Worried - Audrey has a lump!

I was just playing with Audrey on the floor and as I was petting her I felt a small lump on her side forward of her left rear leg. She didn't even notice I was feeling it, so it obviously doesn't bother her. But I'm so worried now.

Anyone know anything about this? Should I rush over to the vet?

Usually these are just little warts or cysts or fatty lumps, and nothing to worry about. Sometimes in that position it can even be a microchip that has migrated. If you are going into the vet sometime soon have them look at it. Or give them a ring and see what they say. They may say to do this right away or may feel it is fine to leave til your next visit.

I found a lump on Shelby shortly after Jake's carcinoma....scared me to death! I had a needle aspirate done right away...and it was just a fatty growth that went away on its one. Our rescue boy, Gryffin, just had a lump aspirated...also turned out to be nothing.

Ditto what Karlin & Cathy have said, and also keep an eye on the size & shape of it. Measure it if you can. If it remains about the same size & shape you can often wait until the next vet visit, but if it starts growing rapidly then it is best to have it seen to right away as even a benign lump (which most are) is easier to remove when it is small rather than when it becomes large.

Has she had any shots recently? Sometimes the injection site hardens and feels like a ball under the skin. Zoey had this type of reaction after every shot and they sometimes lingered for a few weeks.

My, now retired, vet used to say that lumps are usually nothing (ie cyst or fat), if you can feel that they are completely contained in the skin and not ' spreading roots' into underlying areas.

moniechris said:

Has she had any shots recently? Sometimes the injection site hardens and feels like a ball under the skin. Zoey had this type of reaction after every shot and they sometimes lingered for a few weeks.

Click to expand...

Yes, actually - She got her yearly shots about 2 weeks ago. But this is the first time I've ever felt a lump. It is small and feels like it is just under her skin.

Thanks everyone for your posts. I'll keep an eye on it and if it changes like some have mentioned, then I'll go to the vet. She's like my baby - I get worried for everything!

Jenn, please do keep an eye on it.

I'm paranoid because what started as a small lump on Wallis turned ugly. I was under the impression that since it was in her skin and not connected to the body underneath it was most likely nothing to worry about. It suddenly started to grow and a needle aspirate showed it to be a fibrosarcoma, which spreads its tentacles through the skin. Because of her other conditions she is not a good surgical candidate. The other day I found a small lump on her other side (which my husband called a mosquito bite) and of course I'm worried about that now.

Knowing that, you can imagine the panic I felt when I found a lump on Sasha the other day. Training told me that it was most likely a sebaceous cyst but experience told me to have it checked out. I was correct about it being a cyst but am going to have it removed soon.

Seems like the things I hated to see on dogs when I worked always came back to haunt me. I just hated seeing a poodle come in with warts all over the place so, as luck has it, my first shihtzu developed warts on her feet. Fortunately for me, I was also working part time for a veterinary dermatologist at the time and whenever he brought in his laser equipment he would tell me to bring Bonnie Jean in with me and he would zap them for free!

Keep an eye on it and let us know.