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Old July 7th, 2007, 05:46 PM
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LittleMomma LittleMomma is offline
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vaccine lump persists - Answered by Dr. Lee

I posted a few months ago about our middle-aged kitty having a bad reaction to a vaccine (Feline Leukemia vaccine on her left flank). Well, nearly three months later, the lump persists. I don't think it's gotten any bigger, it actually went down within the first month of it being there... but the fact remains it is STILL there! It's not well-defined, it's not firm, it's less than the size of an olive (or maybe about that size, just kind of elongated)... I notice it when petting her... but it's not going away. Everything I read says VAS but one site said that "persistant vaccine reactions must be eliminated as a cause". Could it just be a benign persistant "thing"?? Obviously, we will be calling the Vet come Monday!

Last edited by LittleMomma; July 7th, 2007 at 05:50 PM.
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Old July 7th, 2007, 06:03 PM
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rainbow rainbow is offline
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I have never had this happen with either of my cats <insert "touch wood" smiley here>. I know one of Chico's cats had this problem but don't know how long the lump lasted.

Geeze, I'm not much help here, am I?

But, Dr. Lee has been really generous with his time here lately and I'm sure he will answer next time he logs on.
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Old July 7th, 2007, 07:27 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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Rainbow,

Thanks for the vote of confidence!!!



Little Momma,

Persistent vaccine lumps in cats after a FeLV vaccine can be of concern and definitely indicates a trip to the veterinarian. Some can be benign but there is concern that most of the FeLV vaccines may in some cause an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma (cancer) in some cats. There is different numbers on the rate of vaccine induced cancer but there was a lecture in 2006 by a veterinary oncologist Dr. Rassnick that stated the annual occurence in the USA was, "at a rate of 0.63 to 3 per 10,000 cats vaccinated annually." Some vaccine representatives still even say that the vaccine hasn't been linked to the cancer - but that is not the general impression.

Currently there are non-adjuvanted FeLV vaccines which reduce the risk and a recombinant, non-adjuvanted, needless vaccine which to date, has not ever been shown to have caused cancer. (it is the Vet Jet system by Merial and looks like a white and teal colored space pen). Note: different veterinarians choose different vaccines. There is a lot of controversy out there. Overall the risk is low, but when it is your cat that doesn't necessarily make you feel better!

What to do now?
1) Relax. While the risk is present, it is low. Before I switched to the Vet Jet, I had been injecting FeLV vaccines for 8 years and never had a sarcoma come back. I had a collegue that I worked with have one (that was in a 6 doctor practice).
2) Bring him to your veterinarian and discuss the situation. Ask her/him whether fine needle aspiration, biopsy, surgical excision with biopsy or waiting/antibiotic therapy is the best for your cat.

Good luck and keep us updated.
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Old July 7th, 2007, 09:28 PM
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LittleMomma LittleMomma is offline
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Thank you! Could it still be a granuloma of some sort?
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Old July 8th, 2007, 12:37 AM
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Yes. A granuloma is a mass compiled of inflammatory cells. If the vaccine lead to local inflammation (which is what non-adjuvanted and recombinant, non-adjuvantted try to avoid/minimize) then granulomas are the most common cause of lumps. Where the concern for cancer comes in, is that the inflammation triggers off tumor growth. Again the odds are generally much more favorable to a benign mass however with the chronicity of this, we need to find out.

Good luck and best wishes. Keep us posted.
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myvetzone.com
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Old July 8th, 2007, 10:02 AM
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LittleMomma LittleMomma is offline
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Thanks a million, Dr. Lee! In certain positions, you can barely notice it which leads me to believe it is not firm - to me, it feels more squishy, like I can pinch it between my fingers and it almost feels like fatty skin (though I know it's not b/c of the location of it - right at the FeLV vacc site). Poor baby, I've been poking and prodding her all night which I think may have caused the area to swell and feel bigger to the touch. I'm a paranoid cat momma! I did not know how long a granuloma could stick around for. Should I request a fine needle aspirate? If it comes back as non-cancerous at this stage, what should my next course of action be? I've read the horror stories of excisions causing any cancer to metastasize, but is the same true if a benign mass (inflammation, etc) is excised? Sorry for so many questions, trying to ease my mind!
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