Ask Dr Claire

My cat has suddenly got a lump near his ear. Just wondering what this could be?

Lumps in general are either:

1. non cancerous i.e. these are inflammatory

2. cancerous – within this group either
(a) benign (tend to be slow growing and not spread readily to the rest of the body) or
(b) malignant (fast growing and can spread to other areas of the body).

We cannot know what these lumps truly are (looks can be deceiving) unless we take a sample of the lump and look at those cells under the microscope. Sometimes the sample needs to be sent to a veterinary pathologist to interpret what it’s likely to be and then recommendations are made from there as to whether a biopsy or removal would be needed.

I would advise to book him in for a check with your local vet when you can.

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Chat soon,

Dr Claire