Small bump on shoulder, how concerned?

ameliashuman

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My calico has a small pea sized bump on her shoulder. I haven't been able to get a good visual on it due to her fur and dislike of my attempts to brush her against the grain. I'm feeling anxious about, all the worse case scenarios are running though my head. But I also just lost my Neil (orange cat) in October and am still feeling pretty raw so I don't know if that's contributing to my anxiety.

Is this something worth taking her to the vet? Besides the lump she has no other symptoms (overweight but we've been working that for a while). She's been more hissy/grouchy with our other cat but I assumed that was related to Neil passing away.
Am I crazy and overly anxious or is this a legit thing to check out?
 

neely

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How old is she? It may be nothing abnormal but f she's a senior kitty it would be wise to have a blood panel done regardless of the bump since you mentioned her being overweight too.
Here's an Article on skin conditions in cats that may be helpful regarding the bump: Skin Conditions In Cats – Cat Articles
And another on health concerns in aging cats, if she's older: Health Concerns In Aging Cats – Cat Articles

If you're unsure and have any questions give your vet a call to make her aware of your concerns. :alright:
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Can you determine if the bump is hard and not easily moved around or soft and moveable? Is it smooth or rough feeling? Is the area red or is there any sort of seepage, as if in some sort of injury? Does she go outside - could it be a tick? It could any number of other things as well, from a cyst, wart, to benign or cancerous tumor. Has it grown in size any? That is not a likely place for a vaccination/booster I don't think, but has she recently received either - or, perhaps an injection of some sort recently?
 
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ameliashuman

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It's smooth, the bump itself is not super soft/pliable but it can move around, almost exactly like there is a pea right under her skin. We do take her outside so tick could be a possibility hadn't thought of that :/

No drainage or redness that I can see though it's hard to get a good visual due to her fur. She doesn't seemed to be bothered by it. My husband thinks it's the same size as a few weeks ago, but I thought it may be bigger (though not by much). But the fact that it's been there for a few week makes me nervous. I went ahead and made an appointment on Mon. Hopefully I'm just an anxious owner, I don't think I could emotionally handle if she was sick, I still haven't entirely recovered from losing my other cat in October
 

Greta_Loki

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Hi there. Can you provide an update on this? I'm now going through the exact same thing with my cat Loki. It is just as you described - a pea sized lump under the skin but on his back. Thanks
 
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ameliashuman

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Yes, we took her in to get it measured to watch if it grows and to do a small aspiration to test for worrisome cells. The cells were not cancerous and we were to watch the area to make sure it didn't show any changes or get irritated. About four months ago it did start to grow but it turned out it was "coming" out of her skin. We took her to the vet and whatever the vet did it just popped out. It hasn't come back. The vet and everyone on this site were all right in guessing it was nothing, but taking the extra step to test some of the cells made me feel less anxious for her health.

Good luck with your kitty
 

dustydiamond1

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Hi there. Can you provide an update on this? I'm now going through the exact same thing with my cat Loki. It is just as you described - a pea sized lump under the skin but on his back. Thanks
Good luck, keep us updated. Did you check out the web sites neely mentioned earlier or did you check with your vet?
 
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