do without veterinary supervision.” Do-it-yourself or fad diets,
without the help of a veterinary nutritionist, risk making the cat
even sicker.
The website www.petdiets.com is run by veterinary nutritionists
who can help you and your veterinarian design an appropriate
recipe. “I recommend one that’s about 70 percent meat, 30
percent veggies, plus appropriate vitamins and minerals,” says
Dr. Wynn. In addition, she includes fish oils for their antioxidant
properties, as wel as turmeric and garlic. “That’s not for flavor.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) inhibits tumor growth and metastasis,
reduces side effects of chemotherapy, and increases action of
some chemotherapy agents.”
Holistic veterinarians often recommend turmeric, a cooking
spice, as a cancer treatment but mainstream medicine also
points to its potential. Cancer specialists at Colorado State
University’s Animal Cancer Center are testing curcumin, a
compound found in turmeric, for its ability to stop cancer cel s
growing in cats. While dog and human liver enzymes turn off the
beneficial effects, the feline liver metabolizes compounds in a
unique way, and may benefit from the spice, according to Dr.
Doug Thamm, the veterinary oncologist leading the project.
Alternative Therapies
Combination therapies that provide herbs and supplements
may help counteract or diminish side effects of cancer
treatments, or boost the action of radiation or chemotherapy,
says Signe Beebe, DVM, a certified veterinary acupuncturist and
herbologist practicing at Sacramento Veterinary Surgical
Services. Holistic practitioners often recommend an integrated
approach to dealing with cancer. “For example, you can use
Traditional Chinese Medicine to improve the blood cel count,
which has a tendency to drop as a side effect of the strong
radiation or chemotherapy.
Another holistic treatment that may help your cat is cal ed IP6,
found in grains such as barley. “Inositolhexaphosphoric acid, or
phytate, is available as the extract cal ed IP6 from health food
stores,” says Dr. Wynn. Studies indicate IP6 may increase natural
kil er cel activity, genes that act natural y to suppress tumor
growth, and help control the spread of tumors. Dr. Wynn says
many of these functions are involved very early in cancer
formation, and so IP6 may have a preventative role in addition to
helping as an antioxidant.
Various mushrooms and even green tea have anticancer
properties that holistic veterinarians often recommend. Green tea
may inhibit tumor growth, angiogenesis (mutation from normal to
cancer) and the spread of tumors. Although cats may not wil ingly
drink a cup of tea, Dr. Wynn suggests adding a bit of the dried
herb in the tea bag to the cat’s regular food. Reishi, Shiitake, and
Maitake mushrooms are also known to stimulate the immune
system and have anti-tumor activity, says Dr. Wynn. Most are
available only as dried products or extracts from holistic
veterinary sources.
Cats are extraordinarily difficult to medicate, so even when
herbs, supplements and drugs are “good for them,” the stress of
poking multiple items down the throat may counter any benefits.
This can become a quality of life issue, when your cat begins to
fear and avoid you at the very time in her life she needs you most.
Dr. Wynn suggests creating a first, second, and third tier of
treatment options, so your cat benefits from the most important or
helpful ones first. “My first tier is a natural diet, with antioxidants
and fish oil,” she says. After that, if your cat wil accept more, a
second tier might consist of IP6 and mushrooms.
Prognosis
Prognosis depends on the individual cat, kind of cancer, and
the type of treatment. “There are so many of them do wel ,” says
Dr. Garrett. Cures are possible. “When you treat cancer, you see
miracles al the time. You see responses you’d never in a mil ion
years predict were possible,” says Dr. Kitchel .
But a cancer relapse means the chance for a cure is gone and
your cat is losing the war. Tougher treatments are certainly
possible, to buy more time, maintain comfort and try to get the
disease back under control. Throughout the treatment, though, Dr.
Kitchel emphasizes that you are free to say enough is enough—
at any time.
Treatment not only offers help, comfort and hope to you and
your cat, it also gives you, your family, and the veterinarian, the
necessary time to adjust to the eventual outcome, says Dr.
Kitchel . “You go through the ups and downs of everything that
happens, together, so you’re walking the road with them,” she
says. “Cancer clients are the best, just the best people! Clients
that seek cancer care are very openhearted, they have that kind
of special relationship with an animal and not everybody can. So
that makes them very special, very wonderful people.”
As with any chronic il ness, quality of life comes first. Nothing
lasts forever, and an old cat with cancer has only a limited time
left to spend with you. “You want to make every day that animal
has a good day, a golden day,” says Dr. Kitchel .
Age-Defying Tips
There is no foolproof way to prevent cancer, but you can take
certain steps to reduce risk factors for your cat.
