Change in cat behaviour and large lump

by Lucy
(American Samoa)

I live in a place where there are no vets to take our cat to. She is about two years old and has been neutered (when the vets visited the island). About a year ago, she was attacked by dogs and had an open wound that healed but resulted in some hard scar tissue (or so I thought) in her abdomen area. She used to be very greedy and sleep a lot (a little overweight). in the last 6 weeks, she has lost all her weight and disappears for days at a time. I keep thinking she has been eaten by a dog and then she comes back for a day before leaving again. The area in her abdomen has now become a very large and very hard lump, larger than a golf ball. When she does come back she seems to be relatively happy and quite playful but she does not eat much which you would expect if she has not eaten for several days. On the other hand, there has been no sign of diarrhoea or vomiting. I do not think she is being fed elsewhere because she would not have lost so much weight then. I would like to know what the chances are of her having a tumor or some other type of illness. I do not know if cancer can be brought on by trauma?

Reply
Hi sadly i think tumors can occur after truama especially if at the time of the truama infection settled in etc. Of course it may also be a build up of nasty pus due to an infection. Or even a hernia.

the fact that she has lost lots of weight is not a good sign i'm afraid and she could be taking herself off if she is not feeling great. some cats will do this when they are feeling ill.

I can't really give you any other advice apart from if there is no way to get her to see a vet then all you can do is to keep her as comfortable as she will let you.

It must be terrible living somewhere where you do not have access to cat care from a vet.

Sorry i was not able to give you better news.

best wishes kate

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