are closing for 2+ weeks in the middle of February!! I'm part of a pet rescue group and we have a very sick cat that's been at a vet for almost a month and now that vet (a different vet) is telling us we've got to take him home because they're closing for most of Feb! I find that to be absolutely ridiculous... So even if I were to cancel my trip, the vets would be closed and I couldn't do anything until about the time I'm scheduled to return anyway.

Back to my question - is it normal for nothing at all to come out when using a syringe?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Well, I'm not ignoring you, but I don't have an answer :paperbag:. Somehow I think it's possible that a needle biopsy could result in nothing coming out, but I just don't know for certain. I can tell you that my cat developed a lump in the area where I thought he was injected with his rabies shot, and I kept a close eye on it and it did go away after a few weeks. Is the area where you are feeling this lump the actual area where he was vaccinated? Normally they give them their injections in the legs, but not sure in China where they give them, as they used to give them between the shoulders.
 

Geoffrey

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I am a human doctor, not a vet and am not trained in feline pathology. However techniques of aspiration with a needle are similar in felines and humans. No, it is not common to aspirate a fluid filled lump and have a dry tap, however it happens due to a faulty technique.

Another possibility with Shade includes trying to obtain fluid from a solid lump - and this is the most likely explanation. A second veterinary opinion is indicated but expectant treatment and reviewing the lump on your return appears to be your only option under your specific circumstances.
With best wishes,
Geoffrey
 

jen

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My guess is that it is another kind of lump like a fatty lump and not fluid. I have seen many needle aspirates where nothing comes out. The needle is hollow so going in and out gets "stuff" from the lump inside it and then they shoot it onto a slide and see if there is anything there. If nothing at all came out I wouldn't worry too much just tell the person watching your cat to feel it and keep checking it to see if it changes or if they notice your cat bothering it at all.
 

jen

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On a side note, unless things are different there, the Distemper vaccine they get as a kitten is a series of multiple shots they start around 8 weeks of age and continue until 16 weeks. It is not lifetime immunity, it is usually a 1 or 3 year vaccine.

EDIT: Ohhh he actually HAD feline distemper? Wow and he survived that? That is amazing. I misunderstood your post at first.
 
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Adelei

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Well, I'm not ignoring you, but I don't have an answer :paperbag:. Somehow I think it's possible that a needle biopsy could result in nothing coming out, but I just don't know for certain. I can tell you that my cat developed a lump in the area where I thought he was injected with his rabies shot, and I kept a close eye on it and it did go away after a few weeks. Is the area where you are feeling this lump the actual area where he was vaccinated? Normally they give them their injections in the legs, but not sure in China where they give them, as they used to give them between the shoulders.
They gave the vaccine between the shoulders. They're behind in almost every possible way when it comes to pet culture - food options, litter options, toy options, medical, etc. I guess because the lump is at the injection site (or close to it at least) I was/am worried about injection site cancer.
 
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Adelei

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My guess is that it is another kind of lump like a fatty lump and not fluid. I have seen many needle aspirates where nothing comes out. The needle is hollow so going in and out gets "stuff" from the lump inside it and then they shoot it onto a slide and see if there is anything there. If nothing at all came out I wouldn't worry too much just tell the person watching your cat to feel it and keep checking it to see if it changes or if they notice your cat bothering it at all.
They didn't shoot anything onto a slide. When they didn't see anything in the syringe they just set the needle aside and told me it wasn't a problem if it didn't get bigger. I wondered if there could be microscopic things in there they could have put onto a slide but oh well.
 
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