Large swollen gland

I just had my 7 month old male cat neutered and declawed on December 22, 2009.  I brought him home on December 24, 2009 and on x-mas day noticed he didn't seem to be himself, I thought he seemed to be in a lot of pain and seemed to have a fever.  Brought him to the vet the following day (12/26/09).  The vet said he definitely had an infection in his paws and they were going to need to keep him to give him antibotic (antibiotic) and soak his paws.  Picked him back up again on 12/29/09.  He seemed much better, but he is nothing like the wild child he was before the surgery.  The next day 12/30 I noticed he was sneezing quite a bit, it was a holiday and I figuered maybe it was because of the newspaper in his litter box.  That only lasted a couple of days.  I took him for a recheck on 1/7/10 and while I was waiting in the vets office, I noticed a lump on his right side under his chin.  The vet was unsure of what it could be, he said if more develop to bring him right back or if it got a lot bigger.  Otherwise he wants to see him in another month.  The next day, the lump seemed a little bigger and the day after that it seemed to chang a little bit, it was still as big but not some much a mass, I felt like I could actually grab it.  This lump does seem to be giving him any discomfort, you can touch it, he doesn't care, he is eating and drinking.  My question is, is it possible that this lump is just a residual symptom from all that we went through?  He also has a large lump on his back, my vet told me it was because of the rabies vacine that he had received, it has been 4 days and I don't see this lump getting any smaller.

[Arnold L Goldman, D.V.M.]

Dear heidipost,

A swelling under the jaw in a young animal may be an enlarged lymph node or an abscess. A lymph node may enlarge due to nearby  inflammation, like from eruption of an adult tooth or from a minor abscess from a wound if he has been "arguing" with another cat or a wound in the mouth from chewing something. In your young cat, with also with another lump on the back, perhaps from a vaccine, you should identify if the cat is negative for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus. Sometimes FIV or FeLV may cause immune deficiency that creates susceptibility to minor infections, among other consequences. Your doctor, well versed in your cats case, is best suited to sort this out and find a cause and cure. Do followup up with him/her soon.

Good luck!

Arnold L. Goldman DVM, MS
MedHelp & PDOC