My cat has panniculitis, but lumps are growing. What's next?

Poor girl. I can see a tiny area there that is red, but nothing more in detail can be made from the photo. This could be eosinophlic plaques, if they are slightly raised areas (plaques) and are itchy. The treatment for this would be steroids prescribed by your vet, since the cause would be an immune medicated response. Other possibilities here would be a fungal infection or severe bacterial infection. Additional skin testing may be needed by your vet, so its best to take Mynxy in to be seen. I hope that Mynxy's skin resolves soon! Best wishes and take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is very hard to see in these pictures. This could be a benign or malignant growth. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

It's very likely to be an autoimmune condition, usually these do respond to steroids but it can take several weeks until results are seen. In some cases one type of steroids won't work but when changed it will start working, but I would give it at least 3 weeks before switching treatment.

The fact that the lesions have appeared on both sides of the face in nearly identifcal locations almost makes me think that Benjamin maybe stuck his face in something that cause some sort of reaction resulting in what you are seeing there. I can't think of any other reason why the face would have been affected in such a way. As your veterinarian already indicated, there is really no way to be certain or precise about what we are seeing without tests like skin cytology and/or biopsy to send out to the lab. These tests can be time-consuming and expensive, but will ultimately give you the answers you might be looking for. If this isn't a possibility, I would treat the lesions with antibiotics and pain management, and get Benjamin on an antibiotic that is good for injections of the skin. There are plenty from which to choose. If the lesions are not cleared up within a week to ten days, I would revisit the idea of diagnostic testing. Hope this makes sense.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell what is going on with a skin problem by just looking at the skin since most skin problems look very similar. My best recommendation would be to have your veterinarian perform some simple skin tests to get a sample of the area to examine under the microscope. They will be able to evaluate for bacteria, yeast, mites, fungus and abnormal cells. Hopefully that will determine what is causing the problem and how to treat it. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think at this point it seems like your veterinarian has tried symptomatic therapy to try to help. I would consider taking a culture of the lesion and using the indicated antibiotics. Also, it would be important to ensure that he is unable to chew or lick at it as that will continue to worsen it. You could consider an e-collar which you may get from your local pet store. If it does not resolve, a biopsy of the lesion should be considered. Good luck and have a good day!

This kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.