Weird kind of pimple, infection maybe ?

[poenanie]

Hi,

I registered on this forum to ask a question about something I discovered "in" my cat today :/
I was rubbing her belly when all of a sudden I felt something that felt like a nipple but it was in a place where there shouldn't be a nipple.
When I looked at it it looked like some kind of small dried out nipple, I thought it was some kind of pimple and gently tried to touch it with a piece of kitchenpaper.
Something weird happened ... it's like some kind of longshaped thing came out of it. It doesn't look like anything I know or have ever seen and it seems to be quite big.

On the picture I've put the "thing" next to 1 European cent ( I'm from Belgium and figured you americans would still be awake ) to show the size ( 1 Eurocent is 16.25mm wide ). The dark colored piece is the piece that was visible from the outside. The white is the rest that actually came from inside of my cat ...



I really hope someone can tell me what this is because google isn't helping me and I'm kinda freaking out by the sight of it !

[bluemilk]

Poenanie,I think something laid an egg in her. Does she go out at night? A friend of mine noticed something similar on her cat,and ended up squeezing out a larvae. A LONG larvae. Whatever this is,I think you got it. I'd still take her to the vet,of course. Can you spare the penny?

[poenanie]

She does go out at night sometimes, but she never really goes fat away, she stays in our garden. The thing isn't alive btw, never moved or anything. And in other news ... I actually found a 2nd one of these things and got it out aswell very easily. My cat doesn't seem to have any pain when I get it out.

[poenanie]

Further evaluation, I rechecked the spot where I got one of these things out to make sure everything was out, and now this is getting really scary ! There was even more of this white stuff in it ( it's not puss, it's not fluid or anything, just like white cheese ). I pushed it out and the scary thing is that eventually there became something the size of a big nipple out of her, it looks like it's skin turned inside-out. So I think there was some kind of "container" that had grown inside of her skin and has now popped out inside-out ...

Wtf should I do ?

[Heidi n Q]

Take your kitty to the vet right away.

When I read your first post and saw the photo, I wasn't alarmed at all. I figured it may have looked like a 'zit'. An area of skin cells that sort of clumped together into a lump/bump and was then observed by you and pushed out of the skin.
My husband is a welder, and I have once helped him remove something similar from under his skin. He said it was 'bothering' him and it was a bump. Some light pressing and what looked like a kernel of rice came out! We were both surprised. However, in pressing it with a small piece of scrap metal-wire, we found in the center, was a small piece of "slag"...which would be a piece of melted metal from his welding. At some point, this found its way under his clothing and into his skin...and any good welder will not flinch, move or dance around (or do as little wiggling as possible!) until his weld is complete. By the time he finished his weld, I'm sure the piece of slag had already gotten burned into his skin. Then over time, it formed the 'kernel' around it and eventually worked its' way to the surface of the skin.
However, when I read your second post, describing more 'cheese' and small 'containers'...I'm sorry, this *really* sounds like something I'd want my vet to see, in case this is a parasite infestation. I would want to know if it was an infestation. If so, what was it? Is the infestation over? How can we fix this now? and finally, How can we prevent this in the future? If this is something *other* than a parasite infestation, I think I'd *still* want to know what it is and make sure it isn't harmful for my cat, even though the cat doesn't appear to be in any pain...its' body is doing this as a reaction to *something*...and I'd want to know what it is.
Great photo, by the way! I mean...its' gross...but you did a great job showing what it is.
Best of luck,
Heidi

[shoy]

Can you please let me know what your vet said this was? I just found 2 of these exact same things on my cat this morning. They didn't seem to bother her and didn't hurt when they came out. I was freaking out and on the phone with my Mom telling her that it seemed like some of Cuddles' nipples got hard and died and just fell off when I touched them. I know I sounded crazy and thought I was losing my mind, and then I found this posting. The pieces look just like your photo. The dark side was visible and the white slightly longer part came out of her skin. I haven't tried to push anything else out from those locations like you did since my cat is getting upset. I think she can tell I am getting upset and worried. What is this??

[Nell]

I'm thinking it could be some sort of parasitic larvae, as well, although it looks much too small and not gross enough to be a bot fly. I haven't heard of any other insects that lay their eggs on animals as a bot fly does.
But I'm also thinking that it is still possible that it was some sort of infected pore or small wound, which formed its own sort of "plug" (the hard bit that came off) and there was still some puss underneath. Puss is not always runny, but can have the texture and consistency of a soft cheese.
I don't think its something I would consider an emergency, but I do think scheduling a trip to the vet for their next available appointment would be a good idea. Have you found any more of these on your cats? Keep whatever you find in a little baggie and bring it to the vet with you, as it will help the vet determine what it is. Have you tried cutting one of the little hard things open to see if there is anything inside?

[smhill]

We found the EXACT same thing on my cat two nights ago. We moved to a new area this week and do not have a vet yet. I was freaking out when we found this. When my BF found it he said "hey, look at Guinness's nipple!" Then we realized it wasn't a nipple. It had the same white root and white "cheesy" substance coming out of the root. The hard part actually reminded me of a wax plug removed from an impacted ear drum. We did break it open (it took quite a bit of pressure and actually "crushed" rather than broke open) and nothing was inside. It seemed to be the same waxy brown substance throughout. PLEASE - did anyone every figure out what this was? Our cat NEVER goes outside. We have 3 other cats and none have any of these things. Thanks!

[smhill]

BTW - it's been two days and the "hole" that this came out of is still there. It has no discharge, white, bloody, or otherwise, and does not seem to bother him when I apply pressure. There may be a slight swelling underneath, but that may be from me touching it. No definite lump. It actually looks like a VERY tiny belly button - only in the wrong place. He has no other "tags."

[hoofmaiden]

Sounds like it MIGHT be a cuterebra (bot fly) larva. Maybe dead and dried out?

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/ ... links1.htm

http://userpages.bright.net/~bryanvet/Cuterebra.htm

I would have the vet examine the remaining lesion. . .