Big ol' lump

One of my cats has a large lump under her arm. I suspect it's either an abcess or a sting (we have fire ants in Texas). She's eating fine, although the bump is painful when touched - if I pick her up, she yells. This little kitty is very, very bad...she hates vets; I would prefer to avoid a visit. Does anybody know what I need to watch and at what point I must take her in? I just noticed it this morning so I haven't even been able to get a good look at it (and, considering her temperment, I may not be able to). Honestly, she's so bad, she would probably have to be gassed down for anybody to look.

 

Can you see the lump to see if it's red like swelling that could be infected? Does it feel hot to the touch like an infection? Once you get more information on color and feel maybe you could speak to the vet over the phone about it.

 

Hi Heather

Well you know what I'm going to say ... A big painful lump requires prompt investigation for diagnostics, +/- antibiotics, and definitely pain meds. Can you call the vet in the morning and get him or her to prescribe a tablet of xanax or something, to give before going? And then they will be able to use injectable medication once she gets there. If she's painful, it's only fair to sedate her anyway since the lump needs to be aspirated; so regardless of personality, she needs sedation and pain control. You can imagine how I feel about gassing cats (!) so I would speak to your vet about other options.

I am not in fire-ant country but am worried that fire ants would be unlikely to sting a furry area, and that a normal sting reaction in a cat would be a big round swelling. Ok I just looked it up, and can't find any references to this reaction -- these guys seem to not favor cats anyway. I'm a little worried that it could be a lymph node, too.

Keep us posted!

 

I took Macy to the vet after work...unfortunately, it was not my cat clinic, but one closer so I could make it before closing time. She had a temperature and squealed at the lightest touch on the lump. My options were to gas her or to fast her and bring her back in the morning for other sedation, so we gassed her. The lump was in a lymph-node, although they also found a healed puncture wound. They took some fluid and said it didn't look cancerous. The worst part - they gave her Meticam. I never even thought to ask what they were going to give her. They gave her bup as well; they were going to send me home with some, but didn't have any (thankfully, my good cat vetty bean sent me home with a vial a while back, so I have some available). They also sent me home with clavimox.

When I told the vet that I wished he had asked me about the Meticam, he looked as if I had slapped his face. Then, he went off about how he's never seen a cat react to Meticam and has never seen real research that it causes problems in "healthy" cats and how the Internet is full of rumors.

Jess - what type of injectible "dope" can you give a cat to calm them down? My two young ones are pure monsters at the vet. Thank God Boo is such a good girl.

I considered fire ants due to my own reaction to them. One little bite will swell up to about 2 inches on me (which is about how big her lump was). However, I suspect it was a cat bite.

Thank you guys.

 

Glad you took her in, Heather.

I'm sure not Jess and I don't know if you can get it from your vet if it has to be given IV but I tell you the last time I took Moochie to the ER they gave her a shot of Acepromazine and she was one happy kitty - that is high praise for a tranquilizer in my books :mrgreen:

 

Did they send to out to the lab?

It is a good anti-inflammatory and can help a fever which is probably why they chose it. To be fair, there is no research showing Metacam causes problems in healthy cats. I have seen some of the terribly long debates on VIN about it and there are vets who have used it in (literally) hundreds of cats for years and not seen anything amiss. There are others who have had a bad experience and think it should never be used. Personally, I think it does have its place BUT should be dispensed only after a discussion and only given to healthy cats with recent bloodwork. In your cat's case, because they were using an injection and needed to act while she was sedated, they probably didn't have time BUT they could have considered it beforehand and discussed it before they ever sedated her.

Do you mean at the vet or at home? At the vet they basically use a few types of injectable drugs: opioids (morphine-like drugs which sedate and are analgesic), benzodiazepines (valium-family of tranquilizers), plus ketamine and Dexdomitor, two drugs which cause a more profound sedation and also dull pain. Acepromazine, mentioned by Susie, is a tranquilizer which causes sedation without any pain control. There is a combo called "kitty magic" which consists of low-dose ketamine, Dexdomitor, and butorphanol (opioid) which works well. Dexdomitor and ketamine are basically for the very, very naughty; the mildly naughty can often be handled with a combination of opioid and benzodiazepine. Depending on the health issues, some can be contraindicated in some cats.

Acepromazine comes in tablet form and can be given at home.

 

Thank you everyone!

The fluid was not sent to a lab - the vet just looked at it under a microscope and liked what he saw. The lump is still there, although it must not be as painful since my little one will let me snuggle her again (she does love her mama-bean, although she only allows me to snuggle her in my closet...anywhere else in the house is off-limits). What should I be watching and at what point might I need to take her in?

I'm not quite sure if she qualifies as "very naughty" or "mildly naughty", but I love both descriptions! :mrgreen: I've got all the suggestions recorded in Boo's spreadsheet.