I guess I should have said "non-life-threatening" - I'm not
sure how much penetrating power a BB-gun has, but it could
certainly have been a lot worse.  (Compared to what COULD
have happened, a lump on the ear seemed pretty harmless.)
BTW, the boy's parents didn't even know he was doing it - he
was using his own bedroom window when he was supposedly in
bed for the night.  (Kids can get up to a lot of mischief,
with even the most caring parents remaining ignorant of it.)

Equally innocuous? I wouldn't call shooting a cat with a BB gun
innocuous. Poor Miu! I'm glad the boy's parents were responsible
about it.

I certainly hope Smudge hasn't been shot with a BB gun. There aren't
many kids of the age where kids would use one, in my neighborhood.
Mostly the area has young families with toddlers, or old people, or
single people living in apartments. I don't see many teenagers or
even older kids. Still, that doesn't mean it can't happen, but I hope
not.

Joyce

Sorry, I don't think my single experience qualifies.  When I
lived in Pasadena, Miu (my flame-point Siamese look-alike)
developed a lump under the skin on his ear, which behaved as
you describe.  After removing the lump, the vet showed it to
me - a BB-shot from the little boy next-door engaging in
target practice out their back window!  (I had words with
his parents, and the BB-gun was confiscated until he could
use it responsibly.)  I do hope Smudge's problem proves to
be something equally innocuous.

Last night when I got home, I picked up Smudge and felt an odd
lump on her underside. It's the size of a very large grape, and
about the same shape as a grape. It feels like a swollen gland
or something like that. It's possibly near her front nipple, or
it's in her "underarm", under her front leg. It moves around under
her skin, so I can tell it's not a swollen skin wound. (Also,
there's no blood or any sign of an obvious injury.) The lump is
firm, but not hard as a rock. When I gave it a gentle squeeze, she
didn't react much or cry out, so I don't think it's very painful.
She did struggle and act annoyed, but that might have been just
because she doesn't like being handled, or maybe it's a bit
uncomfortable.

She seems normal in most ways - eating, active, wanting to go in
and out, alert, affectionate (but not unusually so), and grooming
herself. The only thing I've noticed is that her walk is a little
funny - seems like she might be trying not to press on the lump
with her front leg as she walks.

Anyway, **I have made a vet appointment for her**, so no yelling
at me about "using this newsgroup as a vet". :) I just thought I'd
ask you folks if you've ever seen something like this, and what
your experiences are with this kind of thing.

Thanks,
Joyce