My Cat has a Growth

**Tenaj** · June 5th, 2006, 05:58 AM

Just wondered whether anyone has any experience with this;

She's not strictly my cat. She's my mums but I grew up with her. She's 18 now so not a spring chicken any longer but seems relatively healthy. Last month however we noticed a huge growth on her neck, it was hard and beneath the fur. Golf ball sized.

My parents took her to the vet and they drained it, (dad thought he was comedian of the year with his "getting pus from a puss" joke.

)

Anyway, they sent the fluid back for testing and it is one of two things. Maja either has cancer or a harmless cyst. I don't think its cancer as she seems happy enough, this thing doesn't hurt her. But it grows back rapidly each week without fail. My mum cannot keep taking her to the vets each week for draining, it's not fair.

To cut a long story short, does anyone know anything about these cysts?

**A*O** · June 5th, 2006, 07:04 AM

The good news, if it's growing back that quickly and can be drained it probably is a cyst. The bad news, 18yrs is VERY old for a cat and I'm afraid they become very high maintenance at that age. Good luck.

**Tenaj** · June 5th, 2006, 07:09 AM

Yeah thats what I thought. You can practically see it growing before your eyes. They say at her age its dangerous to operate as she might not pull through. Poor cat. She just looks deformed.

**Tenaj** · June 5th, 2006, 08:34 AM

Well thats what I thought, I thought this test will show what it is. I think they were saying that she'll need an operation regardless and as she's 18 they are reluctant. Breaks my heart, when I lived at my parents she lived in my room. She still greets me when I visit. I'm her favourite!

Just feel bad she keeps having to get it drained. They can't just leave it because when it gets really large she can't eat properly.

**miss_perfect** · June 5th, 2006, 09:05 AM

Oh Tenaj, I'm so sorry! It's obvious that you and your family love her and take great care of her, if she's lived to be 18...I can see the concern about anesthesia with an older pet. But I would think if her vitals are strong she should be OK.

**Tenaj** · June 5th, 2006, 09:12 AM

Thanks Miss Perfect. Yes we love her very much, she used to come out for walks with our dog when she was younger. Little prima donna couldn't let anyone have more attention than her! Bought her some 'extra fishy' cat food to treat her. Sounds vile

but I'm sure she'll like it.

**miss_perfect** · June 5th, 2006, 09:19 AM

When my cat turned 18, the only stuff he would eat was microwaved baby food. Talk about vomit-inducing smells!

**kitten33** · June 6th, 2006, 03:42 PM

I have a 13 year old cat that also developed a cyst on her neck. She is long-haired so I didn't notice at first when it was small. It still isn't too big, probably the size of a grape, but the vet said that it was a non-cancerous cyst. Common in older felines. It doesn't seem to hurt her. I was worried at first, but it's been 2 years and she is fine.

**Tenaj** · June 7th, 2006, 02:57 AM

^^ Thank you! You know what I mean! No it doesn't seem to hurt her, you can touch it and she doesn't flinch. It's just that when it gets really large it prevents her eating properly and she's sometime sick. Don't know what to do, it keeps filling up. Did you cat get hers drained too?

**kitten33** · June 7th, 2006, 01:15 PM

Mine has not gotten hers drained because it has not gotten any bigger and it doesn't seem to impact her everyday activity. It sounds like your cat has a sebaceous cyst that will probably need to be either drained or surgically removed. It sounds like it justs get worse again if you drain it. I would talk to the vet about removal.

Good luck with that...I hate to see kitties uncomfortable

**Grimmlok** · June 7th, 2006, 01:43 PM

yeah, sounds like a minor operation. Open, snip, drain, stitch.

**sweetrebel** · June 7th, 2006, 03:58 PM

Good luck with your kitty! Hope you find a solution soon-

**AliceInWonderland** · June 7th, 2006, 05:16 PM

my cat has a pooping problem; HE WON'T COVER IT IN THE LITTER BOX SICK FUCK!

**Grimmlok** · June 7th, 2006, 05:24 PM

My cat never did either, and he seriously STANK. It was like ammonia hell, it would stench up the whole basement.

He also wouldn't go if you were in the room.. he HATED it.

**AliceInWonderland** · June 7th, 2006, 05:57 PM

it must be a male thing

and when i take the litter out, he has to go back in there and "mark his terroritory" so to speak and do it again! so this one time I took it out again and then he went back in there and tried very hard (I watched him) to get another one out but it was all small and dry and quite a pathetic #2 if I say so myself and I was laughing and so I took that one out too and he had no more in him to do

Cats are funny, then my other cat is older and adopted from the street as well and I'll leave for work in the morning and she'll be in her spot on the couch and I'll come back home roughly 10 hours later and she'll be there still in the same damn position (curled up in a white ball hiding her face under her tiny paws), but she's a night cat cause supposedly she parties all nite and goes crazy all over the furniture according to my sister.