Sudden Large Lump On 4 Month Old Kitten

lilmisfortune

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to thecatsite and looking for some advice.

One of my rescue kittens, Marcy, 4m/o, has developed a worrying lump located in the area behind her jaw, below her ear. It's about the length and width of the tip of my index finger above the last joint (roughly 1.5cm by 2.3cm) which seems really large in proportion to her head. The lump is defined and firm but doesn't seem to cause her pain when I touch/inspect it. I noticed it for the first time today, and I check her over regularly so this seems to have appeared almost overnight, which is what worried me. She's well eating and playful, though a little sleepier than usual. She hasn't had other health problems other than some GI issues when she was younger. My other little girl doesn't have any lumps anywhere and seems entirely normal. If relevant, her 3rd kitten vaccination was at the start of July, and she didn't have a reaction to it. She was desexed at about 8 weeks.

Has anyone else come across something like this? Was it something harmless or should I take her to the vet ASAP? Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your help!
 

abyeb

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Can you take her to the vet? Since it appeared suddenly, I think a possibility is that it is a wound that turned into an abscess.
 

LTS3

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I would take the cat to the vet to have the lump checked out. It may be nothing or a benign lump or something more serious.
 
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lilmisfortune

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies. I took her in to the vet as soon as I could, and I also noticed a second lump, on her chest, just before the appointment. They first tested her for FIV, which was negative, and then took samples from the lumps, which I should hear back about by tomorrow. The vet thinks it's possibly very swollen lymph nodes, as silkenpaw suggested, and we've already started her on some broad spectrum antibiotics in case she has a bacterial infection, and to prevent any secondary infection that would weaken her more. Overall she's pooping, peeing, eating and drinking normally, still. Here's to hoping we can get her healthy in no time. Thank you for the validation, I wasn't sure if I was overreacting about the lumps and I'm definitely glad I took her in!
 
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lilmisfortune

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Hi, it's been a little while since I posted, however I thought I'd just update to say the cytology came back as not cancerous and not pus, just lymph fluid, which is a relief. We were instructed to continue antibiotics and we have, about a week and a half after that the lymph nodes are no longer swollen, so she's in the clear. Very happy kitty mum
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