Lump on my cat's back..............UPDATE! (Page 3)

[crazymomof4]

If anyone else has had similar experiences, especially if they had a happy ending, please post. I could use something to lift my spirits. My DH, my mom and all of my friends are not home, so I have no one to talk to. Naturally, I thought to come to the DIS.

Yesterday had my 9 yr old "Max" to the vet for a lump on his right hip. The lump is not painful and he is very active and eating as usual. The vet said that the lump doesn't feel as if it has invaded the underlying tissue. So at first I was optimistic. Then the vet ran pre-surgical blood work and tests and I just got the results: no obvious spread to the chest cavity, all bloodwork normal except for a very low WBC (2.1). The vet wants to test him for Feline Leukemia (Max was tested and vaccinated for this in Jan./Feb of 2004 and not due to have a booster until 12/05). He wants to re-check the WBC in 7-10 days to see if it has gone up at all.
So much for feeling optimistic! Now I am really worried. While the Max seems fine, I have lost 5 pounds in 5 days, can't hardly eat and am shaking with fear over the possiblility of loosing my dear, sweet Max. He is the most wonderful cat I've ever had or met. He loves me so, I can see it when he looks at me. Even the techs at the vet's office always comment repeatedly about how sweet he is. Crying as I type this.............

 

[MsSpinShady]

I just wanted to let you know that we had a similar experience with our cat over a year ago, and he's doing great (as fat and lazy as always, so for him that's great!).

I was petting him when I discovered a lump in his neck. It grew rather rapidly, so we took him to the vet. They took the lump out and biopsied it. The results came back benign and they had removed the entire tumor. However, one of his routine blood tests came back low (kidney function). The vet was worried that he could have kidney failure. We encouraged him to drink more water and when he went back for a re-check a few months later, his levels were back within the normal range. Phew!

He's been just fine since, no more growths and he's back to his crotchety old self!

Pixie dust to you and Max, I hope you have the same good outcome!

MsSpinShady

 

[lisajl]

Had a cancerous lump taken off my cat this year. It was on her side.
It came back as a #4, most serious. She is 12 years old and doing great!
I keep a close eye on her, cause it could come back, but she is doing wonderful.

Here's hoping your furbaby does fine, too.

Had your kitty been tested for leukemia before he was given the vaccine?
Oops-just saw he had already been tested. Does he go outside?
Lisa

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks so much for your replies!

Doing research on the 'net, you read mostly worst-case senarios and it can really bring you down. It is refreshing, uplifting and encouraging to hear your positive experiences. I'm trying to be hopeful and this helps.

Yes, he does go outside. But if it turns out that he does have Leukemia, I know that I will not feel guilty for deciding to let him go outdoors. For 1.5 yrs I tried to make my cats indoor cats. My female was fine with it, but the two males were too active to be confined. Of the two males, Max is the one who loves the outdoors the most. He runs like a bullet through the yard. We call him black lightening! He climbs in trees and up to the roof of the shed and porch. He thinks he's a squirrel! Anyway, my point is that he would not have had the same quality of life had he been an indoor only cat. He is so happy outside and he has always stayed within calling distance and is too afraid to go near the street.

I hope that when this is all over, I have a success story to report here too.

crazymom

 

[lisajl]

aw: I hope so too!!!

 

[escape]

Two thoughts here....

My cat, Blackie, had a lump on her back. The vet took a fluid sample from the lump, had it tested, it came back benign and the lump was surgically removed. No problems due to the lump although she later died from kidney disease at age 15.

My Shamu, age 6, also had a lump on his right hip. My vet took a fluid sample from the lump, had it tested, and it came back benign. He (the vet) suggested that the lump was just scar tissue and maybe a little infection from shots he received a few months earlier. The lump was opened up, infection cleaned out and now Shamu is just fine.

Here's hoping you receive good news regarding Max's condition. I get so nervous, too, when it comes to my furbabies.

Let us know what you find out. In the meantime, you have our support here!

 

[crazymomof4]

.

Here's hoping you receive good news regarding Max's condition. I get so nervous, too, when it comes to my furbabies.

Let us know what you find out. In the meantime, you have our support here!

Thanks so much! It means a lot!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Here's hoping everything's ok.

 

[MsSpinShady]

Hi crazymomof4, how's your kitty doing? Hopefully you have some good news to report!

MsSpinShady

 

[alliecats]

Maybe the 2 things are completely unrelated and you will get good news. It could be just a cyst!
I don't know, could an infection cause the weird bloodwork? Even if he does have leukemia, I know people who have had cats live with high quality of life for a good while after diagnosis.
I have my fingers crossed!!!!

 

[QT Pooh]

Hi, just wanted to pass along my well wishes...

