Length of cancer

I was wondering whats the length of time a cat can have cancer? My cat would shake her head and saliva would fly. Thats been going on for at least a year. We told the vet that and she thought it could've been a symptom. We thought nothing of it till she started slobbering. Could they have it that long and not know it? I read someone had a cat with cancer 9 months before they really had to take it to the vet because of noticable symptoms. Please help. Thanks

Hello,

I can't tell from your post, is your cat still alive?

Did your vet not consider that head shaking and excessive saliva could be symptoms of less life threatening things? eg) dental issues (can cause excess saliva/drooling), ear mites or inner ear infection (head shaking), etc.

As to the length of time a cat can have cancer before symptoms were really noticable really depends on the KIND of cancer, where it is and how aggressive (fast-growing) it is.

Can you tell us more about your cat's symptoms? How old is she? How is her eating and drinking? Energy level? Does she ever go outside?

In my personal experience I have known cats who had diagnosed cancer for anything between 2 weeks and two years before they died from it. It is the same as in humans - some cancers are much more agressive and some are in places (eg stomach) where they kill quicker. ANd of course many cancers go undiagnosed for a long time.

What you are describing doesn't sound like cancer, but rather some type of disease in her mouth such as severe stomatitis. If your cat is drooling, she needs to see a vet sooner rather than later. If she stops eating because of pain, you could lose her.

She's still alive. After her biopsy she's now slobbering and bleeding more.

She doesn't go outside. She's been to the vet twice. Now we're waiting on results on the biopsy. He mentioned granuloma and that responds to steriods. I should know by friday evening. My husband gave her wet/soft food this morning and she ate it.