Lump On Lower Back Of 4 Month Old Kitten

[Micaela]

Hi all, hoping you can help. My 4 month old kitten seems to have developed a lump on her lower back, around about where her rib cage ends. If I touch it or squeeze it she doesn’t seem to mind at all. She isn’t bothered by it (ie not licking it or trying to scratch it). Any advice on what this could be?

 

[mikameek]

Hi there! Lots of questions! Could you get a picture of it? How big is it? Is it hard or is it squishy? You mentioned squeezing it, does it move around when you squeeze it?

 

[LTS3]

The best thing to do is to take the cat to the vet. A "lump" can be anything. You'll get a ton of possible (often scary) reasons for lumps online but only the vet will be able to determine what it is. Hopefully the lump your kitten has isn't serious

 

[Micaela]

It moves around with the skin, not attached to anything below the skin. I have attached a photo, you can see it on the right hand side. It’s not ridiculously solid but also not very soft... sort of medium.

 

[Daisy6]

Welcome to TCS. Thank you for posting. What is your cat's name?

I can't see a lump in that picture but the desscription is familiar. One possibility is an abcess that requires no treatment (a previous cat had this) if it does not grow. But you are right to worry because there are also serious causes that do need the vet to treat it. So if the vet says it is just an abcess don't feel guilty for taking her in.

 

[silkenpaw]

Daisy6 I beg to differ. An abscess may not always be terribly urgent but it does require treatment. Maybe you are confusing it with a cyst, which can usually go without being treated. An abscess is infectious and filled with pus. A cyst contains sterile fluid.

Micaela I agree with Daisy6 , take the kitty to a vet and let him figure out what this mass is. And then come back and let us know, please

 

[Daisy6]

Yes, I am mixing it up with a cyst Silk. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[Molly1000]

My 12 year old cat has had a lump on his abdomen for four years now. The vet tried to take a sample of it, but the cat started hyperventilating. She said to monitor that it does not get larger and since it is on the skin, not attached to the body parts of the cat, it is probably just a part of old age. The cat's skin gets loose. My sister's four year old feral cat on the other hand developed a lump on its back close to the tail. It was right after getting a rabies vaccine. It was an injection site sarcoma. $400 dollars later to drain the abscess, which was actually cancer, the cat had to be put down because it was suffering and could no longer move or eat. The cat went from obese to anorexic. The lump showed up within a month of him getting the vaccine (November), the cat was dead in April. It is very rare, but aggressive form of cancer.

Draining the cat's abscess is very expensive, and the vet cannot tell you if it is cancer or not until they open the cat up.

 

[silkenpaw]

Molly1000 's sad story notwithstanding, draining a superficial abscess (like the one you are describing) is not usually expensive. It can generally be done with a needle or a scalpel blade right in front of you. Of course, you can get surprises, we are dealing with living things here, but most of the time it's just a benign cyst or a straightforward abscess.

 

[Daisy6]

Sad story obviously, but rabies vaccines are not given on the lower back like what the OP is describing. They usually are given in the lower right leg.

 

[Molly1000]

They are in Canada. All my cats got them there.

 

[Molly1000]

I cannot imagine them putting it in their feet. The 12 year old would have had a heart attack. He hyperventilates when the vet touches him. She gives them treats to eat and injects them or makes us hold the other cat.

 

[Daisy6]

They are in Canada. All my cats got them there.

That explains it .But the OP said it is near the ribs, not the tail.

It is given in the lower leg (tibia/fibula area), not the right foot. They do it there so the leg can be amputated if a VAS occurs and gets too aggressive, but this is rare.

 

[Molly1000]

Molly1000 's sad story notwithstanding, draining a superficial abscess (like the one you are describing) is not usually expensive. It can generally be done with a needle or a scalpel blade right in front of you. Of course, you can get surprises, we are dealing with living things here, but most of the time it's just a benign cyst or a straightforward abscess.

I think my sister had a bad vet, honestly. When I saw the cat, he had some tube in him that was draining puss from the lump. It was painful to watch how much pain he was in. The vets here in Canada get disciplined for a month for harming a pet, take some classes, pay a fine and are back to work. I mentioned getting the needle in her paw like they do in the U.S., since her brother got cancer, and the vet was totally opposed to it. She works in the city's veterinary hospital and none of the vets have ever done it that way. She said it will not stop the cat from getting cancer from the shot and amputating a limb from a cat to get rid of the cancer is cruel.

 

[Molly1000]

That explains it .But the OP said it is near the ribs, not the tail.

It is given in the lower leg (tibia/fibula area), not the right foot. They do it there so the leg can be amputated if a VAS occurs and gets too aggressive, but this is rare.

That is what I explained to the vet. I did so much research on it because we have his sister and it is probably genetic. I showed that this is how vets have to do it in the U.S. The vet made it sound like we were horrible for thinking our cat would have a better life with three legs.

 

[Daisy6]

Your sister's vet has never been a member of the AVMA or treated American cats. So of course she did not know anything about injecting the rabies virus into a leg. But to say that is cruel seems to be going overboard considering no vet would like to euthanazie any cat that can have a tumor removed.

 

[Molly1000]

Your sister's vet has never been a member of the AVMA or treated American cats. So of course she did not know anything about injecting the rabies virus into a leg. But to say that is cruel seems to be going overboard considering no vet would like to euthanazie any cat that can have a tumor removed.

U.S. vets are so ahead of Canadian vets, it is annoying. I feel like I know more than the vet from just researching online. Our poor kitty has had a herpes breakout around her eyes (she was a feral cat) for three months now and all the vet will give us is antibiotic eye drops "isathal" for strep bacteria. She said there are no anti-viral eye drops or pills in the veterinary hospital here because you cannot get rid of the virus, but I know there are so many in the U.S. to help them with the symptoms of the breakout. I found so many names online and she just argued that they will not get rid of the virus and it would come right back. I know antibiotics are not going to help with the outbreak. I cannot get any anti-viral medications here for cats, it is really frustrating.

 

[Daisy6]

Differences in veterinary care among devloped countries is worth its own thread. I do not want to make the OP feel ignored here.

 

[Molly1000]

Differences in veterinary care among devloped countries is worth its own thread. I do not want to make the OP feel ignored here.

Good point. Sorry OP. I am new to this thread and forum thing.