Soft-ish lump found on 6 mo. old kitten's shoulder

lauren gore

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Hello,

I took my ~6 month old kitten to the vet today to have a lump I found on her right shoulder checked out. The vet seemed to think that it was unlikely that the lump was related to her vaccinations due to the amount of time that has passed since she received them. She did a needle biopsy and found white blood cells as well as some abnormal cells, so she is sending the biopsy to the lab for further testing. She said that it's possible that it is just some sort of abcess, but that it could also be a tumor. 

Has anyone else been through something similar? What was the outcome? I am worried sick. We won't have results back until next week, and all of the worst things are going through my mind. She seems fine--she's got an appetite, she is using her litter box, and she is playful and affectionate as always. She is undergoing treatment for an upper respiratory infection, has been on antibiotics for a week, and is getting better (affirmed by vet).

Please please please either tell me something to ease my mind, if you can, or prepare me for the worst. I'm so scared.  This cat is my baby.  

Thank you,

Lauren
 
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dianeandbooboo

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Vaccines have been known to cause many illness days, weeks, months and years after receiving them.  Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be cancer but in the event that it does, I would ask your vet if she/he doesn't believe it is vaccine related what else would cause cancer in a 6 month old cat?

Please understand I don't mean to sound harsh and I know how hard it is to wait and see what is going on with your kitty but I am beyond frustrated with the veterinary profession and the damage caused by vaccines.

Is this the only kitty you have?  Could it be a play bite from another kitty?
 
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lauren gore

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Yes, this is my only kitty. I did, however, get her from the humane shelter about two weeks ago. The vet said it was entirely possible that she could have picked it up there. I was researching vaccine-related sarcomas and most resources seemed to agree that the occurrence of that sort of thing was very low, especially for younger cats. I mean, I know that doesn't rule out the possibility, of course, or perhaps I misread or misunderstood. 
 

emilymaywilcha

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Vaccine-related sarcomas (actually called fibrosarcomas) are most likely after rabies and FLV shots. For that reason, vets are supposed to use the left leg for FLV and right leg for rabies so they will know which shot caused skin cancer. If your vet did this a lump on the shoulder should not be related to vaccines. However, that does not mean it can't be skin cancer because there are other causes of sarcomas. Maybe someone knows what they are.

Another poster recently said a cat had a reaction to a shot, but the lump was not cancerous. So don't assume just because your cat had a shot there it is skin cancer.
 

Willowy

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Fibrosarcoma isn't really a "skin cancer" like most people think of (basal cell carcinoma, etc.). It's a cancer of the connective tissues in the deepest layer of the skin.

A lot of vets don't follow the "left leg-leukemia, right leg-rabies" guidelines. So it's very possible she did get a rabies or FeLV shot in the shoulder area. In my experience, a lump can show up a month after a shot. . .not sure if they happen after that or not. Usually the first time it happens the kitty won't get cancer and the lump will just go away. But it does show a propensity toward vaccine-site problems. I would be very hesitant to vaccinate her again.
 
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