I noticed a lump on my cat's lower jaw

I noticed a lump on my cat's lower jaw.

After looking it up it could be Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

From what I'm reading, its practically a death sentence is it is. Even cats that have it removed end up developing it again within the next year. Most don't live past 2 months after diagnosis apparently.

It was so sudden. I don't remember anything abnormal about him yesterday and today I could visually see his lower left jaw sagging and swollen and he recoils from touching it- it seems to hurt him.

When I got back from Iraq I had a lot of issues and this cat has helped me open up again and helps me when I have anxiety issues. He is my boy. I found him outside, skinny, eating grass, and brought him in to feed him. He was and still is the sweetest boy you'll ever see. He's never been mean to anyone or anything.

I don't know what to do. My vet's clinic doesn't open for another 5 hours and I'm a mess. My face hurts. My head hurts. All I can think about is losing my little guy.

I'm going to have to put down one of the only things I love, I just know it.

Right in the feels man check if there's anything open (vet) relatively near you man

Fuck that sucks dude, poor catbro.

Chill out. Wait until the vet opens.

...

Bump

It's just a fucking cat dude, i used to down those things im my pool for fun when i was a kid.

kys pussi

I love this little guy more than I do almost any person I know.

I've never been a cat person my whole life until I brought him in. We eat together, we sleep together, we nap together.

I'm not sure I can get by without him.

"It's just legs" said the snake to the amputee.

You should definitely take him to the vet as soon as you can, but I wouldn't necessarily start worrying yet. It might just be an abscess. My dog developed this huge lump under her leg but our vet said it was completely benign and she's lived fine with it for something like 7 years now.

...

Sorry to hear that brother. It could be cancer, it could be nothing, don't beat yourself up over it until you know for sure.

Is your cat white OP?

No. See

Leave it to the experts to decide what it is. Don't just assume the worst, not when it comes to something to important to you.

One of my cats had a similar thing - but all it was was an abscess. They drained it, we just kept it clean with salt water and she was fine. It was a great big dirty growth on the side of her face. This was about 5 years ago now, and the cat is 20 this year.

Chin up bro. Don't always assume the worst

Cats are shitty animals. You should kill it.

This. It could be an abscess, or even related to a tooth infection. Not deadly, but still costly to treat.

Squamous cell carcinoma is usually on the nose or ears of white cats. Even if it is, if it hasn't metastasised then cutting it out will have a much better survival rate than what you saw

Fuck you

Let us know how it turns out OP.

I'm trying. Really trying.

For some reason there is just this overwhelming sense of loss. Call it instinct, but I can't shake the feeling that in a few hours I'll be told my cat has months to live and I'll have to start preparing for that loss.

I'm hoping it is just an abscess.

I had mentioned the other day how he'd been laying in the spare bedroom more, away from everyone else. Didn't think anything of it till now.

After reading an online blog following the passing of a woman's cat from oral cancer I can't help but notice how her cat's lump looks exactly like my cat's lump.

I know it's just a cat, but it's been the first thing I've been able to feel anything with since I got back and I can't even handle the possibility of losing him.

...

Can you get a good pic of the lump?

Stop worrying about shit that might not (probably 99% won't, you can't change it even if it is the 1%) happen, and take your furry friend to the vet.

Health professional here, Dr Google is a fucking disease inasof itself

...

He's sleeping right now and I don't want to wake him up. Could be a stressful day and I want him to get as much good sleep beforehand. You can't see anything anyway, just swelling. At first I thought maybe it was just a scratch or something, but there is very obviously something hard in it and it hurts him.

I get what you're saying. He's just been such a big thing in my life the last few years and it scares me. Ever time I look at him and I can see the visible line of his gums drooping down from the swelling I'm just hit with this inescapable fear.

Health professional again.

Your little dude will be ok. I know it's tough to see sometimes but positive thoughts help and your vet will confirm furry dude will be OK.

Google catastrophises self diagnosed conditions, the amount of poor buggers I've had to almost refer to counselling after looking shit up is scary.

Don't fret mate. Positive thoughts. I know this is just words on the internet hate machine but I think things will be ok

You should get some sleep too mate if you can... I know it's probably gonna be tough but things will be OK

It's like going on webmd and finding out you've got cancer. It's not the usual place or type of cat for scc. Since its a big swelling and not ulcerated (by the sounds of it?) it seems even less likely. There's a bunch of things that could cause a lump in a cats mouth with much better prognoses. Could be a abscess, or cats get a weird autoimmune thing in their teeth too. Try not to worry about it OP, it'll probably be fine.

Nothing lives forever, buddy.

Nothing lasts.

Love him, care for him, minimize his suffering however you can, and let him go.

That's the hardest thing about having pets. Our brains file them in the same general location that we file our own children, and caring for them causes our brains to be active in similar ways, but 99% of the time we outlive our pets.

Thanks. It means a lot.

I found him one night when my wife and I were having a really bad fight all day via text while I was at work. I could get kind of mean. Mixed with being really distant, it was pretty bad. I saw him outside and knowing my wife loved cats, brought him in to feed him as a way of breaking the ice. It was the worse fight we'd had to that point and we were talking about getting a divorce- even planning the flight and everything for her back to family, etc. Brought him in and watched him eat and we talked everything over and have been married 5 years longer since then.

This is the first time she's ever seen me cry and one of the first times I remember crying since being deployed.

He's just made just a big impact on my life and the thought of him even being in pain is killing me. He literally changed my life.

Hey Sup Forumsro, Prayers from Australia for your little guy. Hope you both feel better soon and that he gets through it alright.

He has had some gum issues since we've had him. Even after cleaning them and steroids.
I'm hoping it's just something related and not cancerous.

Chill out bro. Had the same issue with my cat and it turned out to be cyst.Completely benign.Go the the vet and they will take a tissue sample.

checkd

My thoughts are with him, mate.

And you too. He'll be OK, you need to look after yourself too Sup Forumsro

Sleep would help, I know it would be hard as shit

If he's had gum issues before, and it looks like the swelling could be from inside his mouth there's a good chance it's related. But try put all the shit you read about scc out of your head. Even if it is cancerous (which is unlikely) it's not as big a deal as it sounds unless its spread already.

Fuck this guy, seriously.

Edgy little faggot

Thank you.

I'm doing better. Just pains me to look at him with his mouth like that.

It would bro, I hear ya.

Things will be right in the morning, and dwelling on it isn't good for you, either.

My prescription is give him a hug, cuddle up to the missus, get some sleep and things will be better in the morning

>kys
Fuckin leave nigger

I bet you also suck dick you little faggot