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There are many types of lumps and bumps that cats can get. Some are small and circular, others can be large and irregular in shape. Some have no distinct colour (just the colour of the skin) while others can be red and angry looking. Some lumps may seem irritating, others may not. While we would love to be able to look at a lump and diagnose it on the spot, it’s not as easy as you might think! 

Many lumps disguise themselves very well, sometimes they come up very suddenly and disappear just as quickly, before popping up again randomly. In today’s blog post, we’re going to be talking about a few common lumps that cats can develop. We will also be making a special mention about a patient who came in to see Dr. Renee a few months ago. 

Types of lumps: 

1. Lipoma (fatty tumours) 
2. Nipples 
3. Abscesses 
4. Squamous cell carcinoma 
5. Mast cell tumour 

Lipomas: 

Lipomas (fatty tumours) are an accumulation of fatty cells under the skin. These tend to be soft and slightly mobile under the skin. However, there are some types of lipomas that can feel firmer and/or be more adhered to underlying structures. Lipomas can grow anywhere on the body including the chest, abdomen, arms, legs and neck. Cats that develop a single lipoma typically develop more as they age. They don’t tend to become discoloured but they can sometimes get quite large! 

Nipples: 

Don’t be fooled! Cats (both male and female) have nipples on their bellies. If you’re ever unsure if the lump you’ve found on your cat’s belly is a nipple, try searching for a corresponding one on the other side of the abdomen. They tend to look like skin tags and have a hairless patch around them. 

Abscesses: 

These nasty lumps are large pockets filled with pus! They usually develop after your cat has been in a fight with another cat. If they’ve been bitten or scratched, keep a close eye on them! These abscesses can take 3-5 days before they actually develop and can be extremely painful when they burst. Take a look at our previous blog post on cat fight abscesses. 

Squamous cell carcinoma: 

Squamous cell carcinomas are a type of malignant cancer. These lumps can grow in many areas on the cat but very typically affect the ears, eyelids, nose and mouth (commonly under the tongue). Squamous cell carcinomas commonly develop in older cats, however cats can develop these lesions at any age. It is important to note that cats with white areas on their faces (especially cats with white ears and white noses), and cats that enjoy sun-baking are at higher risk than other cats. However, this is not to say that a fully black cat will not develop squamous cell carcinomas. Some squamous cell carcinomas can appear raised, red and ulcerated. Other times, they can appear as an inconspicuous raised bump. 

Mast cell tumours: 

These tumours can appear anywhere on the skin but most commonly appear on the head and neck. The terrible thing about this form of cancer is that it can actually grow in many other areas of the body. Cats can develop intestinal mast cell tumours which tend to spread to the local lymph nodes and if they get large enough, can actually cause a partial obstruction within the intestines. If this happens, cats can start developing symptoms such as vomiting, weight loss and inappetance. Not only can they develop on the skin and in the intestines, but they also like to spread to some other abdominal organs such as the spleen and liver. Though mast cell tumours on the skin can be removed (and can sometimes be curative), removing mast cell tumours from the liver and spleen is not possible. it is important to have these masses sent off for testing (histopathology) as it is the only way to fully and accurately grade these tumours. Dr. Renee was recently managing a patient named Bear. He was a young Maine Coon who developed a few nasty looking lumps around his chest and neck. Bear’s mum decided to test one of the lumps and this unfortunately came back as a lymph node in his belly that the cancerous cells had spread to. Over a few short weeks, many more lumps started appearing all across Bear’s body and he became quite weak and unwell. Bear recently passed away peacefully in his mum’s arms at Perth Cat Hospital. 

There are a few different ways we are able to test lumps to determine if they are cancerous or non-cancerous. You may be familiar with what’s called a fine needle aspirate (FNA). This is when a needle is introduced into the lump and a syringe is used to suck some cells out. We then spray these cells onto a clean slide and this is sent to a laboratory where pathologists examine the material under a microscope. The pathologist determines whether or not a lump is cancerous based on the types of cells found and how the lump looks on the patient. 

If a lump is too small to sample or too firm to give a good cell yield when aspirating, sometimes complete surgical removal is recommended. The lump can then be sent for histopathology. A pathologist looks at the tissue under a microscope to determine if a lump is cancerous and whether or not all the cancerous tissue has been removed. 

All in all, lumps can come in all shapes, colours and sizes. As much as we’d love to be able to look at a lump and confirm that it is nothing to be concerned about, we really do have to test it to be able to tell you definitively. If you are concerned about a lump on your cat, be sure to contact us at the Perth Cat Hospital to get your furry companion checked over.

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