[Fronzizzle]

Hello,

My wife and I are long time cat owners, we just ran into something rather unusual and I wanted to see if anyone else has heard of this.

About 3 months ago, my wife and I noticed a lump on our cat's stomach - her name is Kiwi, she is a 12 year old mixed-breed long hair cat. The bump was about the size of a mosquito bite, it was near her nipple but not right by it. It wasn't causing her any pain or anything so we sort of forgot about it.

On Friday, as we were playing with her we noticed that the bump had gotten bigger, it was now probably about the size of a marble. It wasn't on the surface but just beneath her skin. Other than this lump, we have not seen any other changes in health or any behavioral changes.

We took her to the vet yesterday, they drained the lump and found that it was full of milk. I've had Kiwi since she was 6 weeks old and had her spayed when she was about 5-6 months old, and since then she has never showed any signs of being in heat or anything like that.

The vet told us it was extremely rare for this to happen to a spayed cat, especially so long after she was fixed. She said that it could potentially be breast cancer, but that too was extremely rare in a cat that had been spayed. She consulted other vets in the office and none of them had ever seen this.

We had her blood drawn (I'll get the results of that today), and the vet said she will try and talk to a specialist. She also suggested doing a full biopsy. If that's what we need to do then so be it, but I'd hate to subject Kiwi to that if it's not really necessary.

I'm wondering if the blood work comes back as normal, is it safe to just monitor it and not do the biopsy, or should we have it done regardless? Is there anything else to consider? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Kobster]

Do the biopsy. I work as a vet tech and I HAVE seen breast cancer in both spayed female AND male cats. Its aggressive and not something to mess around well. Get the lump biopsied and removed, ASAP.

 

[lovetimesfour]

I too would have the lump removed and the biopsy done. I have heard of breast cancer in cats, actually have a friend who has a cat who is a mammary cancer survivor. She's been through chemo twice (the cancer recurred in another mammary) Keep us posted on your little girl.

 

[avalyn]

Oh dear. I'd strongly suggest a biopsy too. I've encountered kitties with similar lumps, and despite their seemingly usual behaviour, the tests came back indicating cancer. Good thing those lumps were removed early enough and follow-up treatment done sooner.

 

[Arianwen]

I would also have a biopsy but in consolation I would say that I had a spayed Jack Russel who could still react this way and would adopt any young animal.

 

[1Crazycatlady4]

Yes I have had this problem with 1 0f my Kittens before she had come in heat for the first time and had not yet been spayed. My vet did the biopsy while she was being spayed and fortunately it was benign.

 

[Zilla]

I had a female cat not to long ago that was missing a nipple and had a similar lump in its place. I wonder if it was the same thing as this.... I'll be interested to find out what your vet says after a biopsy.

 

[BroSis87]

I would definitely do the biopsy! I know sometimes these things can be expensive and discouraging but if it's something that would potentially save her life then I wouldn't think twice about it!

 

[Fronzizzle]

Thanks for the advice. We had the biopsy done yesterday, we should have the results in 3-4 days. We have another issue now, though.

For pain, the doctor gave us some pre-measured doses of buprenorphine (0.3 mg/ml). We are supposed to give them to her every 12 hours. We got home from the vet at around 5 yesterday and gave her her first dose around 7. Once we gave her the medicine, she was pretty much stoned the rest of the night - glassy, droppy eyes, kind of on edge (wouldn't sit by us, ran from us when we got up) and would just sit and stare. From the time we got home until we went to bed, she never slept.

I got up twice during the night last night and both times, she was awake, just laying on the carpet.

This morning, she appears to be more "normal", she's purring a lot and rolling around, letting us scratch her belly and she ate a normal amount.

My concern is that the medicine is keeping her from sleeping. I certainly don't want her to be in pain, but if I give her the pain meds and she won't sleep...I'm going to call the vet when they open in a couple of hours, just wanted to see if anyone here has experienced anything similar.