My cat licks a lump and nibbles skin. Is it painful or serious?

I can't really appreciate the lump on your pictures. But with Midnight's history some potential causes for her signs could be allergies to food or the environment as well something called psychogenic alopecia. It looks like she has given herself a secondary skin infection, likely bacterial. The skin infection perpetuates the itch so it's like a vicious cycle. It's good to keep her on a flea preventative even though she's indoors but at this point I would recommend having your veterinarian take a look because she may need antibiotics and potentially steroids to help her itch. At that time your veterinarian can do a further exam on that lump and give you a better idea what it could be.

Cats will over-groom and lick the fur off of areas for a variety of reasons, however in my experience in the area you're describing it's usually related to pain. This could be kidney pain (the kidneys are on either side of the spine in the region of the last rib) or it could be back pain. The other possibility is that the lump you're feeling is indeed some type of tumor which is causing her discomfort. Unfortunately it's impossible for me to say, and while it's good that Ella still has an appetite and no weight loss I don't think we can be sure this isn't something serious because of that. I would definitely urge you to get this checked as soon as you possibly can; consider applying for veterinary credit at carecredit.com.

If Pretinha is licking the area more than normal, it is probably bothering her (whether or not it is painful, or just annoying, is hard to say). I see the bumps to which you've referred. Lumps and bumps of unknown origin are impossible to diagnose without feeling them, and typically collecting a cellular sample. Overall, lumps fall into one of the general categories: -Abscess or infection -Mass or tumor -Cystic structure -Bug bites -Allergic reactions Determining which of these is the culprit will guide the course of therapy. In the meantime, you are going to want to prevent PRetinha from causing any self-mutilation. You can obtain a proper e-collar from a vet or online, or you can make a homemade one. There are many videos instructing just how to do this. Since she is doing great otherwise, there is nothing pressing about this. However, if her level of discomfort grows I would get her into the vet for assessment sooner than later. You can also monitor her temperature at home with a rectal thermometer (you might need a second hand to help out) to make sure there is no evidence of an infection. Anything above 102.5 is considered high. Hope this makes sense.

This kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors (very unlikely given the age). Treatment would depend on the underlying cause. Disinfection can eventually be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

That looks ulcerated. This could be a benign lump, but it could be malignant. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. Give Buddy's vet a call to make him an appointment, and put an Ecollar on him to keep him from licking it. You can get one from a pet store. Best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. The lump could be from a recent vaccination or it could be some type of tumor. If he was vaccinated recently, I would monitor the mass to see if it goes away on its own. Shadow could be dealing with an allergy or the licking could be due to pain as well. If the licking persists despite a steroid injection, I would recommend having an Cray taken of the back end to make sure there are no obvious bone changes that may be causing this. If there are not, then I would recommend starting a shampoo such as Douxo PS calm shampoo and bathe twice weekly. I would also recommend using welactin omega 3 fish oil and essential 6 spot on by dermoscent to help with a potential allergy. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like it may be the nipple and not a mass. She may be licking due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!