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About Jana Connell RVT, CVT
Expertise
PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT do birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience
I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Birds > Ask the Veterinarian > kitty.

Ask the Veterinarian - kitty.

Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 11/4/2009

Question
So, this cat is technically my roommates cat. However, she has just recently got it fixed (girl cat) as of a week ago or so. And the stitches are all looking fine... Not red, they don't appear to be bothering her at all.
However, around her stitches she's getting a lump? Looks almost tumor like. Although I really don't think it is a tumor.

She got vaccinated a week or two ago, before getting fixed. She eat's just regular cat food. Although we had another cat move in about a month and a half ago, which stressed her out so she wasn't eating to much.

So my question is, about this lump, bump, or whatever it may be bubbling where her stitches are. Since its not bothering her at this time, Is this a normal thing to happen to girl cats when they get fixed? or should we be taking her in to get looked at by the vet?

Answer
It's pretty common. Usually it is the fatty tissue underneath have a reaction to the dissoluble suture materials. We had a lot of cats having this issue once and switched the kind of suture material we were using then it stopped.

Unless it is oozing a lot, smells nasty or has a discharge that is bloody, green, or yellow, it should resolve on its own.

Her licking the incision will also make this worse. Put a bandage over it so she has that to mess with instead of the sutures. Cats are good at pulling their own sutures out way too early.

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