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Cat Cancer Chemotherapy

Veterinarian Reviewed on April 2, 2014 by Dr. Janice Huntingford

Cat Cancer Chemotherapy

When you own a cat you hope that the day never comes when they get sick and need treatment but unfortunately this does sometimes happen. If your cat develops Cat Cancer you will have to consider the best possible treatment for them. You will want something that will save your cat but also cause them the least amount of Cat Stress And Anxiety and discomfort. Unfortunately it often depends on the type of cancer they have as to what form of treatment they are given.

Types of cancer and treatments

Cancer is a group of cells which are taking over your cat’s healthy tissues; if left untreated then your cat will die. Your vet may decide to remove the tumor or begin a course of radiotherapy. Both of these are common ways to treat the cancer. Your vet might also choose to give your cat chemotherapy and although this is effective in most cases, every case is different. Your vet will have to assess if this is the right form of treatment for your cat. For Cat Lymphoma Cancer and some other forms of cancer, chemotherapy has a good success rate but for other types it has very little effect.

How the Chemotherapy works

Although the chemotherapy which is given to your cat is effective at killing cancer cells, it unfortunately kills all cells even the healthy ones. All of the chemicals chosen are more toxic to the cancer cells which are how the chemotherapy destroys them. Although this type of drug is being improved it is slowly getting better at only destroying the cancerous cells. At present they still do destroy the healthy ones as well. Your vet will take some time deciding on the best combination of drugs to give your cat and this is very important.

Side effects of Chemotherapy

Although many people believe that cats do not suffer the same side effects as humans when they begin their chemotherapy treatment, this is untrue. Cats do suffer from Cat Chemotherapy Drug Side Effects and they are simply not as noticeable due to the smaller dose of drugs which is given to your cat. Hair loss is common in some breeds of cats and you may notice it in your cat, this is however normal and hopefully it will grow back. Your cat may also experience Cat Vomiting which can be treated with other drugs to help them to stop.

Chemotherapy for your cat

The chemotherapy will be given in a smaller dose to your cat because of their body weight and these are designed to help to fight the cancer cells. The hope is that these will be destroyed before the healthy cells and your cat will recover. Your cat will need other drugs as well to try and fight this disease and hopefully you would have diagnosed it early enough. There are many different types of chemotherapy drugs available and once it has been established which ones are suited to your cat then they can begin taking them. The duration of their treatment will depend on the type of cancer they have and how bad it is. Often the cancer will be beaten and your cat will go on to lead a perfectly normal life other times your cat will need the chemotherapy for life.

Read also: Cat Spinal Cord Tumors
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Our Expert

Dr. Janice Huntingford
Janice Huntingford, DVM, has been in veterinary practice for over 30 years and has founded two veterinary clinics since receiving her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. She has studied extensively in both conventional and holistic modalities. Ask Dr. Jan

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