Does chemo work for cats suffering from lymphoma?

Does chemo work for cats suffering from a malignant cancer of the lymphatic system (feline lymphoma) . Some cat caregivers will want to know and the answer according to a study and general internet research is YES but the chemo causes the cats to lose appetite called 'chemotherapy-induced anorexia'.

In the study 26 cats with confirmed high to intermediate grade lymphoma were treated for 12 weeks to a cycle of chemo drugs: l-asparaginase, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisolone.

In 46 per cent of the cases there was complete remission (CR). In 27 per cent of the cases there was partial remission (PR).

The average duration of CR was 394 days (about 1 year and 1 month) while for PR the remission lasted for 41 days.

Overall survival on average was for 78 days with a range of 9 days to 2230 days. Average (median) survival for CR patients was 454 days and for PR cats it was 82 days.

In terms of the affect of the toxicity of the drugs on the cats the most common was anorexia as mentioned.

In cats that achieve complete remission, maintenance-free chemotherapy may be adequate for securing long-term remission and survival.

Steps need to be taken to deal with the anorexia health issue referred to.

Study citation: Treatment of feline lymphoma using a 12-week, maintenance-free combination chemotherapy protocol in 26 cats

Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.12082

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Americans spend 90% of their time indoors enhancing the possibility of an allergy to their cat

I was surprised to learn that Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. I was also somewhat surprised to learn that the worldwide market for the treatment of an allergy to the domestic cat is worth US$4.2 billion! And the forecast indicates that the market will grow by 6.3% by 2031 reaching US$7.8 billion.

Image: MikeB

RELATED: WHY does the cat allergen Fel D1 cause an allergic reaction?

That's over four thousand million US dollars spent on medications for an allergy to cats. It's a big market and one reason why it is growing is because, as mentioned, more people are spending more time indoors where they are surrounded by cat dander (dried saliva and dead skin) both floating in the air and on furniture. The cat allergen is on cat dander and cat dander has the ability to stay airborne for a long time and float around the home.

You probably know that the cat allergen is a protein called Fel D1 which is in the saliva of domestic cats. The current best preventative step to squash the feline cat allergen is Purina's LiveClear dry cat food which coats the protein and prevents it having an effect on people who are sensitive to the allergen.

RELATED: Review: Purina LiveClear Allergen Reducing Sterilised Adult Turkey cat food.

There is also a greater awareness of an allergy to the domestic cat. This has probably resulted in more people coming forward having self-diagnosed that they are allergic to cats whereas in the past they may have thought they were suffering from hay fever or have a poor immune system resulting in a series of common colds. The symptoms are not that dissimilar between an allergic reaction and a mild cold or hay fever particularly.

An allergy to a cat is in the top three causes of respiratory allergies. I was also surprised to learn that the World Health Organisation and the International Union of Immunological Societies "recognise eight cat allergens". Well, the one I've mentioned is the most common. Let's put it that way. They may not be correct when they say that by the way

There is also increasing cat ownership. More cats are being adopted and the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a surge in cat and dog adoptions in the UK because people were lonely. The increased adoptions are going to result in the increased number of people diagnosed with an allergy to Fel D1

Experts say homeopathy as a feline treatment doesn't work but I strongly disagree

It seems to me that very few people believe in homeopathy as a treatment for cats, companion animals and their human owners. Dr. Bruce Fogle in one of his books, Natural Health Care, refers to homeopathy. He says an extensive review has been published in the British Medical Journal in 1991. The review analysed 107 controlled studies involving homeopathic medicines as treatments on cats under the heading of natural cat care.

Homeopathy works in my view. This treatment works in curing mange in foxes. Photo: MikeB.

He concluded that the studies were not well-designed but despite that 81 of the studies showed that homeopathic medicines were effective while 24 showed that they were ineffective and two were inconclusive. In 1994 a double-blind study published in the medical journal The Lancet concluded that homeopathy was better than a placebo in treating hay fever. However, no good studies of homeopathic medicines have been carried out on cats.

