Lump on cat-possibly caused by boosters???

loulou123

Yesterday on stroking my cat, i felt a lump under her skin, about the size of a large marble. It is on her back roughly between her shoulder blade and spine-nearer to the spine.

I immediately paniced as lost my much loved dog to cancer a couple of years ago, so 1st thing this morning i called the vets.

They told me that it is possible it is a slight reaction to her boosters (which she had last monday-8 days ago.) or maybe a bite or sting, as she had a health check at the same time as her boosters. And basically to give it a couple of days to see if it goes down.

I have checked under the fur, and there is no redness, irritation etc of the skin, and the lump is not directly under the skin, but a few cms down (kind of under the fatty layer.)

Has anyone else had a pet suffer a similar reaction to boosters/stings etc, as i am worried after what happened to my dog that history is repeating itself, but at the same time want to follow the vets advise and avoid an unnecessary vet trip if it goes down, as she is a very timid cat and gets very stressed by the vets.

lowis

i have the same reaction to lumps as you do. personally i would book an appointment for 2 days time, and if the lump hasn't gone down, get him down there. even if the lump has gone down a little, i would still get him down there. if it was something 'nasty' the i think 2 days won't make a huge difference...but maybe call your vet and ask the this question. beter safe than sorry.

fingers crossed it is something innocent x

Bendybops19

I would have expected any reaction to the boosters would have gone after 8 days.

I'd take her along to the vets, just to be on the safe side.

x

KVet

Reaction to a booster can just comemup after 7 days easily. Give it a couple of weeks and if its not gone away go back. You can rarely get things like Feline Vaccine Associated Sarcomas but they are RARE. More common in catst aht get FELV vaccinations

paddypaws101

I have been looking around the net for information about vet vaccinations recently, and found the information below on a holistic site. ( google search 'vaccination for cats, helpful or harmful? )
I have sat here in two minds about whether to reply to your post as I really don't want to stir things or upset you with what is after all only an opinion found online. I hope this does not kick start a bitter debate, but I hope you do take your cat back to the vet asap for further checks.
Once again, I really hope this does not upset you.
Cats suffer greatly from vaccination damage. The most obvious vaccine-
induced problem is one that is deathly serious, causing great suffering among cats and cat companions. Fibrosarcomas, a type of cancer, occur more and more as a result of vaccination. The vaccines that are implicated are the rabies and feline leukemia virus vaccines. These cancers arise at the site of injection of one of the vaccines. Researchers have identified vaccine particles within the cancer mass in a number of cases; the link is definite. Many veterinarians now refer to these cancers as vaccine sarcomas.

Fibrosarcomas are malignant, and the average life expectancy is less than three years once the cancer has arisen. No treatment has proven satisfactory. Even with aggressive surgical removal, these cancers recur in the vast majority of cats. Some leading veterinarians recommend giving the vaccines in a leg, or even in the tail (ow!), to make amputation a viable option in case the cancers arise. Does this make sense?

loulou123

Thank you everyone, according to the vets it is very possible that a reaction to a booster can last for quite a while after the jab itself. My only question with this, is that this is her 4th set of boosters with us and she has never had a reaction before, so why would she this time?

Caught her chasing a huge bee, this morning so wondering if this is a possibility, but then would have thought she would have shown signs of discomfort and when the sting happened she would have been grooming the area etc - hmmmm.

Paddypaws101 - thank you for the information, i had already seen this information on the net - scary stuff. One thing that iterests me with this research, is the time scale of my cats case. She only had the boosters 9 days ago, so it seems unlikely that a tumour would have grown to this size in that time, after being caused by the boosters.

