Mouth cancer in cat?

[saultgirl]

Wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

I have a 14/15ish year old cat who was bleeding from the mouth about 1.5 weeks ago. Lots of blood. We took him to the vet and the vet examined him and found a large cut on his tongue. He mentioned that cats sometimes get tumours in their mouth/tongue but he only saw the cut. We were given antibiotics for a week and told it should heal in about 10 days.

The bleeding did stop and it appears (from what I can see) that the cut is healed. It’s really hard to see what’s going on in there, though, as this kitty isn’t a particularly good patient. (and he kind of hates us for giving him the meds for a week.)

The last couple of days, kitty seems to be drooling a lot; not necessarily dripping out of his mouth but his lips are all wet and he has definitely lost some weight. He has always been a fatty so to lose a little bit isn’t really a concern in itself, but he’s still not quite right. Hubby was going to take him to the vet today but they aren’t able to get him in until Monday.

I am wondering if he does have something more going on in there, and would like to hear if anyone else here has experienced it? What symptoms came first, what treatments were available, what was the cost, what age was your cat, etc?

This kitty had a tooth removed about a year ago, and at that time there was no mention of anything unusual in his mouth.

Thanks in advance.

[Simkie]

Yeah, I’ve dealt with this. Found as a surprise during a routine dental with radiographs. There’s very little that can be done, although kitties aren’t usually bothered. Apparently it can get really ugly before it seems to impact the cat.

If this is something you’re worried about, it is probably worthwhile to anesthetize your kitty and perform a full exam with rads.

With my my kitty, we focused on quality of life and euthanised before a big move. She probably had a few really good months left, but it wasn’t fair to ask her to move cross country. 100% feel like we did the right thing for her.

[khall]

Yes, we lost our Bronco to tongue cancer last December. He was only 10-11 yrs old. He had an ulcer that vet looked at, we tried to treat with just antibiotics thinking he had gotten into something but no, it got worse pretty quickly and we had to let him go. They sometimes will remove part of the tongue but I could not see doing that with Bronco. The cancer comes back pretty quickly, does not buy you much time. Squamous cell carcinoma.

So sorry, it was hard letting our beautiful boy go. In his better days. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1065865786785463&set=pb.100000861553573.-2207520000.1531534564.&type=3&theater

[DoubleClick]

I lost a 16 year old last June to cancer that showed up in her mouth, up behind her eye (right above where it was in mouth), and in her toe (strangely). Came on fast and strong. Spent a lot of money trying to figure out what was going on, but ultimately there was nothing to be done, and the vet recommended we let her go sooner rather than later. Thoughts to your kitty that it’s nothing as awful as what my Lilly had.

[cloudyandcallie]

Unfortunately I have experience with mouth cancer in a cat. Derrick, whom I got when she and her littermates (2, I had them also) were 6 weeks old, developed cancer in her mouth when she was 18 yoa. I thought she was having tooth or gum problems but our great vet hospital vets said cancer after they examined her and sent a sample off to the lab… I tried palliative care but had to have her put down in a few weeks because of pain. Her vet did not recommend chemo.

OTOH, my grandmother (human) developed cancer in her mouth at age 72. Did not ever use tobacco or drink, but lived on a farm all her life so exposed to chemicals used on crops. Doctors at medical school where she was referred wanted to cut out her tongue and part of her gums and give her chemo. My mother said no way, and so my grandmother was given 2 or 3 rounds of radiation. Cancer went into remission and my grandmother lived well into her 80s when she died of heart failure.

[Lah0808]

Unfortunately I have experience as well. It was really terrible and I switched vets after the experience my poor cat went through.

My cat was 13 and I first realized something was going on when she was starting to have trouble eating and found some blood in her food bowl one day. Vet basically misdiagnosed the issue, thought it was something with her teeth and wanted to clean them. Made no difference of course. Then realized she had a large ulcer in the back of her mouth and tried to debride and remove the ulcer and it returned within days. Over the course of 6 weeks my (fatty) cat lost almost half her body weight, she could barely eat or drink. It was truly horrible and had I known what was in store for her when I first noticed she was having some trouble, I would have put her down that very day. I just didn’t have any experience at that time with a situation like we were in. If something like that were to show up in one of mine today, I would be and have been a lot quicker to say goodbye.

I’m sorry and I hope your kitty has a much better time than mine did.

[hoopoe]

oral caners can be very fast, so the condition a year ago really does not play in to this.
Squamous cell carcinoma is , unfortunately very common on tongue and gums, even root sockets. The cut may have been from self bite and having a disturbed function

Another possibility is an electric burn from chewing electric cords, though that is usually a young cat event. Burns can be quite difficult to heal

lastly some cats get foreign bodies and thread and needles trapped into the mouth can produce a ton of damage. Sometimes you need anesthesia and perhaps an xray to find the buried treasure. If you had thread wrapped around the tongue,producing a laceration, you might not easily see the thread if it is buried deep in the tissue

[saultgirl]

Thank you everyone. I guess we’ll see what happens Monday.

[BUSY]

Jingles for your dear cat.

[saultgirl]

It was a tumour in his tongue. We put him down today.

[Lah0808]

Oh I’m so sorry

[hoopoe]

I am so sorry for the loss of your friend.

[Zu_Zu]

:sadsmile: I’m sorry for your loss ~ ((hugs)) ~

RIP ~ Beloved cat ~ knowing you will always be loved and remembered ~

[khall]

I’m sorry.