Lump Or Mass Underneath Skin

Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Hi everyone! Sorry if there is already a thread about this issue, I found many but the descriptions show something quite different from my problem...
My baby is 6 years old and is, in general, very healthy.
About one month ago, I found what feels like a lump or a mass underneath her skin, right below her left scapule. As she is a litlle overweight , I thought it could be just a fatty structure and didn't bother much. However, two days ago, I noticed the same lump/mass in the same place and I panicked! I took her to the vet yesterday and the vet said it doesn't seem to be anything serious. She suggested a biopsy and I asked her about needle aspiration instead. She said that needle aspiration is not as reliable. Then I decided to watch it closely and if it grows, I will go for a biopsy
Point is, there is no visible lump above the skin, the thing is under the surface of the skin but when I pet her I can feel the whole area is kind of raised. I'm not sure if it's bigger than it was one month ago but sometimes I think it is. There is no wound either. The skin is perfect.
She had no vaccines on this site either. More than one year ago, she got fluid therapy but that's all.
Please, does anybody know what it may be??
I'm really scared! I lost a cat to fibrosarchoma years ago and it was the worst experience of my life!

Sorry for the long text...
 

silkenpaw

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Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry about your fibrosarcoma kitty. We keep them in our hearts even years later.

About your current cat (what’s her name?), I would just schedule her to have the lump removed and sent for pathology. That way you’ll know what is and whether you need to worry about it.

Please let us know what you decide.
 

EmersonandEvie

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Is the lump solid or does it move? My mom's cat gets benign cysts that don't hurt her, but you can definitely feel them. If she is acting otherwise normal (eating, playing, litterbox normal, etc.) just keep an eye on the lump and wait for the aspiration results. Please keep us updated!
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry about your fibrosarcoma kitty. We keep them in our hearts even years later.

About your current cat (what’s her name?), I would just schedule her to have the lump removed and sent for pathology. That way you’ll know what is and whether you need to worry about it.

Please let us know what you decide.
Thank you for your reply! Her name is Shiva. I am thinking of asking the vet for a needle aspiration because if it is cancer and we have it removed it will grow back... if we choose the aspiration we will have a chance to decide if surgery is worth it.
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Is the lump solid or does it move? My mom's cat gets benign cysts that don't hurt her, but you can definitely feel them. If she is acting otherwise normal (eating, playing, litterbox normal, etc.) just keep an eye on the lump and wait for the aspiration results. Please keep us updated!
Thanks for your reply!
The lump seems to move along with the skin but I can't be 100 per cent sure.
She is otherwise very healthy.
Three years ago, she was diagnosed stage zero for kidney insufficiency. In order to delay the progress of the disease, her vet (who is pretty holistic thank God), has been keeping her under homeopaty for the kidney, special diet and a protocol of exame to check if everything is fine: every 4 months, she goes through complete blood work, urinalysis (including the protein/creatinine ratio), and abdominal ultrassound.
She did all these exams last week and everything was perfect!
We didn't do the aspiration yet but I hope I can do it soon.
 

neely

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Her name is Shiva. I am thinking of asking the vet for a needle aspiration because if it is cancer and we have it removed it will grow back... if we choose the aspiration we will have a chance to decide if surgery is worth it.
If it helps I think you are making a wise choice by doing the needle aspiration for both Shiva's health and your own peace of mind. Depending on the results you can make further decisions but hopefully everything will come back negative. :crossfingers:
Please keep us posted on her progress. :alright:
 

di and bob

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A soft moveable lump is usually benogn. My cat got several of them as he got older. Usually just a fatty cyst. A hard, immovable lump may indicate cancer. If it is hard and gets bigger, definitely bring her in.
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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If it helps I think you are making a wise choice by doing the needle aspiration for both Shiva's health and your own peace of mind. Depending on the results you can make further decisions but hopefully everything will come back negative. :crossfingers:
Please keep us posted on her progress. :alright:
Yes, I hope with all my heart that there is nothing serious but I am really afraid... Thanks a lot for your support!
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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A soft moveable lump is usually benogn. My cat got several of them as he got older. Usually just a fatty cyst. A hard, immovable lump may indicate cancer. If it is hard and gets bigger, definitely bring her in.

Actually it's weird ... doesn't feel like a lump but rather like a mass or a bump although it's definitely under the skin and one can't see any bumps on the surface...
And the lication is intriguing. Right below her left shoulder blade, near the spinal cord... As I said before, no vaccines in this area but she got fluid therapy a few times one or two years ago when she got gastritis...
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Updating... I took her to the vet and the two professionals (owners of the clinic and specialized in cats - actually that is a cat only clinic) examined her. Both told me it feels more like a fatty lump, nothing to worry about. They just told me to keep a close eye on it, of course, so if there are any significant changes they will check it out.
 

