For thousands of years, cats live side by side with people as pets. The owners look after them: feed, bathe, comb out and stroke. And sometimes a person may find that a cat has a bump on its neck, despite the fact that it was not there just a few days ago. Most owners immediately panic and take the cat to the veterinarian, where they already find out what could have caused it.
Description
It is quite clear that for no particular reason, the lump in the cat’s neck does not appear under the jaw. Nevertheless, some owners of cats, having found such a formation in their pet, are in no hurry to show it to a specialist and do not take any action to treat it. In rare cases, the lump on the cat’s neck may disappear without treatment, however, letting the development of such an education take its course is not worth it and you should consult a specialist as soon as possible.
The formation of any compaction or tumor is a consequence of a certain pathological process in the animal's body. Such a seal can be either benign or malignant. However, even a harmless formation under the influence of certain factors can develop into a cancerous tumor.
Outwardly, the bump looks like a round or oval seal, which stands out from the rest of the skin with a reddish tint. It is easily detected by palpation. The density of the cone in the cat’s neck depends on its location:
- If the seal is between the muscles and the skin, it will be soft and mobile.
- More solid and motionless will be the cone located in the muscle layers.
According to medical terminology, such growths or seals are called lipomas. Those of them that are close to the skin are eliminated very simply by surgery. However, if the lipoma is deeper and develops very actively, then its treatment will be more difficult. You should not delay the therapy, because such a seal can very quickly degenerate into a malignant one - liposarcoma, which can give metastases to nearby organs.
It is impossible to determine the nature of the seal in appearance, since it can be an ordinary wart. Such formations can be quite large, however, the cat often does not experience pain. Without timely treatment, the lump very quickly develops and begins to interfere with the animal, and its attempts to independently get rid of the interfering compaction can only worsen the situation.
Lipoma
Lipoma is a benign mass that can appear on any part of the animal’s body. She is able to grow, reaching an impressive size, however, the cat does not deliver pain and does not metastasize to other organs.
Lipoma is soft to the touch and has clear boundaries. Symptoms are completely dependent on their location and mechanical pressure on the surrounding tissue.
Despite the fact that the lipoma is practically harmless, forming on the limbs, it can cause lameness, and being located on the carotid artery can lead to the death of the cat from suffocation.
The condition of the animal in which the lipoma was formed, as a rule, is normal, not bringing him discomfort.
Causes of occurrence
In the vast majority of cases, a lump in a cat's neck occurs in old age. Most veterinarians attribute this to the aging process of the animal. However, there are cases when the owners found a large lump on the neck of a cat, whose age did not exceed 5 years. The reasons for this can be very different. The main prerequisites for the occurrence of a pathological neoplasm include:
- bad ecology;
- poor-quality food;
- genetic predisposition;
- injuries or severe bruises;
- the presence of subcutaneous ticks in the body.
Signs of Lipoma
A lump in the cat’s neck is formed between the muscle layer and the skin layer. There is the formation of nodules or capsules. Most often, the contents of such capsules have a liquid consistency. It can be “pasty” and mobile, not causing animal discomfort, as well as more dense and causing pain. Also, subcutaneous formations may include degenerated tissues.
The temperature of the soft cone most often corresponds to the temperature of the cat's body. Dense cones are usually hotter. If there was a compaction of an initially mild formation, the temperature of the whole body of the animal may increase and signs of intoxication of the body appear. These signs include the following: the cat weakens, refuses to eat, is irritable.
Particular attention should be paid to cones that grow rapidly.
Risk group
As mentioned above, cats in the neck are most often affected by the formation of cones on the neck. Moreover, there are the following risk factors that can cause the development of such a formation in younger individuals:
- the presence of endocrine disorders;
- the presence of parasites in the body;
- overweight.
Only a veterinarian can accurately determine the cause of development under the neck of a cat's cones. He also prescribes a treatment regimen, since it is strictly forbidden to engage in independent treatment of any formations on the animal’s body.
Abscess
Also, in a cat, a lump on the neck under the skin can be an abscess. In this case, the seal will be filled with pus. Most often, an abscess appears at the site of a wound or damage. It can also be the result of exposure to parasites that irritate the skin of the animal.
The main symptoms of an abscess:
- education has a uniform structure;
- the temperature rises and the skin surrounding the affected area turns red;
- the pressure on the education hurts the cat.
Due to the fact that such a lump makes the cat uncomfortable, he always tries to comb it. If you can’t reach with your paws, he rubs a sore spot on the furniture.
By its nature, an abscess is a purulent inflammation, therefore, as a result of its development, the pet begins to feel worse. The cat becomes either lethargic or too irritable, refusing to contact with the person.
Diagnostics
When a neoplasm appears in the cat’s neck, you should immediately visit the veterinarian, since after a certain point it can burst. In addition, reaching a large bump can lead to suffocation.
After a professional examination and certain studies, the veterinarian will be able to determine the nature of education and prescribe a course of treatment. As studies, radiography and a puncture biopsy of the contents of the bump are often performed. With the help of x-rays, the presence of metastases can be detected, and a biopsy helps determine the nature of the compaction. The further treatment of the cat depends on the results of these two procedures.
A biopsy is performed by taking from the formation of pathological materials. Before pumping out part of the contents of the cone, the cat is given local anesthesia. The taken sample is sent to the laboratory for cytological examination. Based on the result of this study, the doctor makes a diagnosis and, if necessary, prescribes an operation to excise or completely remove the formation.
Benign Compaction Treatment
Doctors often recommend complete lump removal. For this, surgery is performed. In cases where the formation is benign, there are practically no complications, since there are no metastases. If the cone is small, not prone to growth and does not cause cat inconvenience, its removal may not be carried out.
Abscess treatment
Without making sure that the bump on the cat's neck bursts, you should immediately take up treatment. In this case, only a veterinarian can help.
There is no prior therapy for such an abscess. After the examination, the cat is immediately sent to the surgeon. He opens the seal with a scalpel and cleans the cavity from pus. After this, antiseptic treatment of the wound is carried out. If necessary, the cat is sutured and antibiotics prescribed to prevent the re-development of inflammation.
If untreated, the abscess can open itself. However, this is very dangerous for the animal, since it can lick pus arising from the wound. In addition, there is a high risk of infection.
Cancer treatment
If as a result of a biopsy it was revealed that the lump is malignant, then its treatment includes the following steps:
- complete diagnostics;
- stage of preparatory procedures;
- surgical removal;
- passing a course of chemotherapy.
Education on the neck of a cat can be very dangerous. It is not worth delaying treatment, since its nature can be very different: from harmless compaction to a tumor with metastases.