My cat has a lump near his shoulder after booster shots. Is it normal?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is difficult to see a lump in the photo, but at Capernicus’s age, malignant growths are fairly unlikely. This may be a reaction to a vaccine if administered recently that should disappear with time. I recommend keeping an eye on it and having the spot seen by a vet if there is any discharge, bleeding, increase in size, or it seems to be bothering him. I hope this helps and that all is well!

Great question! This lump could be a localized reaction to the vaccine if the lump is in the area where the vaccine was given. Other options could be a cyst or a benign tumor. Given it's not painful and if she is otherwise acting normally, this isn't an emergency. Keep an eye on this lump, and if it doesn't go down over the next couple of days or gets bigger, then I would have Poppy seen by a vet. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Poor girl. Due to her age a mass here would be less likely as the cause for this hard lump. This may be an abscess or even a cyst. It is difficult to tell without feeling it in person, however, if it does not go down on its own within a few days to a week, then I would recommend having your vet check it out further. If it is an abscess, then cats typically will start to act ill (decreased appetite, low grade fever, lethargy) after a few days, in which case the abscess would need to be drained by your vet and then KitKat would need a short course of antibiotics to get things to heal well. Otherwise, I would recommend monitoring this for now to see what happens. I hope that Kit Kat's strange lump heals well soon! : ) Best wishes and take care.

The most common lumps on cats are pockets of infection, or an abscess from a cat fight. An abscess is generally hot to the touch and painful and may cause a fever and lethargy. It also could be a tumor which often are non painful but can be malignant and will grow if not removed. Also some cats get a skin reaction to a vaccination if it’s given in that location and the swelling should improve over a week or so. I recommend a veterinary exam so they can feel the lump, take her temperature and decide if further treatment is needed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cat.

I'm suspicious of a couple of different reasons for this type of mass that you are describing: 1) Possibly from a vaccine - it's common to vaccinate at the time of surgery and this may be where the vaccine was given. It's common for there to be a little lump there for a week or two after vaccinating. 2) A lymph node - This is about the location of the axillary lymph nodes. These can normally increase in size after procedures and vaccination. As long as Preston is not having any other issues, I think it will be fine to just monitor this mass. If it grows, or has any other dramatic changes, then it will be best to take him for a recheck exam by the vet who did the surgery. Otherwise, it's possible that this will go down in the next couple of weeks. I hope that helps and all is well with Preston.

Poor Beans (cutest name BTW)! If this is where she received her vaccine, she could be having a local reaction to the vaccine. It could also be an infection under the skin or a bacterial or fungal infection on the skin. You could try giving her beandryl twice a day to see if it improves. See link below. If it is getting worse (swelling, more hair loss, any discharge, not eating, etc) or just not improving, I would definitely have your vet take a look at it. She may need some antibiotics or anti-fungals to help her feel better. Plus, if it is a local reaction to the vaccine, your vet will want to make a note in her chart for her next set of shots. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat /benadryl

In a young kitten, a lump like this is likely a benign tumor, a cyst, or an abscess. If Mocha has his vaccines given in that area, it could be a localized reaction to the vaccine. It's good to have it checked out by a vet, but it's certainly not an emergency as long as everything else is normal (eating, drinking, behavior, litter box behavior). I would have him checked out by a vet sometime over the next week. I hope this helps!