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A soft moveable lump is usually benign. My cat got several of them as he got older. Usually just a fatty cyst.
Updating... I took her to the vet and the two professionals (owners of the clinic and specialized in cats - actually that is a cat only clinic) examined her. Both told me it feels more like a fatty lump, nothing to worry about. They just told me to keep a close eye on it, of course, so if there are any significant changes they will check it out.
Some cats and dogs just get lumps under their skin when they get older.

They are often nothing to worry about unless they grow, get infected or ooze fluid or anything like that.

My parents' dog is 12 years old and he's got a couple-three of them on his belly. My family dog when I was a kid, growing up, got them, too. Both dogs had lumps for years and it hasn't hurt them or even slowed them up in the least.

Although I have seen them in older cats, I haven't had any cats, myself that have gotten them. I don't know... maybe I've been lucky... maybe cats don't get them as frequently as dogs.

As long as the lumps don't grow or anything like that, they shouldn't be anything to worry about. :)
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Some cats and dogs just get lumps under their skin when they get older.

They are often nothing to worry about unless they grow, get infected or ooze fluid or anything like that.

My parents' dog is 12 years old and he's got a couple-three of them on his belly. My family dog when I was a kid, growing up, got them, too. Both dogs had lumps for years and it hasn't hurt them or even slowed them up in the least.

Although I have seen them in older cats, I haven't had any cats, myself that have gotten them. I don't know... maybe I've been lucky... maybe cats don't get them as frequently as dogs.

As long as the lumps don't grow or anything like that, they shouldn't be anything to worry about. :)[/QUOTE


Yes, indeed. According to the vets, benign tumors and cysts also grow so even if it grows, doesn't mean it's malignant. As for dogs, as far as I know they use to have lumps as often as cats but in dogs most lumps are benign whereas in cats most lumps tend to be malignant... :(
 

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Zoe has something very similar. The vet had felt it and didn't know what to tell me what it is. She didn't seem too worried about it, I think she also got some sebacious fluid out of it? She said it would be very hard to remove to test it, because where hers is, on her neck on her jugular vein. She basically said just to keep an eye on it. And that was back in April of 2018, when she was about a year and a half old. She just turned 3, and it's still there, so I think its nothing to worry about, I hope?
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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Zoe has something very similar. The vet had felt it and didn't know what to tell me what it is. She didn't seem too worried about it, I think she also got some sebacious fluid out of it? She said it would be very hard to remove to test it, because where hers is, on her neck on her jugular vein. She basically said just to keep an eye on it. And that was back in April of 2018, when she was about a year and a half old. She just turned 3, and it's still there, so I think its nothing to worry about, I hope?

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I think those cases seem to be nothing to worry about but we have to keep an eye just to be safe! :)
 

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If you are uncomfortable about it maybe consider having it removed, if your cat is healthy enough to have surgery. Our now 12 year old tuxie had something similar to this last year. She is overweight. It would not move, it was under the skin and it was slow growing. The doctor tried to aspirate it but nothing would come out so he recommended removal. She did have it removed and it was a basal cell, but they got it all. The surgery recovery was not pleasant, mostly because her sister cat hissed the entire time until the stitches were removed, but we are glad we did it. You cannot really know for sure until it's removed.
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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If you are uncomfortable about it maybe consider having it removed, if your cat is healthy enough to have surgery. Our now 12 year old tuxie had something similar to this last year. She is overweight. It would not move, it was under the skin and it was slow growing. The doctor tried to aspirate it but nothing would come out so he recommended removal. She did have it removed and it was a basal cell, but they got it all. The surgery recovery was not pleasant, mostly because her sister cat hissed the entire time until the stitches were removed, but we are glad we did it. You cannot really know for sure until it's removed.

Thanks for your reply. I understand your point. The problem about removing is that, if it is malignant, it has to be removed with really wide margins. Point is, the doctor may think she is getting enough wide margins and she isn't. It is not possible, on naked eye, to know where the tumor ends... so if this happens , and if it is malignant, the cancer will grow back. More invasive and more aggressive than the previous. Much more. I lost a cat to fibrosarcoma years ago and I assure you it's the worst experience you may go through. If you don't remove a malignant tumor, your cat will live for about three or four years more. If you remove it and there is one single cancer cell left behind, your cat's Life will be shorten by one third. Experience has showed me that 99 per cent of cats with cancer don't survive. So, submitting her to a stressful situation just to make her suffer for nothing? It's a really painful thing to decide and whatever I choose, I will feel guilty if things go wrong...
 