My dog had something similar to this on his rear leg. The vet took a biopsy and said that it was something called a massed cell tumor and that it's quite normal on both dogs and cats. Most of the time, they turn out to be nothing, but a type 4 can be very aggressive (entangling with muscle tissue, etc.) so it should be removed. My dog only had a type 2. He's fine, but now he REALLY doesn't want to go to the vet!

Best of luck with Max!!

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks everyone for your kind replies and support!

Tomorrow I take Max to get the blood drawn for his WBC re-check and the Leukemia test. I'm going to ask the vet to just have the wbc's checked first bc. if they are OK, why bother w/ the leukemia test????
I'll be sitting on pins and needles waiting for the results!

alliecats- I am hoping that the two things are unrelated, that the low wbc is due to a simple viral infection and the growth is benign.

In the meantime, Max continues to be the picture of health- running and climbing and teasing my other 2 cats-- we say he is like Peter Pan bc he's 9 yrs old but seems to never grow up! He's eating as usual and grooming....seems fine. I'm glad for that.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[solferino]

Our lab has the lumps all over her that are called lipomas. THey're basically fatty cysts under her skin. She's almost 12 and has had them for years and years with no ill effects. I hope that your kitty has one of those and you can rest easy. It's so hard when our furbabies are sick.

 

[crazymomof4]

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!

Got the results of Max's wbc count re-check today. His count is up from 2.1 to 4.1!!!!!
So Max is in the low-normal range, but it's going up and he still shows no sign of any illness.
The vet didn't do the Feline Leukemia test bc the wbc's had gone up.
He wants to do a third wbc check and if his count is still within normal limits we will proceed w/ the surgery on the lump.

I'm so relieved that it appears Feline Leukemia is no longer a threat.

 

[crazymomof4]

The vet told me that while the tumor was encapsulated, he cannot be sure that it is not Fibrosarcoma. The lab results will not be ready until early next week. I am hoping for the best, but am very afraid that the news will be bad. To think that this may be a vaccine related cancer is making me feel very guilty. If I had not taken him for the shots, he may never have gotten the cancer. My decision to vaccinate my cats put them at risk for this. How can I deal with that?

Sorry for being such a downer. It's 12:45am and I'm very tired from a stressful day. Feeling very low. I love my Max very much.

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

You didn't know you could put Max at risk when you had him vaccinated-you did what you thought was best for him. Cats and dogs need their shots if they go outside (and imo, even if they don't go outside).

My kitty was 11 when he had kidney troubles. I think this is around the time they start to age a bit. It's not your fault at all. As much as you love your cat and it's palpable in your posts, please don't blame yourself!! We can only do so much.

I told my pediatrician that I hated that my kids had to go through shots-it's so hard-and he told me to go to the library and check out books on polio and iron lungs and see what kids who aren't vaccinated have to go through. It was horrible. Same thing really-would you rather have them get their shots and protect them from horrible diseases risking the chance they might have a side effect from the shots? Or have them die from lack of proper vaccination?

You did the right thing. He's much loved. And I know that kitty look-I've had it with 3 of my cats and I think only cat lovers understand it!! Those kitties look at you with pure adoration. It's heaven to be on the end of that feline-love gaze!!! I know it's hard to think about losing your pet, but it's not your fault, please know that. You would never harm him and he knows that too. Hugs to you and a scratch of the ears to Max!

 

[mousey]

Hoping everything turns out fine!!!

 

[lisajl]

I agree with Linnie the pooh. You should see some of the cats that come in that have not been vacc. Especially the ones with FIV or Leukemia.
You did what was best for your cat to keep them healthy.

I just lost my cat Daisy, the Sat. after Thanksgiving. She had a lump removed in March, then I found two more about 5 days before she died.
I took her to work for xrays and bloodwork because she had lost so much weight.

I knew it was cancer, just wanted to confirm it.
All of her bloodwork was normal and my coworkers and the vet just gave me hug.
I decided to take her home because she did not seem to be in pain.
I'm glad I did not have to take her back in there, it is just so hard.

Good luck to you and your kitty. I hope it is nothing, not like with my baby.
Lisa

 

[escape]

It's been almost 2 months since you told us about Max's lump on his back. I would think that if it were cancer, Max would be showing signs of pain and other cancer related symptoms by now. Try not to let it worry you.

By the way, I have 2 cats that had lumps on their backs...in the spots where the vaccinations are given. I'll admit, I was worried as well. One turned out to be scar tissue and another was a benign bump. Just remember this....cancers due to vaccinations are very rare.

Let us know the results when you get them. In the meantime, I'll send some pixie dust and good thoughts your way.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

My cat had a lump on her back for a few months, mom didn't do anything about it and I was at school. Finally in the summer when it started to bother, she hadn't been in pain previously we took her to the vet. The vet thought it was an abcess and said he needed to immediately operate. Got a call a few hours later that it was a benign growth. They tend to happen with cats and can reoccur however he said we didn't have anything to worry about. The only major problem was the flea infestation around the lump which spread to our other 4 cats.