Dr. Fogle says that the number of veterinarians using some homeopathic remedies are increasing in Europe, North America and Australasia. He does say, though, that the vets who use homeopathy do so because they are willing to accept evidence from owners who swear by the treatments and they are so dilute that they can do no harm.

I would like to throw my hat into the ring on this one. I know that homeopathy works as a treatment. This is from first-hand experience. I have treated a number of foxes with mange which causes extensive hair loss most often on their tail and intense itching.  It is distressing to see. 

You simply add half a dozen drops of this treatment (see above) to their food and over a period of about two months the mange is completely cured. I have seen it with my own eyes. I swear by it and the fox charity who provided me with the homeopathic treatment knows that it works because they send out this product to countless thousands of people who report back with their success stories.

If you're interested in this fox mange treatment then please click on this link.

Dr. Bruce Fogle explains how homeopathy works. He states that the body is in a constant state of self-repair. The organs of the body and cells renew themselves constantly. Homeopaths believe that a vital force regulates the body to maintain health. Homeopaths work out how the body is trying to defend itself and they prescribe treatment on the basis of "like cures like". The remedy stimulates self-healing rather than suppressing the signs of the disease. "Like cures like" has also been called the "law of similars". It is the central principle of homeopathy.

The remedies are substances which if taken undiluted by a healthy person would cause symptoms similar to those of the of the disease being treated. So, for example, if a person is being treated for local skin irritation the homeopathic treatment is poison ivy but highly undiluted. Highly diluted poison ivy would be a suitable homeopathic treatment for flea bites in cats, for example.

Increasing the life of cats from 15 to 30 years - a cure for feline kidney disease

Professor Miyazaki believes that he might be able to double the expected lifespan of domestic cats to 30 years using a treatment he is working on.

Toru Miyazaki, 59, professor at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Tokyo. Picture: the University.

His extensive research found a new protein in the blood of humans and animals. He calls it AIM which stands for "apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage". Yes, I know that doesn't help!

He says that feline kidney disease is caused by dead cells piling up in the urinary tract which blocks the passageway like a clogged drain. This leads to kidney damage.

He says that AIM acts as an agent to unclog the pipes. AIM "goes to the problem area through the blood and flags exactly where the waste is. AIM itself does not dissolve the problem cells; rather other cells like macrophages come along to eat them". Macrophages are cells which destroy harmful organisms. They are also described as a "type of white blood cell that eats and digests foreign material inside the body."

He wants to administer AIM to cats via a vaccine as a preventative medicine and perhaps in other ways (orally or in a capsule?). He's started clinical trials in 2020 (reported). He wants the treatment to become a commodity i.e. a useable product by 2022.

My cat died on CKD. Photo: MikeB

He's excited by the possibility of AIM extending the lives of cats dramatically. He's correct in saying that feline kidney disease is a mass killer, shortening the lives of domestic cats in huge numbers.

His work is reactive essentially. I hope that he is successful but what about researching the reason why feline kidney disease is so disastrously prevalent in the domestic cat population? Is it the food? It might be. Why do domestic cats die of kidney far more often than humans? We need to address that question with more vigour.

No one comes up with a satisfactory answer as to why domestic cats are so predisposed to kidney disease. The situation indicates an underlying but as yet unknown environmental reason. My best bet is the commercial foods that we feed them. It might be the dry foods which have gained in popularity tremendously over the past decades.

CKD affects 8+ percent of cats of 10 years old and older. One well-known vet, Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins believes that dry cat foods are the culprit and feeding high quality wet foods can help dramatically plus a powdered phosphorus binder. One cat, Georgia, did very well on "fluids, a phosphate binder and a commercial high-protein diet. Read her book Your Cat to find out more.

Cat owners should also wish the best of luck to the professor in his quest to increase the life of domestic cats from 15 to 30 years.

What is a complementary treatment for cats?

Complementary treatments for cats are a form of treatment that is outside mainstream medicine and which can be carried out at home by the cat's owner with the advice of their veterinarian or under their supervision and perhaps rarely without this advice provided the cat's owner is knowledgeable.




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.