Hi,
 
My jill is nursing a baby kit.  About five days after "Squeek" was born
(just his baby name), I noticed that mom, Claudette, had belateral swollen
areas (quite large) directly in front of her shoulder blades.  The nodes
behind her kneecaps are swollen as well, as are the nodes in her armpits,
though these aren't as swollen.  For now, she's on .25 of clavomox every
twelve hours.  She has absolutely no clinical signs, but has a big appetite
and lots of energy.  No discharges, coughing, sneezing, or anything.  She's
a huge eater lately and has gained weight.  Her kit is a voracious nurser,
which gives me hope that her milk flow will continue.  Claudette is
approaching three years of age and has always been very healthy.
 
I know that lymphsarcoma can be asymptomatic, but to this degree?  The
swelling seemed to just appear sometime after the birth.  She got quite a
bit more nutrical than she's used to during the delivery, and some in the
morning and evening during pregnancy.  I also began giving her turkey baby
food and a little milk replacer.  My vet says if she were allergic to any of
these she would probably have diarrhea and itchy skin, which she doesn't.
She has a very good diet, as she did during pregnancy.  She gave birth to
four kits in all, but the first two were born dead, with neural tube
disorder (the brainstem on top of the head).  The cause for this isn't
proven, though there are theories of course.  This isn't what concerns me at
the moment, unless it is somehow related to Claudette's condition.  In the
future I want to learn much more about it.  Claudette is an albino, and the
father is a blaze, from a long healthy line.  The third baby lived for 24
hours only and, due to an inability to nurse and a head proportionately
large to the body, was probably also affected by the neural tube disorder.
 
Claudette has been on antibiotics since Friday night (it's Tuesday), and the
swelling hasn't subsided yet.  Since she's gained a lot of weight (I've hand
fed her since she gave birth and she's a porker, so I'm cutting back a bit),
the vet and I are hoping she may just be storing fat, though I haven't heard
of fat pads in front of the shoulder blades.  Please advise.  We're waiting
until Friday to see if there is any change, after which, if no change
occurs, we may have to do a biopsy.  If it comes to this, how much of the
node should be removed?  My vet is talking about just taking a wedge.
Another respected pathologist has recommended taking the whole node, so that
the procedure doesn't have to be done again to get a final diagnosis.
 
Please help.  Also, references on neural tube disorder would be appreciated,
but please help with Claudette first!
 
Thank you all so much,
 
Lynn Mc. and the Gang of Eight!
[Posted in FML issue 1498]