Kitty Acne or Cancer? Pet Insurance Would Make This Easy

This situation is a perfect case in point about why none of us can afford NOT to have pet insurance. There are no rational excuses for not getting it – you might say “I cannot afford it” but I will promise you that you cannot afford NOT to have it. What do you do when one day your cat or dog wakes up with a lump or an ache that requires expensive interventions to diagnose it – and maybe to save her life? For the difference of  dollars a month, Aime could have afforded thousands of dollars of veterinary care. Without pet insurance, where does this leave her?

I was listening to you this morning on Living Today and heard the woman that called in who said she feeds her animals off of paper plates and changes them with each new feeding because of bacteria. This instantly made me think of a visit to the vet just a few months ago with my cat. She 14 years old has a black bump on her chin that the vet said was cat acne. She tried to pop it, but it was hard so she said it should be removed. The quote they gave us for the surgery was over $1000 and we just don’t have that money to do that and also cost of the antibiotics and the follow-up visits. My husband and I feel like terrible cat parents every time we look at it on her chin because we didn’t opt to have the surgery. Plus she is so old and I fear she would not do well with surgery. The vet didn’t tell us not to use ceramic bowls so I will make that change tonight. But is there anything else I can do for her? Something I can put on it? The vet didn’t offer any other options besides the surgery so I thought that was the only thing to do for her. I am attaching photos of the bump. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you might have.
Aime

Dr John Gordon was kind enough to take the time to both review the photo Aime send and to give this well-explained explanation about why this does NOT seem to be a blackhead or acne, but instead could be a cancerous tumor and only a biopsy will confirm that.

The photo suggests a focal comedone (blackhead). It is in a typical location and color. It is atypical because it is a single lesion with minimal surrounding hair loss. Comedones on the chin of cats usually develop in association with an allergy. Not a contact allergy like a plastic food bowl. If this were the cause, the inflammation would surround the muzzle and additional lesions would be noted (in addition to itching). The allergy for this age patient would be a food allergy. Many food allergic cats also have excessive wax in their ears as noted by a shiny appearance inside the ear canal. If older cats develop food allergies they have usually been consuming the same diet for many years before the allergy symptoms develop. Some older cats will develop the occasional comedone on their chin without an obvious cause and the lesion then resolves weeks later. We assume these cats can not groom their chin area and so they are predisposed to develop plugged follicles.

The age of the cat, the single lesion, the firmness and lack of surrounding inflammation suggest an alternative cause. A primary differential is a localized squamous cell carcinoma or other skin tumor. The biopsy would diagnose and possible resolve this condition that otherwise will not resolve. They may consider a second opinion both in a diagnosis and for the cost of the biopsy procedure. I hope this information has been beneficial.

So I told Aime: From what Dr. John says, it certainly seems that some vet has to remove this lump under anesthesia to biopsy the tissue and see whether it is cancerous. Complete surgical removal of the lump might be all the medical care required and could save her life – but only by going in there surgically to remove it can anybody know. If you love this kitty and have kept her in good health all these years, she has many more good years ahead of her. The question to ask is whether you would go through this procedure if you did have an insurance like Pets Best – which pays 80% of 100% of any bill associated with a medical problem. If the answer is yes, then have your vet (or another vet if you want to get another opinion or someone who can do this less expensively) hook you up with CARE Credit. If you get approved (right over the phone in the vet’s office) by CARE you get an interest-free line of credit and they pay the vet directly – who pays some interest on it. It might be benign, and even if it is cancer if the doctor makes a wide enough margin around it that may be the end of it. I’m sorry to give you this feedback but it seems like your own vet did not make clear what this lump might be – and why it is necessary to get it off and under a microscope. Where do you live? If there is a veterinary college nearby they might do this procedure for free or at a reduced cost for the education of the students.

Tracie