My small dog had a rabies shot last week and now she has a lump on the back of her neck. Will this disappear or should I be worried?

Deborah
Georgia

You probably have nothing to worry about. It is quite common for dogs to develop small masses (lumps) under the skin in areas where vaccines have been administered.

In dogs, most of these lumps are localized areas of immune system activity triggered by the vaccine. Since the purpose of vaccines is to stimulate the immune system, such a response is generally not very surprising.

In my experience, the rabies vaccine is the most likely to cause these reactions. As well, the lumps seem more common in young, smaller dogs.

Most vaccine-associated lumps in dogs slowly resolve over several weeks. You should watch the area carefully. If the mass is growing or painful, it could be a more serious problem such as an injection site abscess or infection. If you have any doubts, have your vet check the site.

Cat owners should be aware that vaccine-related lumps in cats often are not as benign in those in dogs. This is particularly true if a lump develops after a rabies or leukemia injection. In rare instances, this sort of lump can be a precursor to a tumor. Any lump at the site of an injection in a cat should be assessed by a veterinarian.

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I just moved across town into a new apartment. My cat Peanut has been acting really freaked out since we moved. She spends most of her time under my bed. Why is she doing that, and what can I do to make it stop?

Cynthia
Billings, Montana

There are two big reasons why Peanut isn’t acting like herself. The first is that cats are territorial creatures of habit. When you moved, your cat’s familiar and comfortable world was turned upside down, and she was placed in an unfamiliar and frightening new territory. She doesn’t know what dangers could be lurking in the new apartment. Might there be another cat? A seven-headed monster? Or, worst of all, a vacuum cleaner? Therefore, she is spending a great deal of time in the preferred hiding spot for most cats — under the bed — because it’s the safest place in the apartment.

Over time, Peanut should adapt and come to accept your new apartment as her new territory. The process is likely to be gradual, and may take a while. You can ease the transition by avoiding major upsets or disturbances (such as having construction workers over to remodel) while she is adapting. As well, try to set aside some time each day during which you coax her out and gently pet or play with her. This will help to restore a semblance of normalcy to her life.

There is a second reason why Peanut may be acting stressed. If you are like me, you find moving to be extremely miserable. Therefore, you are probably on edge and suffering stress. As I have mentioned before, part of what makes pets so great is that they pick up our emotions and reflect them back to us. When we are happy, they become happy. When we are stressed, they become stressed. I’m no expert on human stress management, but I personally find few things more relaxing than sitting with a book in hand and a cat in my lap. So maybe setting some time aside for Peanut each day will help you both, in more ways than one.

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Hello,

I adopted an eight-week-old kitten three days ago. I took him to the vet, and she gave him a clean bill of health. But a friend of mine says that my kitten has extra toes on his front feet. He has seven toes on one foot, and six on the other. How many should he have? Do I need to have the extra toes removed?

Joanna
Tempe, Arizona

Your kitten has extra toes. And there is no reason to remove them.

Most cats have a total of eighteen toes. Each front foot usually has five toes, and each rear foot has four. On the front feet, one of the toes is unique and is located further up the leg than the others. It is called the dewclaw, and it corresponds anatomically to our thumbs.

In real life, there is a wide variation in the number of toes that cats (and dogs) have. Some have dewclaws on their rear feet. Some have no dewclaws on the front feet. And some have multiple extra toes, usually in the area of the dewclaws. Extra toes (or, for that matter, missing toes) on any foot are nothing to worry about.

In fact, huge numbers of cats have extra toes. In my experience, it is especially common in male tuxedo (black and white) cats and in male blue or gray cats. However, it can occur in any type or gender of cat or dog. The syndrome is called polydactyly, but it is not a medical problem.

Animals with polydactyly generally lead completely normal lives. However, the nails on the extra toes sometimes grow abnormally long, and can even grow into and damage the surrounding skin. So check your cat’s nails regularly and trim them as needed. Other than that, don’t worry.

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