Im checking the lump several times a day and there has been no change, its still the same size and no redness etc. The cat seems 100% fine in herself and even touching the lump doesnt get any reaction from her. Think i will call the vets again either later today or tomorrow morning and see what they say.

lowis

i think i read somewhere that vaccination-site carcinomas were more of a problem in the States as they use a different manufacturer's drug, or something like that i.e. it is not so common in the UK. i am sure any of the vets or vet nurses who post here will have more info about this.

it is completely natural to worry. my cat has a couple of lumps on his leg and when i first found them i thought the worst, but when the vet felt them and palpitated them he confirmed that they were just fatty cysts.

conversely, i found a lump on my other boys face about the size of pea at the start of September, it turned out to be cancer. the lump just seems to have appeared overnight - and my boy seemed completely normal. so...it is always best to check.

i'll keep my fingers crossed that this is one of those innocent lumps x

suki1964

And this is why the net can be so dangerous.

As Kvet says, a reaction at the injection site is perfectly viable after this length of time - Ive noticed them come up on my dog now and then after hes had shots.

The thing is you are still not convinced and are worrying yourself sick (reading articles on the net isnt helping your fears either although totally understandable as to why you are doing it) so my advice - take yourself and the cat down to the vets, get him checked and give yourself peace of mind today

YorkiePud_3

Fibrosarcomas aren't as rare as people think .... I have a friend who lost cats through vaccine-related fibrosarcomas and while the poster who mentioned them was in no way trying to start any debate or unduly worry the OP, it IS important to mention them.

The internet is full of information on a vast array of subjects and it is useful to know what CAN happen and be aware of it. In that way, it is not dangerous but a handy tool to alert you to what can occur.

Just to throw another option into the hat ... (sorry OP!!) ... have you had your cat identichipped?

Reason I ask is that my cat is rather lean between her shoulders and I can actually feel her identichip there ... over time it gets covered with a pad of fat so I wonder if it might be an identichip you can feel? Snowy's feels the size of a marble ....

I'd definitely take her to the vet though and let them check her out just to be sure though ... it could be a number of things but hopefully is just a reaction to the jab or even, as I said, the chip *S*

loulou123

Thanks again for all the thoughts : )

YorkiePud - the I.D chip is a very good point and one i hadnt even considered. We had this done, last year when she had her boosters, and although no one could ever call my cat lean (shes a bit tubby!) it is in the right place for this, and it makes sense that fat and maybe a little scar tissue would form around it after time, so fingers crossed this could be the cause.

Have called the vets this afternoon, and am waiting for them to call me back, as to whether i should bring her in or not.

pigeonpie

Hi, can only speak from my own cat's experience. He had a lump appear about a week after his rabies vaccine and the vets were very worried about fibrosarcoma (it is only the rabies and leukaemia vaccines that contain the adjuvant which causes this cancer sometimes, in very unlucky cats - I spoke to a cancer specialist who's not heard of it being caused by the other routine vaccines).

We waited one month and the lump started to get a little smaller but my cat still had to have a lumpectomy. If fibrosarcoma had still been suspected, the op is much larger as a large amount of surrounding tissue has to be taken as the cancer is so aggressive, it grows back.
My cat had ultrasound to have a look at the lump. However the vets seemed content to wait a month to note any changes, as the lump didn't grow during that month. If your cat's lump changes at all, I would really get to the vet fast, if your cat has had either the rabies or leuk vaccine on that spot.

Does the lump feel fibrous (fibres linking it to the body) or can you roll it between your fingers like a fatty lump? Cats get lots of those fatty lumps and they are harmless.
I'd say when in doubt get the vet to check it and then watch it yourself, checking it for size and shape every few days. I was told not every day as then you can get too anxious and make mistakes. The cancer vet also told me that once a cat gets a lump after a vaccine, they are likely to get lumps from subsequent vaccines, so to revaccinate only if required by law (travel: rabies) or if the risk of not having the vaccine outweighs the risk of having it (outdoor cat: exposure to lethal leukaemia). And then to find a vet who will vaccinate in the leg. Not too easy, but I did get my cat's next rabies booster done in his leg (poor cat but the jab lasts 3 years).

I hope it's nothing and will go down all by itself and that your cat is just fine.