Spaying and neutering cats at an early age decreases the
risk of mammary cancer in females, and prostate cancer in
males.
Cats with white faces and ears are at risk for sun-induced
cancer. Protect them from sunburn with sunscreen, or
prevent outside exposure during the brightest time of the
day.
Secondhand smoke and chlorine in drinking water
increases the risk of bladder cancer. Protect your cat from
exposure to these carcinogens.
Obesity increases the risk of cancer. Keep cats thin.
Golden Moments: Casey’s Miracle
Casey, a mostly black cat with white “tuxedo” markings
reminded Bonnie Cheak of one of her first cats. “He’s a crazy
cat,” she says. “He goes to extremes.” Casey alternates between
being very sweet and rubbing against you for attention, then
getting cranky. “He’s also very determined,” she says. That
determination may have helped save his life.
Casey was very healthy until Christmas a few years ago when
he was nine. “He’d been eating a lot, then suddenly seemed like
he’d lost a lot of weight,” says Bonnie. “There wasn’t any real
warning. It was very sudden.”
The same day she noticed the change, she took him for a
checkup. “He’d already lost three pounds.” Further tests, including
a biopsy, determined Casey had a life-threatening form of cancer
—intestinal lymphoma. Bonnie was told it was extremely
aggressive, didn’t respond wel to chemotherapy, and that most
cats succumbed to the disease within six months. Casey was
referred to an internal medicine specialist who trea
ted him for a
few months. “But he didn’t real y respond to any of the original
chemo that normal cats start out on,” says Bonnie. Experimental
drugs were ordered, which cost $1,600 for the treatment, and
they kept the cancer under control for a few months.
“By that point he’d lost almost 10 pounds—he weighed almost
20 before this started,” says Bonnie. “They talked to me about
putting him to sleep.” Casey was essential y starving to death.
Despite eating both normal y by mouth and being fed with a tube
placed into his stomach, his body wasn’t using the nutrition. “I was
feeding a/d, dumping Nutrical [a vitamin supplement] in him, I
tried herbal stuff and he got acupuncture, too.” Eventual y the
internist said he had nothing more to offer.
Bonnie wasn’t ready to give up as long as Casey seemed
determined to hang on. She took the cat for another opinion.
Veterinary oncologist Lisa Fulton in Gaithersberg, Maryland,
explained that at this point in the disease Casey was unlikely
to respond to other chemotherapy, but that they could
certainly try. Bonnie felt they had nothing to lose.
They began rotating various types of chemo drugs once
every three or four weeks—sometimes intravenous, other
times oral or subcutaneous—in much stronger doses than
what he’d received before. “He almost immediately started
responding,” says Bonnie. Within six months, Casey’s
cancer was under control.
Casey received chemo for two years and seven months
with Dr. Fulton. “I was real y impressed by the lack of
sickness at al ,” says Bonnie. Casey vomited a couple of
times, and one day after chemo his whiskers fel out. That
was al .
Because of the aggressive nature of Casey’s cancer, they
planned to keep the cat on a maintenance dose indefinitely.
Then his red blood cel count dropped a bit, and so Casey is
taking a break from the medicine to give his body a rest.
Since Casey has been off chemo, he’s gained weight and
is back up to over 14 pounds. Bonnie can’t say enough good
things about Dr. Fulton. They both agree Casey is a miracle.
He celebrated his thirteenth birthday this past July. “He’s
doing great, he bounces off the wal s,” says Bonnie. That just
goes to show what determination can accomplish.
CATARACTS
Cataracts in cats most frequently develop as a result
of other diseases such as feline immunodeficiency or feline
leukemia that prompt eye inflammation. Cataracts may
develop at any age, or later in life. But unlike dogs, cataracts
are not considered a common “old cat” problem.
The inflammation causes the clear lens of the eye to turn
cloudy and opaque. A cataract may affect only a smal part of
the lens, and the cat can compensate and see “around” the
problem. In other cases the entire lens turns white, and the
cat loses vision until eventual y she becomes blind. The
longer these cataracts “mature,” the more difficult it becomes
to treat them successful y.
Cataracts may be diagnosed by general practice
veterinarians, but veterinary ophthalmologists need to treat
the condition. “Surgery is the only way to treat cataracts,”
says Harriet Davidson, DVM, an ophthalmologist at
Michigan Veterinary Specialists.
“Cataract surgery in the cats is much more infrequent than
in dogs but almost always has a good success rate,” says
Paul A. Gerding, Jr., DVM, an ophthalmologist at University
of Il inois. “They just have much less inflammation fol owing
the surgery than the dog, and the surgery turns out very wel .”
