Tia has a lump

[Godmother]

My dear Tia (one of Corrie's daughters, spayed young, now 26 months old) has suddenly developed a lump about the size of a pecan on her right hand side flank. This is so strange. She didn't have it before I went to Halifax (5 days ago), my husband didn't see anything unusual when I was gone.

Tia is a sweetie. Two of my other girls have a vet appt on Friday, so I will take her along also. We are dismayed and worried. anic: Luckily she has been doing well otherwise, and she seems lively and contented, so she would be able to withstand surgery.

 

[MumsyRat]

That developed pretty fast. Any chance it's an abcess??

 

[Godmother]

It's possible. I don't have much experience with these things, and just assumed it was a tumour. Tia is not in any obvious discomfort, and there is no sign of injury. I will prod the lump a little and get more info.

 

[lilspaz68]

Poor Tia...Bear had a lump on that hip as well, and now Kara...if you are able to, get that thing removed. Bear's was a dangerous one and Dr Munn said it would've killed him quickly since it was infected if I had left it.

 

[PiedPiper]

Get well soon, Tia!

 

[jorats]

I would try Baytril for about 2 weeks and see if the lump goes down. How does it feel? hard, squishy, movable?

My Nessie has a lump, I'm 99% sure it's a mammary tumour. She is spayed and she's only 15 months old. But... her line is pretty screwy, her brothers died of unknown causes at a very young age, they were very aggressive as well.
I did the Baytril for two weeks but there's no change. Oddly though, it's not growing either. It's the size of a grape. I'll be making an appointment for a removal.

Good luck to your sweetie!!

 

[SQ]

Hope everything turns out well for Tia.
You are both in my thoughts.
:hugs:

 

[mamarat]

I hope it's an abcess. I thought Jevy's lump had come back after his operation but it turned out be an abcess, one of the smelly kind. :sick2:

 

[Godmother]

Tia is on maintenance Baytril. I have an appt for her on Friday afternoon, and meanwhile I will put her Baytril back up to the full dose.

 

[allykatt]

I used to babysit for a family, and their kids loved my rats so much, they got their own. Their one sweet ratty smudge had bad tumors etc when she was almost 4, and even I was sure that one of the ones on her side was a tumor. Then Max (one of the kids, though he is 14 now) called me saying when he woke up, he saw that smudges tumor had opened up and was a huge abscess.

Poor girl was already really sick and even being on a variety of meds, she had to be put down. Luckily her sister Streak is still alive at 4 years old, and is teh sweetest, lickiest rat ever.

I've been really lucky in not having many absceeses, other than helping my friend treat one of her hamsters that had one, and a small on on my rat Pepper's neck when she was tiny. They really are nasty things, but SO much better than a tumor!

 

[Lina]

Best wishes for Tia. I do hope she gets well. I have found abbcess can be hard to get rid of. We are not out of the woods yet with Placid after a couple of months :gaah:

 

[lilspaz68]

Praying for a tumour but the age says a mass. Lovely Tia. :sad3:

 

[PiedPiper]

What is the difference between a tumour and a mass? Is a tumour benign and a mass malignant?

Also, why are rats so prone to abscesses and is there anything at all we can do to prevent them?

 

[Godmother]

Tia's lump moves easily. It feels hard enough to me, but my husband says it doesn't feel hard. So i guess that means it's not squishy but not too hard. This is a pitiful description, I admit, but I am new at this. It is a relief that she will see the vet on Friday.

I am feeling the beginning of the end for my Corrie girls, what with Tia's lump and Penny's stubborn URI & Megan's intermittent URI. Angela seems fine, but so did Tia a week ago. Megan and Penny are thinner through the shoulders and back than they used to be. Angie seems the same. Maybe I'm just being a worry wart, but I hate to see my dear girlies failing.

Worse yet is Georgie, from Stella's gang. Georgie is only sixteen months old, but her lungs were full of fluid in the X-ray. I have her on benazepril, lasix and abs; her breathing is much better, and she is lively, but I can still hear breathing noise. On Friday I will ask for her to get the other heart meds (e.g. atenolol) because the benazepril has helped.

 

[PiedPiper]

It's heartbreaking when age starts catching up with our animal friends and you see them start slowing down. All you want to do is "fix them" . . . make them young and strong and whole again. I try not to dwell on it (our boys are only about seven months old) but before I know it, that day will be upon us too.

Why do their little lives have to be so short? :sad3:

 

[jorats]

It really is depressing when they all start to get sick or appear old all at once. It's taking to bad with the good, and there is sure enough good to cover it.
You've done so much for these girls, right from birth!!

 

[Godmother]

The good definitely outweighs the bad, but I have such sentimental attachment to Corrie's girls that it is really hard on me to see them getting old. :cry:

 

[Godmother]

I just brought Tia home from the vet. Her lump moves easily with the skin, it is hard, not inflammatory, probably a benign mass. The cells he was able to aspirate did not look malignant.

So she is booked for the surgery next Tuesday morning.

 

[mamarat]

Sending good thoughts to your sweetie.

 

[jorats]

I wish my Nessie was going in that soon. She's booked for July 8th. It has time to grow ten times it's size.

I'll be thinking of Tia while I bring in my other two girls for their spays on Tuesday.