Facts About Bladder Cancer in Cats

Bladder cancer is a rare form of cancer in humans. Sadly, it can also occur in pets, although it is rare. As a matter of fact, feline bladder cancer makes up about 1% of all cancers in cats. If you are not aware of the signs of it, bladder cancer can spread and cause the symptoms to be more severe. Knowledge is going to be the first line of defense: knowing what to look for and knowing how it can be treated.

Feline bladder cancer happens more in male cats than female, and around the time when they are short of being ten years old. Signs to watch for are blood in the urine, incontinence, frequent urination, or having issues urinating. Of course, these signs are similar to a bladder infection, which is slightly less serious. There are other signs if the cancer has spread to the back bone. These signs include crying out in pain, reluctance to jump on higher surfaces, lameness in the legs, or limited to no activity. If any of these signs are present in your cat, bring it to the veterinarian as soon as possible.

If your cat is unfortunate enough to have bladder cancer, there are some options to have it treated. Sometimes, the cancerous cells are benign. However, this is in only three percent of the cases. The common option is surgery, which extends out the survival time of a cat for approximately 86 days. There is also an option of chemotherapy which can add more lifetime for your animal of approximately one year. The most recent option to come into play is to surgically remove as much of the cancer with a laser and treat the remainder of the cancer with chemotherapy. This generally extends the life of the animal by up to almost a year.

Feline bladder cancer, like any other sort of cancer, is a serious condition. Due to the severity of the condition, there is little that can be done to completely cure your cat. The most that veterinarians can do at this point is to try to make their lives as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, there is no known reason for what causes bladder cancer, but the most important thing is to keep an eye on your cat. As long as you do your best to keep them healthy, your cat's chances of bladder cancer will be reduced.

Sources: ehow.com, vetsurgerycentral.com