Senior Symptoms
Signs of cataracts develop slowly and may not be obvious
until suddenly you notice the cat can’t see. Watch for:
Cloudy lens within the eye
Impaired vision characterized by reduced activity or
cautious
movements
especial y
in
strange
surroundings
Treatment
Advanced age is not a reason to forgo the surgery, says
Dr. Davidson. “As veterinary ophthalmologists, we do
cataract surgery on elderly patients al the time.” Extra care
must be taken if the anesthesia would affect other health
complications your cat has, but otherwise healthy older cats
tend to do wel .
Because cataracts typical y cause inflammation in the eye,
that may need treatment before surgery can take place. Your
own vet can prescribe the drops, which can be either
steroidal drugs or nonsteroidal, depending on the cat’s
situation. “Once the inflammation checks out fine, we
schedule the surgery,” says Dr. Gerding.
Cat surgery is the same as human cataract surgery. The
process is cal ed phacoemulsification, which is ultrasonic
fragmenting of the lens by sound waves, fol owed by removal
of the lens. A hol ow needle inserted into the eye sends
vibrations into the lens. The pieces are vacuumed out
through the needle. Removing the cloudy lens restores sight,
but it typical y leaves the cat far-sighted unless artificial
lenses are placed.
Although the cat won’t ever return to the same visual acuity
she had as a youngster, cataract surgery does improve the
quality of life. “They do get their vision back so they can play
and navigate their area and not run into things,” says Dr.
Davidson.
doing both eyes at once,” says Dr. Gerding. That also means
the cat only undergoes anesthesia once, and that can reduce
the cost of the procedure. Recovery time varies, but most
cats remain in the hospital overnight and go home the next
morning.
Dr. Davidson cautions that the surgery is not
inexpensive, and especial y when cats have other health
issues, it can have risks. “Cataract surgery is considered an
elective surgery. If the owner chooses not to have cataract
surgery, it’s not unkind to let the animal live blind.”
Blind cats are stil wonderful pets. By making
accommodations to keep her safe, your cat can do very wel .
Routine eye checks on cats with cataracts should be
continued, though. Cataracts can lead to other conditions
such as inflammation of the eye (uveitis), which can lead to
painful glaucoma.
Bottom Line
Cataract surgery typical y costs about $1,000 per eye, says
Dr. Gerding. “It’s highly recommended to replace their lens
with artificial implants, but sometimes you can’t get them in,”
he says. “The implants run about $200 each, so if not used, it
would be that much less per eye.”
CONSTIPATION
Constipation is the infrequent passage of hard, dry feces.
Although straining often is a hal mark of the condition,
straining in the litter box can also point to urinary tract
blockage or inflammation, and care must be taken not to
confuse the two.
Watch for “evidence” in the litter box to
figure out what’s real y happening with your cat.
The colon is designed to contain and eliminate the stool,
and to pul moisture out of the waste. When stool stays in the
colon for more than two or three days, the feces become so
dry and hard it is difficult and painful to pass. That makes the
cat even more prone to delay defecation, and the waste
turns into a fecal bal that continues to grow bigger, harder,
and drier.
Cats can develop constipation at any age, often as a
result of hairbal s. But older pets are more prone to develop
problems because they may have weakened abdominal
muscles, and often delay bowel movements due to a
reduction in exercise, difficulty accessing the litter box, or
obesity that makes it difficult to move. Most cases of
constipation are uncomfortable for the cat, but not particularly
dangerous unless they go on for several days, or the cat has
repeated problems.
“Middle aged to older cats can develop idiopathic
megacolon in which their colon just doesn’t contract properly,
and basical y becomes just a big flaccid bag,” says Scott
Shaw, DVM, Assistant Professor in the Department of
Clinical Sciences and Emergency and Critical Care,
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
The cause of the condition remains a mystery. It is
suspected that a poor nerve supply to the organ results in the
inability to properly contract.
The condition creates a vicious cycle. When feces
aren't moved out regularly, the lining of the colon continues to
pul more and more moisture from the material. As the fecal
material dries it becomes harder and even more difficult to
move. The colon soon fil s up with dry fecal bal s, and the
colon expands as more and more feces accumulate. Fecal
bal s become so large they can't pass through the cat's
pelvis. Treatment may require anesthesia so the colon can
be cleaned out. “You have to mechanical y break it up and
get it al out of there,” says Dr. Shaw.
Most cats can be managed with a variety of therapies
including laxatives, enemas and special diets. “We usual y
go to a high fiber or low residue diet. Some cats respond
better to one or the other, sort of opposite ends of the
spectrum,” says Dr. Shaw.
Drugs like cisipride (Propulsid) that help the colon to