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What Causes Cancer in Cats?(July 29, 2010) |
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Cancer is a dreaded disease that affects not only humans but animals too and can prove fatal if not diagnosed and treated in time. Cancer in cats, however, is a rare occurrence and even though it is more common in dogs, it is more serious in cats. This is so because it is very difficult to identify any illnesses and diseases in cats at an early stage because of which diagnosis and treatment becomes complicated and expensive. Lymphoma is a cancer that is most common in cats and apart from that, squamous carcinoma, fibrosarcoma that is a tumor and soft tissue sarcoma which on the other hand is a tumor that is formed in the muscles or connective tissues of the body are other cancers that can affect your cat. There is a vaccine for cat leukemia that is available and can be given to your cats but despite this, there are a number of cats that are exposed to this virus. There are a lot of other tumors such as brain tumor, lung tumor, nasal tumor, liver tumor and so on which are not that common in cats. What causes cancer in cats is still not known but there is a virus known as the feline leukemia virus that is responsible for most cancers. Cat cancer causes can also be due to environmental factors, however, there is no firm evidence proving this but it is possible that they ingest certain chemicals and toxins from the environment that lead to cancer. As mentioned earlier, cat cancer symptoms can be difficult to diagnose as they can hide any disease very well but you can notice symptoms externally if you see any lumps and other signs such as vomiting and diarrhea, difficulty in breathing and so on. Generally, if your cat is not eating a lot, is losing a lot of weight, has a rough coat or is unable to do anything and feeling very weak, it is essential that you take her to the veterinarian. If your cat is diagnosed with cancer, it does not necessarily mean that she will die. If the cancer is diagnosed and treated at an early stage, she is most likely to survive and live long. If there are any bumps or lumps, they can be removed with the help of a surgery. Chemotherapy is very commonly used particularly for the treatment of lymphomas and any tumors that have spread to other organs of the body. |
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| Submitted by N M on July 29, 2010 at 05:26 | |
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