Are those your salivary glands or did you swallow golf balls?
Is anyone else out there a dog hypochondriac?
I notice everything about Pinto - every little scratch, bump, or new spot. So over the past year, I kept mentioning to Steve and the vet that the glands in his throat seem very large. Neither one really agreed with me, and I don’t blame them. By the time I usually got either person to feel the glands, they were smaller again. But being the hypochondriac I am, I continued to bring it up.
I’m not kidding when I say that there have been days when it felt like there were two golf balls in Pinto’s throat. He never seemed bothered or uncomfortable, but he has an extremely high tolerance for pain. So I’d worry.
Finally, at our last visit to the vet, our doctor took pity on me. She said that, although she wasn’t worried since none of his other glands were swollen, we could have Pinto tested. So we did. The vet used a needle to extract some cells from the gland after shaving the area. Poor Pinto: the first results came back indeterminate and they had to do a second procedure. Luckily, he considers going to the vet a big treat, a party just for him.
The second result came back negative - it actually isn’t lymph nodes; it’s his salivary glands. Our dog has extra large salivary glands. Lucky us! I guess that explains the puddles on the kitchen floor at dinner time.
Although I could have gone on the vet’s instincts and saved myself a chunk of change, my theory when it comes to the dog (or the cat) is better safe than sorry. The total cost of the proccedure was in the neighborhood of $90 (US) and I think it was well spent to not worry every time I feel those huge glands.
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3 Responses to “Are those your salivary glands or did you swallow golf balls?”
I just got back from the vet because my dog has been sick, and then I felt under his neck and felt the same thing. I convinced myself it was lymphosarcoma, and was in denial for two weeks before I finally took him to get checked out. Turns out I was feeling his salivary glands, and he has been sick because he has roundworms, not cancer. I feel like such a fool getting all worked up and even crying. Just wanted to see if anyone else has run into this same thing, so when I did a search on the ‘net, this was one of the first sites to come up.
I had this very same thing happen with my cat. About a month ago I was scratching her neck and felt a mass under her skin. I was terrified of what it could be…swollen lymph node, cancer, etc… I soon realized that the same lump existed on the other side of her neck. I was convinced that her lymph nodes were swollen and that she had cancer. I took her to the vet, and the vet said it was simply her salivary glands, nothing to worry about. I had been so freaked out about it, I even took her to another vet for another opinion and she agreed with the first vet. I have a hard time believing that her glands have always been this big…surely I would have felt them before. But, they’ve felt the same for over a month now, so I have accepted that she just has big glands and am so relieved that my kitty is ok.
By the way, if there are any other kitty parents out there going thru this same thing, Marm’s salivary glands are about the size of small kidney beans. They feel smooth and kind of rubbery under the skin. They are right below the spot where her top and bottom jaw meet…below her ear. If your kitty has the same lumps, it’s probably OK, but have them checked by the vet to make sure.