Did you know? The only mammals to undergo menopause are elephants, humpback whales and human females.
As I mentioned in the beginning of our journey through intriguing topics about our beloved creatures, I began writing this blog not exactly for entertainment, but for a particular objective. I want to share the sad, but rather instructive story with you which is described from my personal experience.
This is my cat Marquis. A kind, calm, and docile British breed cat with enchanting amber eyes. Frankly speaking, he was like “the angel in the flash” who doesn’t appreciate making any kind of noise or trying to bother someone. He was even a little distant. In a nutshell, it was a surprisingly rare animal.
Marquis started to get sick when I was a teenager. At first, he developed kidney stones that made him unable to sleep normally. He was still young enough to take on different types of diseases. After a while, things were only getting worse. I was the first to notice that Marquis had started to limp. I was very concerned about this, and we tried to treat him in every possible way - pills, powders, injections. We thought osteoarthritis or the heart pain were the main causes of this. The diagnoses of many doctors showed this. Time passed, and nothing helped.
One day, both of the Marquis’s hind paws failed - they stopped functioning in any way. All he could to is to crawl on his two front paws. It was terrifying for all of us. My beloved pet, a member of a family was suffering, and we couldn’t bear it. We realised that an urgent operation was needed. It was very painful for an animal, since it involved the installation of the prosthetis on the hind legs. The very thought of my poor cat being disabled strongly depressed me.
We were almost ready, just needed to do an MRI scan before the operation. And what was our surprise when the doctors discovered the real cause of the disease.
All this time Marquis had troubles with his organism because of kidney cancer. And it was almost the last stage. He had only a few days left.
I can’t remember what kind of shok I felt that time. I don’t know what I felt stronger: intense sadness that I couldn’t help my cat, or dissapointment and resentment at the doctors who couldn’t detect cancer at time.
We didn’t want the Marquis to suffer from the remaining few days. Unfortunately, we had to put him down and it was a bitter loss for all of us. Of course, we loved him very much. Before encountering this problem with Marquis, I didn’t even know that animals can have cancer.
Obviously, this was a turning point for me, after which I decided to delve into this topic. Therefore I suggest you, based on my experience, to learn more about this possible disease that might affect animals. As we know, “forewarned is forearmed”
First and foremost, we need to understand that our pets mostly have the same types of cancer that usually affect people. The possible causes for this can be age, breed predisposition and cancer agents in our shared environment. Environmental pollutants, certain types of food, radiation - all of these same factors adversely contribute to high risks in the development of cancers in pets.
According to the NCI’s Comparative Oncology Program, the common cancer types that affect both humans and creatures include:
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Prostate cancer
- Lung cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Breast cancer
- Melanoma
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Osteosarcoma
Recognised carcinogenes play a direct role in onset of cancer in pets. These are:
- Ultrafiolet radiation from long exposure to the sun
- Second-hand tobacco smoke
- A variety of herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides commonly used in agriculture
- The air pollution and smog common in many urban areas.
- Nickel, uranium, benzidine, benzene, radon, vinyl chloride, cadmium, and asbestos are all common substances
According to some statistics made by veterinary researches, almoust all species of domestic animals develop squaomous skin carcinoma - tumor that affects superficial skin cells. Moreover, it has been identified that white cats, white dogs, and horses with white facial markings are more likely to develop this particular tumor.
Some cancerse in pets are associated with viruses. For instance, feline leukemia virus is a common cause of death among cats, with up to 30% of persistently infected cats developing cancer. The feline leukemia virus commonly leads to conditions like anemia or lymphoma. Due to its ability to suppress the immune system, it can also predispose cats to deadly infections.
However, encountering the feline leukemia virus doesn't necessarily mean a death sentence for cats. Approximately 70% of cats exposed to the virus can resist infection or eliminate it on their own. In dogs, especially younger ones, a benign neoplasm forming warts (referred to as oral papillomas) in the mouth is caused by a virus.
Besides, statistics appreciates the idea that hereditary factor is not less important in the occurence of cancer among pets. Among dogs, Golden Retrievers, Boxers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Great Danes, and Rottweilers are generally more likely to develop cancer (and specific types of cancer) than other breeds.