George&Bert
Active Member
My boy has the "C" word in his throat and the difficulties that go along with it. This is heart breaking to say the least as he and I are so in tune and best pals.
I keep wondering over and over about what I did to make this happen. I give him the best food, a good environment, more love than he could stand. Then, I read this:
I switched Bert to all canned a few years ago after consulting with the feline diabetes group and advice from certain vets. And I gave him tuna very diluted in water to distract him while giving his shot once a day. Chemo is apparently useless against this, but, we are going to try tomorrow to see if we can prolong and improve his life.
I keep wondering over and over about what I did to make this happen. I give him the best food, a good environment, more love than he could stand. Then, I read this:
Prevention and Risk Factors
While sun exposure is an important risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma on the ears and nose, the owner’s cigarette smoking habits turn out to be one of the most important risk factors for the oral squamous cell carcinoma. The risk goes up four times when the owner smokes 1 to 19 cigarettes daily. Cats that have at one time lived with a smoker have an increased risk over cats that have always lived in non-smoking homes.
The use of flea collars was associated with a five-fold increase in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma, although the study that found this correlation was not able to differentiate between different types of flea collars. Interestingly, regular flea shampoo use was associated with a 90% reduction in risk.
.....Regular feeding of canned food, especially tuna fish, was associated with increased risk for the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma. In humans, poor oral hygiene has been associated with an increased risk for oral squamous cell carcinoma, so it is speculated to be the basis of the canned food correlation in cats as well..........
The average age at diagnosis is 12.5 years. This tumor usually occurs in older cats.
I switched Bert to all canned a few years ago after consulting with the feline diabetes group and advice from certain vets. And I gave him tuna very diluted in water to distract him while giving his shot once a day. Chemo is apparently useless against this, but, we are going to try tomorrow to see if we can prolong and improve his life.