What's this solid, painless lump on my cat's leg? Is it serious?

Yes, it is best to be safer rather than sorry and have the lump checked over as soon as possible. It could be a cancerous lump that requires urgent treatment. Your vet can start sampling it with a needle and putting the content on a slide and take it from there.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Snow. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian. The veterinarian will examine him to determine why his behavior has changed. To evaluate the mass, a small needle to collect a sample of cells to evaluate under the microscope. An infection under the skin known as an abscess can be painful. Skin cancer is possible or the mass could be benign. Based on these results, treatment can be started. I hope this information helps!

Hi Greg! Thank you for providing a picture of Lily's lump on her leg. From the picture, it could be a cyst, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. 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 it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would take her into the vet in the next couple of days to have the lump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as needed. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello. I would have this looked at by your vet tomorrow. The most common thing we see in cats are bite abscesses & it is really amazing how hard it is to sometimes find a bite wound. A cat's bite can leave a tiny needle like puncture & an abscess can begin to develop within hours. It can be very painful & make Buddy feel sick. Your vet can quickly determine if this is the cause of his lump, lance & treat it & Buddy will be feeling better very soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This bump on Elijah could be a cyst, a benign tumor, from an insect bite, or it could be a malignant tumor. Unfortunately without seeing him in person, I can't say for certain what it is. Any suspicious bumps 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 bump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would take him into the vet on Monday to have this bump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as needed. I hope this helps, best of luck!

I do recommend having it tested. It may just be something as simple as a cyst if it is fluid filled, but without being able to feel the lump it is hard to determine that. If it is a cyst and it does not bother your cat, your veterinarian may be able to drain the cyst although it can easily fill back up.

Without further testing, there is no way to tell if this growth is due to infection, trauma or allergy, or if it is a mass. Masses can be of a malignant (cancerous) type that can spread elsewhere and/ or invade the healthy tissue around them, or a more benign (noncancerous) type that is unlikely to spread. I recommend making an appointment for Onxy to see your vet to have the growth tested. In many cases this can be done using a fine needle aspirate, where cells are removed from the growth using a needle and examined under a microscope to determine what it is and to guide treatment. In some cases further testing may be needed to determine the necessary course of treatment, but it is important to get new growths tested in a timely manner, to allow for treatment if necessary.