Small hard 'weeping' lump on cat's back under fur?

Hi guys,

I was grooming my cat (about 12 years old - indoor cat - white fur -
apparent good health) when I noticed what I can only decribe as a
round hard lump on the surface of her skin. It seems to be weeping a
little. I have cleaned it and put Tea Tree Oil on it a few times. It
reminds me of a wart a human might have? I guess I started to panic
and was worrying it was a tumour or something serious. As I say,
otherwise she seems perfectly ok. Any ideas what it might be or any
advice? She lives here with her brother - and sometimes they bite each
other - could it be a bite wound?

I will keep an eye on it and take her to the vet if I have to, but she
absolutely freaks out if she goes to the vet, gets very distressed, so
I am trying to avoid having to.

Thanks for any advice.

HC

Oh, ok - thanks. I will stop the tea tree oil. I did buy it at a pet
store and it says it is specially for cats and dogs - but better to
not take the chance.

I noticed the skin above her right eye is a bit red this morning too.





On 8 Aug 2007 03:08:19 GMT, Cheryl
wrote:

On Tue 07 Aug 2007 06:07:02p, The High Council wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
:

I was grooming my cat (about 12 years old - indoor cat - white
fur - apparent good health) when I noticed what I can only
decribe as a round hard lump on the surface of her skin. It
seems to be weeping a little. I have cleaned it and put Tea Tree
Oil on it a few times
snip

Tea tree oil can be toxic to cats. If this was my cat, I'd only
clean and watch it for a day or two for signs of either getting
better, or if no improvement or getting worse, it would be time for
a vet appt.

Some info on toxicity in general:

"The liver is most often the organ which is affected by essential
oils. Cats' livers are simply not the same as humans' livers, and
they lack the ability to properly metabolize the various compounds
in essential oils.

"Toxicity in cats can occur very quickly, through internal or
external application, or over a longer period of time, through
repeated or continuous inhalation of essential oils, but either
way, it can lead to serious liver damage or even death."

http://cats.about.com/od/housekeepin...omatherapy.htm

It could be an abcess, which would need to be drained by the vet and
most likely she'd be given antibiotics. I would give your vet a call
and talk to them.

Thanks - I have taken your advice and called the vet. I am taking her
in this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious.
Would they need to keep her in over-night if its an abcess or will
they do it today?




On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 06:06:25 -0700, "Rene S."
wrote:

It could be an abcess, which would need to be drained by the vet and
most likely she'd be given antibiotics. I would give your vet a call
and talk to them.

On Aug 8, 9:08 am, The High Council
wrote:
Thanks - I have taken your advice and called the vet. I am taking her
in this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious.
Would they need to keep her in over-night if its an abcess or will
they do it today?

No, they would do it right there and she could go right home. A quick
procedure.

"The High Council" wrote in message
...
Thanks - I have taken your advice and called the vet. I am taking her
in this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious.

Let us know. Hope it is nothing serious.

On Aug 7, 5:07 pm, The High Council
wrote:
Hi guys,

I was grooming my cat (about 12 years old - indoor cat - white fur -
apparent good health) when I noticed what I can only decribe as a
round hard lump on the surface of her skin. It seems to be weeping a
little. I have cleaned it and put Tea Tree Oil on it a few times. It
reminds me of a wart a human might have? I guess I started to panic
and was worrying it was a tumour or something serious. As I say,
otherwise she seems perfectly ok. Any ideas what it might be or any
advice? She lives here with her brother - and sometimes they bite each
other - could it be a bite wound?

I will keep an eye on it and take her to the vet if I have to, but she
absolutely freaks out if she goes to the vet, gets very distressed, so
I am trying to avoid having to.

Thanks for any advice.

HC

Hope it all turns out okay. The tumors we have dealt with did not
weep, but abscesses do.
Is it at an injection site, by any chance?
If it *is* an abscess, they're fairly easy to clear up once the vet
drains it and cleans the wound.
Antibiotics help even more. Usually an abscess comes from a claw or
bite mark though, but I have
also had a cat who abscessed from chin acne.
Sherry

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

She has been examined and the vet says the 'lump' on her back isn't
anything to really worry about, it looks like a wart maybe, but he's
going to have it cut off next week when she goes in to have her teeth
fixed. He looked at her teeth and said they were in a bad way, so some
needed taking out. He said its a safe procedure - she is taken there
in the morning and then I can pick her up that evening.

He agreed the Tea Tree Oil wasn't a good thing with cats.

I was confused though because we were told to feed her with wet food
years ago and to avoid the dry buscuits etc because they de-hydrate
the cats - and her brother had to have an op because he had an
obstruction when trying to wee which was blamed on the dry food.
But now we are told the wet food diet wasn't good for her teeth???

Confusing.



On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 11:25:59 -0400, "cybercat"
wrote:


"The High Council" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks - I have taken your advice and called the vet. I am taking her
in this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious.

Let us know. Hope it is nothing serious.

On Aug 8, 12:37 pm, The High Council
wrote:
Thanks for your kind thoughts.

She has been examined and the vet says the 'lump' on her back isn't
anything to really worry about, it looks like a wart maybe, but he's
going to have it cut off next week when she goes in to have her teeth
fixed. He looked at her teeth and said they were in a bad way, so some
needed taking out. He said its a safe procedure - she is taken there
in the morning and then I can pick her up that evening.

He agreed the Tea Tree Oil wasn't a good thing with cats.

I was confused though because we were told to feed her with wet food
years ago and to avoid the dry buscuits etc because they de-hydrate
the cats - and her brother had to have an op because he had an
obstruction when trying to wee which was blamed on the dry food.
But now we are told the wet food diet wasn't good for her teeth???

I'm glad it was nothing serious. I had a similar growth removed from
my cat a couple of years ago and it healed nicely. It's a good thing
to take care of her teeth too. As for the food, it's much better to
feed the wet food for the health benefits and extra water. There's
always been a debate about wet (or dry) being bad for cat's teeth.
Cats don't chew like humans do; they tear and swallow. The "best" diet
for their teeth is a raw diet, where they tear pieces of meat, but you
either need to prepare it carefully so it's nutritionally balanced or
buy a premade version.

Have you asked your vet about brushing your cat's teeth? After her
teeth are taken care of, you should brush them a couple of times per
week. Don't use people toothpaste; get a special pet enzymatic
toothpaste. I really like the C.E.T. brand pet toothbrush. It's easy
to use and reaches nicely into the mouth. The cats seem to like the
taste of the toothpaste. Here's a tutorial: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=56

Email me if you have any other questions,
Rene

Tee Tree oil can be toxic to cats. Take her to the vets for treatment.

Celeste

"The High Council" wrote in message
...
Hi guys,

I was grooming my cat (about 12 years old - indoor cat - white fur -
apparent good health) when I noticed what I can only decribe as a
round hard lump on the surface of her skin. It seems to be weeping a
little. I have cleaned it and put Tea Tree Oil on it a few times. It
reminds me of a wart a human might have? I guess I started to panic
and was worrying it was a tumour or something serious. As I say,
otherwise she seems perfectly ok. Any ideas what it might be or any
advice? She lives here with her brother - and sometimes they bite each
other - could it be a bite wound?

I will keep an eye on it and take her to the vet if I have to, but she
absolutely freaks out if she goes to the vet, gets very distressed, so
I am trying to avoid having to.

Thanks for any advice.

HC