Bumps & Lumps on Your Cat (Cysts, Masses, and the Like)

Right now have I two cats with Cancer. Calpyso, a 10-year-old shorthaired Calico with a large mass under her right front leg, and Patches, a lovely 12-year-old Turkish Angora mix whose back legs are disabled. Sharing my experience with other cat owners to help you identify issues early.

About 30 days ago, Calypso started limping. Given I have 10 cats and have had many more over the years, I thought this was age-related arthritis. She’s 10. After a couple of weeks, the limp turned into a large, very hard flat mass under her leg and across her chest. I brought her to the vet and after a fine needle aspiration, they saw spindle cells which indicate cancer, technically a sarcoma. We did a follow-on ultrasound and x-ray to better understand the mass.

#1 My first learning — Since that first vet visit, Calypso’s mass has grown quickly into a baseball-sized cyst that’s hard as a rock. It’s growing every day. If you see a health issue with your cat, get to your veterinarian ASAP. In this case, Calypso’s next step is to get a CT scan, however, given the size and shape of her mass, she would need two ribs and her front leg removed and that would not guarantee treatment.