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My cat is sick, not eating, and has a neck lump. Should I worry?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | British Shorthair | Male | unneutered | 10 months and 16 days old | 7 lbs

My cat has been acting very down today hasn’t moved from the one spot other than to use his litter tray when it came to feeding time he wasn’t interested which is unusual and he hasn’t eaten due to this I was looking him over and found a large lump on his neck which seems to have came overnight should I be worried he is only 1 years old and never gets outside

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 17th, 2018

A huge lump on his neck could be an abscess, a blicked salivary duct, inflamed or infected salivary gland, a cyst, a tumor, or a swollen lymph node. This needs to be examined by your veterinarian who will likely want to take a bit of tissue or check if and what kind of fluid is in the lump. He will do this with a very thin needle (painless) to determine what kind of mass or lump there is. Not eating is dangerous for a cat as this can cause liver disease in cats in addition to the original cause. Please take your kitty to a veterinarian for an exam today.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 26th, 2017

    You need to take Snoopy into a vet immediately. It's extremely serious that he can't eat or drink anything, and this lump could be causing him a lot of pain. He could have an abscess, a cyst, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. The vet can diagnose that is causing the lump and can treat him for it.

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