Lisannez

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Thanks for your reply. I understand your point. The problem about removing is that, if it is malignant, it has to be removed with really wide margins. Point is, the doctor may think she is getting enough wide margins and she isn't. It is not possible, on naked eye, to know where the tumor ends... so if this happens , and if it is malignant, the cancer will grow back. More invasive and more aggressive than the previous. Much more. I lost a cat to fibrosarcoma years ago and I assure you it's the worst experience you may go through. If you don't remove a malignant tumor, your cat will live for about three or four years more. If you remove it and there is one single cancer cell left behind, your cat's Life will be shorten by one third. Experience has showed me that 99 per cent of cats with cancer don't survive. So, submitting her to a stressful situation just to make her suffer for nothing? It's a really painful thing to decide and whatever I choose, I will feel guilty if things go wrong...
I am so sorry about your prior cat, that you lost to cancer that must have been horrible to go through, my condolensces on your loss. I understand what you are saying, it is for sure a hard decision to make. I am not a vet by any means, could you maybe get a second or third opinion on removal? It seems like what you are saying is that when it comes to malignant tumors, the vet is never able to get the entire tumor out? So 100% of the time or 99.9%? Is that what happened with your prior cat? And they cannot biopsy it at all? I guess the answer is no one can give you an answer, it’s a choice you need to make by looking at all of the facts, speaking with doctors and other experts and doing your own research, and whatever choice you make, it will be right for your cat, have confidence in that. Do not feel guilty about your choice. You are clearly well educated on the matter, and love your cat. Sometimes our choices are not the best ones, but as they say hindsight is 20/20, you cannot beat yourself up for that. Just like humans, some elect not to do chemo as the success rate is low in their case and live happy lives with the time they have left, while others endure the treatment in the hopes it will be successful. Neither are wrong choices, they are just different. Your cat is young (our cats are both almost 13), so her life span would likely be longer than three years from now. If you don’t remove it and she passes in three years, are you okay with that? Or will you second guess your choice and wish she had the surgery? I think if you are okay with it, then I would not have the surgery. I honestly am not sure what I would do if I were you. I think that maybe you are more cautious about the surgery because of what happened to your last cat, and that is totally understandable I would be the same way. But try to look at it from a totally objective standpoint. If possible maybe ask a friend what he or she would do? Often they can give objective opinions that can help us decide. My objective opinion is that I would probably opt for the surgery. But I could certainly see that not opting for it is a great choice too. Good luck.
 
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Ursula Helida Carvalho

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I am so sorry about your prior cat, that you lost to cancer that must have been horrible to go through, my condolensces on your loss. I understand what you are saying, it is for sure a hard decision to make. I am not a vet by any means, could you maybe get a second or third opinion on removal? It seems like what you are saying is that when it comes to malignant tumors, the vet is never able to get the entire tumor out? So 100% of the time or 99.9%? Is that what happened with your prior cat? And they cannot biopsy it at all? I guess the answer is no one can give you an answer, it’s a choice you need to make by looking at all of the facts, speaking with doctors and other experts and doing your own research, and whatever choice you make, it will be right for your cat, have confidence in that. Do not feel guilty about your choice. You are clearly well educated on the matter, and love your cat. Sometimes our choices are not the best ones, but as they say hindsight is 20/20, you cannot beat yourself up for that. Just like humans, some elect not to do chemo as the success rate is low in their case and live happy lives with the time they have left, while others endure the treatment in the hopes it will be successful. Neither are wrong choices, they are just different. Your cat is young (our cats are both almost 13), so her life span would likely be longer than three years from now. If you don’t remove it and she passes in three years, are you okay with that? Or will you second guess your choice and wish she had the surgery? I think if you are okay with it, then I would not have the surgery. I honestly am not sure what I would do if I were you. I think that maybe you are more cautious about the surgery because of what happened to your last cat, and that is totally understandable I would be the same way. But try to look at it from a totally objective standpoint. If possible maybe ask a friend what he or she would do? Often they can give objective opinions that can help us decide. My objective opinion is that I would probably opt for the surgery. But I could certainly see that not opting for it is a great choice too. Good luck.


Sorry for taking so long to reply; I got out of internet and in Brazil, this means a looong time without it... Thank you so much for your words of support. Yes, that's it. I have to take my chances and pray that they are the right ones... But I've been keeping both eyes on it and nearly every month I take her to the vet so the vet can follow closely. I really hope this is something benign.
 

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Hi there. Can I ask what was the outcome? My cat is experiencing the same thing right now. Thanks.
 
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