Natural Pet Health

There are always some cancer cells in the body, which the body can effectively kill on its own if the immune system is strong. Despite this fact pets still develop cancers that need treatment. Cancer in dogs and cats may not be a very common condition but it can be as problematic and fatal as in humans. Pets cannot speak about the discomfort that they are facing and therefore, it is upon the pet owners and veterinarians to use their observation and knowledge to establish prevalence of, say, symptoms of liver cancer in dogs and cats among other health conditions.

Feline cancer can occur in any part of the body. If cancer has been diagnosed in certain specific areas, radiation therapy is one of the treatment options that should be considered.

Cancer is a disease that we all associate with loss and that carries with it very serious omens. The ‘big C’ however does not just affect humans and can also affect animals, including cats. Cat cancer, or feline cancer, is sadly just as serious as the human equivalent but needn’t necessarily spell the end if you can spot the symptoms early enough and get your pet the appropriate treatment.

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in any organism’s body. Essentially wear and tear will break down the cell wall (often via the bombardment of free radicals). This will then result in a ‘mutation’ where the DNA of the cell is changed. As this cell reproduces however that imperfection will spread and replace healthy cells with damaged ones.

For cat owners, there’s nothing more terrifying and distressing than to find out that your beloved feline companion has developed a malignant tumor or tumors. In order to give your cat the best chance to survive a case of feline cancer, it’s important to seek treatment as soon as possible. Also, having a basic understanding of cat cancer and the steps involved in fighting the disease can help make the process of diagnosis and treatment less confusing and overwhelming.

What is Cancer?

While pursuing longevity for domestic pets, the medial fraternity did not probably bargain for the accompanying risks of cancer, which is mostly seen in older pets. Moreover, as long as we feed an unnatural diet to our pets and abuse the environment, pet owners are likely to continue facing problems with cancer in their pets. Seeing pets die slowly killer diseases like dog liver cancer and lymphoma in cats is indeed not something that any pet lover would want.

Many of us do not realize that it is natural for animals to resort to ‘self treatment’ in the wild. Most of them nibble at things that are actually not their natural diet. It has been seen that this happens only when the animal is not completely healthy and therefore is actually a means of herbal self medication. This forms the basis on which herbal and natural medicine for pets is based.

Symptoms and signs of cancer in pets and humans depend largely upon the organ or the tissue that has developed cancer cells. For example, the symptoms of liver cancer in dogs and cats are far removed from the symptoms of oral cancer. Cats with cancer of the digestive system will show signs of vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia while a lump in the peripheral skin indicates lymph cancer.

Some cancers are highly progressive and spread very fast. The first tool in your hands is to educate yourself and be aware of all the symptoms properly. Timely approach to treatment is the only way to prolong and make life comfortable for your cat.

Cancer is an abnormal growth of malignant cells and can virtually affect any part of the body. The abnormal growth can take various forms like tumors. Tumors are solid masses of cancerous cells that can spread to other parts of the body. Metastasis (spreading) is one of the main reasons that results in disorders in other organs.

Symptoms of cancer in cats vary according to the type of cancer that the animal is suffering from. However, each type of feline cancer has a certain set of symptoms that are easy to observe. These are:

Breast cancer constitutes almost all of glandular feline cancers and up to 80 to 96% of all malignant tumors in cats. It is also the third most common form of cancer in cats after lymphoid and skin cancers. Although breast cancer in cats is not breed specific, Siamese and Japanese breeds are more vulnerable than others. Obesity too seems to be a high risk factor. Spayed cats, however, carry a significantly reduced risk of developing mammary tumors.

Mammary tumors may either be floating or attached to the skin or the underlying muscles and are commonly found in the front set of mammary glands. Swelling, pain or infection in the glands and fever are among the most common symptoms that may indicate prevalence of mammary tumors.

Nobody knows exactly what causes cancer in cats and dogs but a number of risk factors have been identified including stress, pollution, colorings and preservatives and an inadequate diet.

These factors and others can damage your pet’s immune system and a compromised immune system damages the body’s natural ability to fight cancerous cells.

Finding out that your pet has cancer is devastating. But before you give way to grief, first get pro-active. You need to find out as much as possible about your pet’s condition so that you can provide him with optimum care.

Find out what type of treatments are available and consider which would be suitable for your pet’s condition. In addition to conventional treatments (which are often effective although extremely harsh) there are a number of alternative treatments which have proved extremely helpful in treating cancer in pets, including acupuncture, aromatherapy and homeopathy.

There comes a life after a dog’s body has reached a certain size and maturity that the natural multiplication of cells by division stops producing new cells. Cells are then produced only to replace dead cells. The body produces new cells only in exceptional cases like a cellular injury.

Such replacement is the necessity of the body and the process of replacement or otherwise is natural. Sometimes there are instances when the controlling system that maintains a balance between the death and growth of cells is unsettled by internal or external factors.

This causes the cell production to start producing in an unregulated production mode. This results in a mass of cells (tumor) that perform no specific function and are not required by the body.

Lung cancer in cats may either be primary or secondary. Primary lung cancer originates in the lung tissue while secondary lung cancer is caused by metastasis from other cancerous sites. Like other cancers, the early signs of lung cancer are not easily detectible and its prevalence is evident only after a chest X-Ray has been done. As the cancer develops some of the clinical signs that emerge are phlegm or blood on coughing, weight loss and anorexia.

A typical primary lung cancer is a single mass but can appear as multiple tumors in its advanced stages. A secondary lung cancer that has spread from another part of the body would almost always appear as multiple masses in different lung lobes.