A few days ago, Kath and I noticed that Treat, the large cat who lives down in my office,was bleeding on stuff. We discovered he had some kind of lump on his posterior that he’d presumably been licking so much that he had ripped open the top.
So Saturday morning it was off to the vet. Dr. Adams said that it was definitely a growth and he could not determine the nature of it unless he lopped it off and sent it out for biopsy. So that’s what he did yesterday. He removed it and it’s been sent out for testing, and he’s currently back in my office, looking tired and relieved to be bereft of the growth. I’ll let you guys know what the test results are.
PAD
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As a former cat owner, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Treat and your family, Peter.
Oh, and Happy Hanukkah!
Hope all goes well. We just got our fifth cat, a rescue sphinx. As with all “free” cats we have ever gotten, he has already cost a small fortune; treatment for a cow parasite that requires medicine so toxic to humans I have to wear gloves when trying to force it down his gullet and a tail injury that ultimately required amputation, leaving him with little more than a half smoked cigar sized nubbin.
Despite all that he is a loving boy and I hope we get him parasite free so he can meet the rest of the family. Sphinx’s are the best.
I already posted something on Kath’s blog about this, but my best wishes to Treat and his humans. We’ve had our share of feline health scares — some turned out well, some didn’t — so we’ve got our fingers crossed here.
And just to be amusing (I hope), I’ll note that your “he’s” in the last sentence switch abruptly. I was envisioning the vet back in your office looking tired for a moment there…
The vet looked at the cat, and I didn’t. But, my cat of old once had a similarly described condition, which was not a growth at all.
It’s called a “blow-out,” and it’s caused when the cat gets clawed in the hip by another cat. Cat claws are highly septic, so the clawing naturally leads to subcutaneous infection. A pustule separates the outer layer of dermis from the inner layers, forming a cavity. The cat licks the area until the top blows out and the cavity drains (hence the name).
Treatment involves both an antibiotic injection and application of an antibiotic cream subcu within the wound (similar to you self-treating a hemorrhoid with, e.g., Pazo ointment). The cat will not like this, but you have to get the wound to heal from the edges in. Takes a couple of weeks.