? Skin Tag?

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babyg

babyg

Member Since 2019
I noticed this soft, squishy, fleshy mass by my cat's arm. It's close to her armpit but not in the armpit area; it's on the side of her body where her arm connects to her side, if that makes sense. I'm thinking it's just a skin tag because it looks a lot like one of my own, lol, and it moves around when I move the skin and seems to just be connected to the skin and not the underlying tissue. Seems like ever since her diagnosis, she's been prone to getting little lumps and bumps. Just thought I'd show it and ask.
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Can you send a picture of it to your vet? My cat had that that eventually started bleeding and turned out to be a cancerous spot. She had to have it surgically removed.
 
JanetNJ said:
Can you send a picture of it to your vet? My cat had that that eventually started bleeding and turned out to be a cancerous spot. She had to have it surgically removed.
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Unfortunately all the vets out here suck so I'd probably have to bring her in. Even then, can I trust their opinion without driving all the way to the teaching hospital? Don't know. :( But I could get her in tomorrow and see what one of them says.
 
babyg said:
Unfortunately all the vets out here suck so I'd probably have to bring her in. Even then, can I trust their opinion without driving all the way to the teaching hospital? Don't know. :( But I could get her in tomorrow and see what one of them says.
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Well if you don't trust them to remove it, you could ask them to biopsy it, and if it is positive and needs to be removed you could drive to the vet you trust.
 
JanetNJ said:
Well if you don't trust them to remove it, you could ask them to biopsy it, and if it is positive and needs to be removed you could drive to the vet you trust.
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True. Do you think they can tell without a biopsy by just looking and feeling? I've heard it's a myth that biopsies cause cancer to spread, but I worry still the same.
 
babyg said:
True. Do you think they can tell without a biopsy by just looking and feeling? I've heard it's a myth that biopsies cause cancer to spread, but I worry still the same.
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I couldn't tell you for sure if they would know just by looking. My cat's vet was pretty sure but it was bleeding. A few weeks before it looked like what your cat's looks like and then honestly I forgot about it until there was blood on the bed. It was on her leg so not a spot I really touched. After they cut it out she sent it to pathology to find out exactly what it was.
 
My cat also has a small raised bump on his back which looks like a water boil but it’s more firm. I’d showed it to his vet and she said not to worry about it. Didn’t say what it was though.
I keep monitoring it for any increase in size but so far it’s stayed the same. I’d looked on the Internet to see what skin tags on cats look like but couldn’t really get a clear idea. Just got to see tonnes of images of ticks on cats :rolleyes:

I think it’s better to have it shown to a vet for your peace of mind.

This is what Shen’s bump looks like.

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Nimi S said:
This is what Shen’s bump looks like.
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Yes, my girl has a ton like that. She also has a lump by her back butt area that the vet said is probably a cyst, and she has some other growth on her leg that did bleed a little in the beginning but hasnt anymore. He didn't seem worried about any of her lumps and bumps before. This one is kind of different, though, in its size and squishyness. It really looks a lot like mine! :p I have an appointment today and am debating whether to keep it or not since she gets so upset going. I hate putting her through the stress. But then I think better to catch something early than to wait, so I don't know... If we go I'll update you all what he said!
 
Definitely show it to your vet. These can be very common, esp in some breeds.

Our cat had something similar to this recently removed - mainly because it was growing pretty big and burst a couple of times. We were more fearful of infection than anything else.

Turns out it was 100% benign and we were told it would not have turned cancerous. We did not have to have it removed but we wanted one less thing to worry about.
 
The appointment today was not going to work out. I think I'm just going to monitor the growth and if I see any changes, take her somewhere better even if it's further away so I can feel more comfortable with what they say or do. At least I have pictures I can reference too.
 
A bit late to add my 2 cents but good that you spotted it and got a picture. Try and measure it if you can. Both mine had them - Minnie has several, brother Sam had one. Vets said to keep an eye on them and bring them in if there were any changes. Sam's grew so I took him in - they did a needle biopsy and bloodwork. Long story slightly less long, he had it surgically removed and results showed it was a mast cell tumor. Apparently they can have these growths which are harmless at first but as they get older, can become cancerous and my poor boy had an aggressive case. Don't want to worry you unnecessarily but do keep a close eye on it. :bighug:
 
Liz & Minnie said:
A bit late to add my 2 cents but good that you spotted it and got a picture. Try and measure it if you can.
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Thanks, that's a good idea to measure it. I'll get some measurements on it tonight and keep them handy for future reference.
 
Thanks, everybody, for your replies! I appreciate it.
I just heard back from a vet I trust at the teaching hospital and she said she always recommends older cats, whether diabetic or not, get any new skin lumps and bumps checked, and she said it should be simple enough for a regular vet out by me to do. So I'm finally taking my girl tomorrow morning to get checked. It sounds pretty common for skin tags and lipoma to form, and she said they usually don't do anything for them unless they start bleeding, get infected, or inhibit mobility. I'm just nervous about what if the vet will want to do fine needle aspiration. She told me it doesn't do anything bad but I'm worried just because many years ago, my mom had a very thorough workup done so she could get open heart surgery, and was found to be in great health except for her heart. Then what do you know, three months after the surgery, she's diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. So that's why I worry about cutting or opening up stuff because are we really sure that doesn't cause the cancer to spread? I'm hoping the vet can tell enough by just looking and feeling. From what I've read, aspiration results can sometimes be wrong too depending on the cells it pulls. I'll be doing more research on it for sure before we go tomorrow morning.
 
Ok, so didn't take me long to find there is a real thing called needle tract seeding.
 
I looked it up. It’s very rare. Sorry it happened to your mom. :bighug: I would still do a biopsy if it were my cat as some cancers can get worse over time and are easy to remove if caught early.
 
We just got back from the vet. She didn't seem worried about it at all. She said possibilities were a histamine growth, which can go away on its own, or a mast cell, but either way, since it wasn't attached to anything, she said it'd be super easy to remove at any time and to just monitor it. She didn't say anything about biopsies or doing anything else.
 
Histiocytoma! I couldn't at first remember exactly the histamine word the vet had said, but I believe that was it. I'm reading online that it's usually rare in cats, though. Honestly to me, nothing online really looks like what she has other than my own actual skin tag lol. Anyone ever hear of or had a cat with a histiocytoma?
 
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