Enlarged Lymph Nodes, Normal Bloodwork

[ManekiNekko]

So my Ace (8.5 year old altered male) went in today for a dental cleaning, but they are holding off because they found he has multiple enlarged lymph nodes (neck and backs of knees, I think the vet said) and almost a pound of weight loss since he was last seen 9 months ago.

So the vet is testing for FIV and FeLV (though Ace did test negative for those during his first kitten exams and has been vaccinated for FIV on the recommended schedule and for FeLV up until about a year ago). He has no contact with any cats other than his two brothers, who also have no contact with any other cats.

However, the strange thing is that all of his bloodwork is normal - white and red blood cells.

So he's getting the FIV/FeLV tests and they are also going to anesthetize him to do a full (rather than a needle aspirate) biopsy of one of the lymph nodes, which they will have to send out to be tested.

Oh, and Ace does have presumptive (meaning no full thickness biopsy to diagnose) IBD and is on 5 mg of prednisone every other day. So that means lymphoma is definitely a concern here.

So we are fine with the vet's plan of action so far, but I am wondering if anyone here has experience with multiple enlarged lymph nodes, but normal bloodwork. We are obviously very worried about what this could mean for Ace! :|

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't have any experience with this, but am hoping other members on this site who do will soon see your post and offer some first-hand advice/tips.

It sounds like the vet is taking all the proper precautions/testing, so that into itself is a good thing! Wishing you and Ace the best possible results with the tests!

 

[ManekiNekko]

Thanks, FeebysOwner. (And yeah, we really like this vet; he's not overbearing, but thorough and smart)