Saturday, 11 May 2024
Obesity link to 22 types of cancer in humans should concern cat caregivers
Friday, 10 May 2024
Does chemo work for cats suffering from lymphoma?
Friday, 22 March 2024
British King, Queen and future queen all have cancer
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Chemo. generic picture. |
In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment. - Kate Middleton.
Thursday, 4 January 2024
Dogs have a sixfold increase in risk of bladder cancer through passive smoking
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Scottish terrier 6 times more likely to get bladder cancer through passive smoking. Image: MikeB |
Monday, 26 July 2021
Common sense ways to protect your cat from sunburn and possible skin cancer
The difference with cats is that there are only two places, really, where sunburn is a genuine problem and that is the tips of the ears because the hair is very thin over the ear flaps. And white cats are particularly susceptible because there is no pigmentation in the hair strands because of the presence of the dominant white gene. That, by the way, is why some white cats are deaf and have blue eyes or odd-eye color. It's the same gene doing its work. The gene prevents the development of melanin in the iris of the eye causing it to be blue through the refraction of light.
So, you have an ear flap with very little protection in white cats from UVB and UVA. The ultraviolet light in the sun's rays penetrate into the epidermis and dermis of the skin damaging the individual cells of the skin. It damages the DNA of the cells which causes them to produce cancerous cells.
If you want to know a bit more about the science of how cancer develops from sunburn, you can click on this link.
Common sense dictates that the way you protect a cat from this serious health condition is to keep them inside during the hot weather. This may be difficult but I'm told that in America around 7/10 of the cats are indoor cats anyway. That said - and this is not common sense! - most UVB is stopped by the glass in windows and therefore an indoor cat snoozing under the sun behind the glass of window should be okay in terms of getting sunburned ears. But check this point if you wish.
We know that cats like to find little pools of sunlight and the home if they are confined to it. I'm waffling a bit but you simply protect the cat from the sun if you want to protect them from sunburn. Common sense. Sunscreen, as mentioned, is an alternative. You can buy sunscreen for pets online on Amazon but you might wish to consult with your veterinarian before purchasing it.
And if you cannot confine your cat during the hot weather because they insist on going out it'd be wise to provide shady spots in your backyard. Cats will normally find the shady spots but the problem here is that some don't because if they did, they wouldn't get sunburn on their ear flaps, would they?
It is interesting that you can buy an ear wrap for dogs. It's a band which goes over the ears. I am thinking aloud. If a cat could wear something which protected the tips of their ear flaps that would be a winning result. The problem is that cats wouldn't realise the benefits and would simply do their best to get it off. And they'd succeed. They may also have a tendency to wash off sunscreen. I'd watch that.
The bottom line on this topic is that you have to keep your cat indoors if the weather is really harshly hot with bright sunlight throughout the day if you want to guarantee protecting your cat's ears from sunburn. This will certainly apply much more for all-white cats than other coat types.
Saturday, 8 May 2021
The sun of Northern Ireland gave this cat ear cancer
Northern Ireland is notorious for dull, damp, grey days or that is how I visualise the country. Rain constantly sweeps up from the south-west. One thing is certain, there is not a lot of sun in Northern Ireland and yet it was enough to damage this cat's ears to the point where skin cancer developed perhaps about a year or so later. When this white cat was found and fostered by a volunteer working for Cats Protection she had to be taken to a veterinarian to have her ear flaps amputated. As it happened, she had also been involved in a car accident and lost an eye as well.
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The sun of Northern Ireland gave this cat ear cancer. Photo: Cats Protection. |
As you can see she is all-white and as you probably know all-white cats are particularly susceptible to sunburn of their ear flaps. This is because there is less protection of the skin because white fur is hair without pigmentation and in any case the fur on a cat's ear flaps, as you also know, is very thin indeed. There is almost no protection from the sun's ultraviolet light.
It is a precautionary tale with the summer coming up. She has been named Smurf and the moral of the story is that even in quite wet, overcast climates such as that of Northern Ireland the sun can cause sunburn on cat ear flaps. The Cat Protection central veterinary officer, Sarah Elliott, said that: "Even on a cold day, when the sun is bright there is still the potential for damage to occur. Pale-coloured cats like Smurf are particularly at risk, or indeed any cats that have unpigmented white noses or ears."
You can apply sunscreen to a cat's ears and you might ask your veterinarian for his or her advice on the best product. And of course on those particularly hot days you can keep your cat inside if that is practical. I know that outside cats find it very difficult to remain inside. This may encourage the owner to let them out in the interests of peace and quiet. Under those circumstances I would have thought that sunscreen on the ears would be essential particularly if your cat is light-coloured as mentioned.
Friday, 30 December 2016
What is a complementary treatment for cats?
All home treatments should be carried out with care and thoughtfulness. Cat owners should not assume that information on the internet on this topic is always accurate or correct.
Complimentary treatments don't necessarily cure but are additional to and supportive of mainstream treatments.
For example, for feline cancer complimentary treatments might include: nutrition (low carbohydrate, high protein and fats), vitamins, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, herbalism, homeopathy and Bach flower remedies.
Mainstream treatments for feline cancer include: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, cryotherapy (freezing cancer cells), hyperthermy (heat probes or radiation), diet and immunotherapy.
Friday, 16 May 2014
I Know Why My Cat Is Shaking His Head
Another possible reason why he had a bacterial infection which irritated his nose causing him to shake his head to try and loosen it, is because something was stuck up his nose: a foreign body.
Another possible reason why he had this infection is because he may have the beginnings of cancer in his nose. That, again, would cause an obstruction and an irritation or discomfort - possibly. I am waiting to see how that develops.
In general, any irritation in the nose, in the mouth or in or on the ears might cause a cat to shake his head to try and get rid of that irritation/pain/discomfort.
Perhaps the most common reason for head shaking is ear mites simply because they are fairly common in the first place. You'll see a lot of cat owners on the Internet recommending to a person that they clean their cat's ears on the basis that their cat might have ear mites. Personally, I would not try this. It is too problematic a process. The cat might be hurt. Also, the cat might not have ear mites. There are too many ifs and buts. The only thing to do is to see a vet.
A sore and inflamed mouth can also cause a cat to shake his head.
With respect to a cat's ears, the following conditions might lead to head shaking:
- a foreign body or a tick the ear canal
- an infection of the year
- a blood clot under the skin of the ear flap (damaged ear)
- and ear that has been damaged in a fight which has become irritating/uncomfortable.
Monday, 3 October 2011
What percentage of cats die from cancer?
People ask, "what percentage of cats die from cancer?" Here are some feline cancer facts:
- Of all cat cancers 25% are skin cancers. 50-60 of these are malignant.
- 0.025% (about one in four thousand) of female cats develop mammary cancer.
- 17% of all feline cancers are "mammary related".
- 0.2% of cats will get feline lymphoma (cancer affecting a type of white blood cell). FeLV cats are higher risk to contract this disease.
- 10% of cat cancers are in the mouth.
- 0.1% (one on one thousand) of cancers are caused by vaccinations.
- 3% of cat cancers are bone marrow cancers.
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