So this cat has had some health problems and is FIV positive. He just had a teeth cleaning done about 2 weeks ago.

He is easy going. But when I touch this area he tries to get away and makes unhappy noises.

To me these areas look swollen. Almost like a round lump. They are soft.

More pronounced when he lays on his side. Sticks out almost ball shaped. Like a distinct ball shaped fattty area.

Now he had an injury to this area when I first took him in, (he was a stray. I took him in around April).

I’ve never had an overweight cat. I am not sure if this is abnormal and needs a vet visit. Or it’s normal to have fat deposits there and he’s just unhappy about being touched there from the old injury.

Anyone have a fat cat and can confirm it’s normal or not.

My other concern is, it’s a swollen lymph node or something . It is bilateral but bigger on one side but definitely on both sides.

I’ve taken this cat to the vet so much that I don’t want to take him in just for normal fat deposits.
I am aware he is overweight. It’s been challenging managing his bottomless pit appetite but his diet is being managed.

I can’t seem to find this info online about fat deposits. Do cats put on fat right around the hip joint area ?

Maybe not all cats do but some ?

Here is an illustration with the lumpy fat area circled.

  • Praxinoscope@lemmy.zip
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    7 hours ago

    My cat has a ball shaped lump in that area and it was cancer. He passed away a year ago.

    Don’t wait, take him to the vet.

    • daannii@lemmy.worldOP
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      6 hours ago

      It feels soft like fat but is very rounded. Sometimes I see it. Sometimes it seems to disappear. Like even a little after taking this photo I could no longer feel it. But I did when I took the photo.

      I keep thinking … Hold on. Did I actually feel a lump. No. Yes. Idk. Maybe it was just caused by the way he was laying ?

      Maybe it’s just like a fat roll.

      It’s not a solid feeling “lump”. It’s big. Soft fat feel. If it’s a medical issue I’m betting swollen lympnodes.

      I’d just feel embarrassed to take him in and the vet says “yeah we already told you he needs to lose weight”.

      🤷

      These fatty areas have been there for a while. I keep questioning myself if it’s really a lump or just fat.

      Surely they would have noticed a problem there when I had his teeth cleaned and full exam done. (2 weeks ago).

      But maybe not ?

      • ComfortableRaspberry@feddit.org
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        3 hours ago

        Don’t want to alarm you more, than you already are, but go to the vet and let them check that specific area out.
        We had a FIV cat that started to have liquid filled lumps on both sides of his lower body and died a few months later (he looked very pregnant in the end). I don’t think it’s a common symptom but iirc it was caused by his swollen lymph nodes.

        You are the only person your cat can rely on healthcare wise. Don’t let your cat down. Go to the vet and let them check it out.

    • echo@lemmy.today
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      7 hours ago

      Or do wait, knowing that if they have cancer they’re going to die (sooner than they would eventually in any case). I fucking hate that private equity is turning pet care into the same cesspool as human care.

        • echo@lemmy.today
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          6 hours ago

          Or don’t ignore this advice. It’s a subjective question that each person must answer for themselves. One may be much happier spending quality time with their pet instead of putting it through a bunch of incredibly expensive and painful procedures that diminishes that quality and leaves the owner broke.

          Private equity can still fuck right off in any case…

          • UndulyUnruly@lemmy.world
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            6 hours ago

            If you’re genuinely trying to sway others to join you in your delusions by advocating they forego their empathic concerns for their animal and not take sensible, precautionary first steps of medical assessment to rule out that the animal suffers unnecessarily, you can piss right off.

            What a piece of work.

            • echo@lemmy.today
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              5 hours ago

              I’m not going to suggest to them that it’s cancer and if it is cancer I’m not going to suggest that they should treat it. You can also piss off with your assumptions. I’m not going to let my pets needlessly suffer, either. (Nor force them to suffer with some idiotic, expensive cancer treatment that is just as likely to kill painfully kill them as it is to cure them.)

            • echo@lemmy.today
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              5 hours ago

              Hate to disappoint you… I have pets. I’ve had pets for many, many decades.