My 14-year-old cat has a growing cyst. Is she in pain? What to do?

I would recommend having a geriatric blood panel done first before deciding to sedate Sebastiancat to have the cyst removed. That will give you an idea of the anesthetic risk of sedating him, letting you know if it is dangerous or not to have it removed. You can also have it drained by the vet, but it may return. I would discuss these options with your vet.

HI there. If the cyst isn't bothering Fi, I would recommend just leaving it alone. Attempting to drain it yourself at home may be painful for her, and could introduce infection and create a problem where there isn't one right now. If it starts to bother her, I would suggest taking her back to the vet to have it rechecked, and see what he/she recommends.

It is possible that it is a sebaceous cyst, but they do not typically get that large. Other types of cancer are still possible as well as an abscess. A fever makes me concerned that Luna is very sick. I recommend that she go to a vet as soon as possible for evaluation. The vet may decide to surgically open up the cyst to see what is inside and clean it out. A fine needle aspirate can be done to look at the cells of the mass and give your vet a hint at if this is truly cancerous or not. Bloodwork may be needed to assess overall health and check for other internal medical issues. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories may be warranted depending on the physical exam and diagnostics.

Poor girl. Yes this looks like a possible cyst that may be infected, hence the yellow crusting seen there. Typically cysts or masses can become itchy if they are pushing on a sensitive nerve or if they are infected. Have your vet take a look at it and it can likely be drained to remove the discomfort it is causing. If it is indeed infected then the vet can prescribe a short course of antibiotics to treat it. Surgically removal of this cyst in the future should be considered. Best of luck moving forward with Donna and her cyst like mass. Take care.

Ouch! That definitely should be seen by your vet. They will need to take a sample, generally a fine-needle aspirate, to help determine what the growth is and if it needs to be removed, drained, or treated. If your kitty doesn't like going to the vet, you can call ahead to see if they can prescribe a sedative to give at home before bringing her in which can help make things less stressful (and easier for your vet to get a sample of the growth). Some veterinarians also provide home services, so if you feel kitty would be calmer at home, a housecall vet may be a good alternative.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. In the photos you provided this appears to be what looks like a cyst to me. Many times these cysts are the nine and occur with age. If you do not want to put him through any major testing you could still have him examined by a veterinarian and the vet you have a look at him can stick a small needle into the cyst and drain the contents. This does not generally require any sedation and is typically well- tolerated by cats. Most likely the cyst will fill back up, but I have several patients that are older where the owners do not want to put them through any major testing or surgery and elect to bring the animal in every so often to have the cyst drained. I would discuss this with your veterinarian and see if this is something that he or she would do. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further concerns.

If there is blood in this lump, that could actually be a sign of a malignant tumor. Because Lucky is 15 years old, unfortunately that is a possibility. It's a good idea to have this lump removed, and I'd recommend having it sent for a biopsy if your vet hasn't mentioned that to you before. I hope the surgery goes well tomorrow, and I hope this helps you!