Another mast cell cancer... 4 different animals 300 mi apart...what's going on?

I lost my little Yorker to mast cell and then my little Oreo, a tuxedo cat, died after two recurring bouts, and my kitty boy, another rescue died from what we suspect was mast cell. It was not diagnosed but the other 3 animals were. Now my daughter who lives in Little Rock 300 miles away called me and said her cat was just diagnosed with mast cell. Her cat was a rescue in the Little Rock area. They have no genetic connection, are fed different food, etc

Have people on the forum noticed a problem with this type of cancer in their cats? Both vets agreed this is rare in cats.

Is this a canary in the mine thing or just coincidence?

All the mast cell cancers have appeared as a small lump on the body. They appear to be sebaceous cyst but grow slowly to a point. They are diagnosed by aspirating the lump and finding quantities of mast cells.

Googling mast cell cancer in cats does no yeld anything of real note.

Need input please as I am really concerned for my other cats as well as others on the forum.

 I'm really sorry you haven't gotten a reply before now.  It probably means that members haven't noticed the increase in mast cell cancers that you have.  That doesn't mean you aren't onto something, though.   The fact that you've had three pets pass away from this certainly seems unusual, to say the least.   You might contact the closest veterinary school and ask them if they've noticed an increase in cases in your geographical area.  That doesn't explain your daughter's situation but often the way increased cancer cases are first noticed is by clusters in the same location.  You could also contact the Cornell Feline Health Center, associated with one of the nation's top veterinary schools.  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/

Please let us know if you find out anything.  And fingers crossed that your other cats remain healthy.      I know I would be a nervous wreck after what you've been through.  

trudy1 said:

I lost my little Yorker to mast cell and then my little Oreo, a tuxedo cat, died after two recurring bouts, and my kitty boy, another rescue died from what we suspect was mast cell. It was not diagnosed but the other 3 animals were. Now my daughter who lives in Little Rock 300 miles away called me and said her cat was just diagnosed with mast cell. Her cat was a rescue in the Little Rock area. They have no genetic connection, are fed different food, etc

Have people on the forum noticed a problem with this type of cancer in their cats? Both vets agreed this is rare in cats.

Is this a canary in the mine thing or just coincidence?

All the mast cell cancers have appeared as a small lump on the body. They appear to be sebaceous cyst but grow slowly to a point. They are diagnosed by aspirating the lump and finding quantities of mast cells.

Googling mast cell cancer in cats does no yeld anything of real note.

Need input please as I am really concerned for my other cats as well as others on the forum.

Click to expand...

I believe the increase in cancer in our cats and dogs is vaccine related.

I will the Cornell site. The nearest vet school is at Columbia, mo for us.

In my reading the general consensus seems to be about 20% of cats will develop the cutaneous form of this cancer which is usually benign as opposed to the visceral form associated with the spleen or intestines. The latter is usually hard to treat and does not have a good outcome.
However as to the cause little appears to be known. I suspect it is easier to treat the effects rather than discover the cause.
But even 1 in 5 cats with no obvious cause is striking! If that were human we would be all over it.

Thanks for your concern and you are right it is scary when you find that lump and know what is possible.

The recovery from the mast cell cutaneous is terrible based on the three we have dealt with. The wound does not want to heal and when the tumor is disturbed, even by aspirations, triggers a massive release of histamines causing the animal to scratch and crew the sight. With my little dear yorkie, who was also a badly treated rescue, even when the area appeared healed a short time later the whole site just sluffed off leaving raw skin. It was terrible!

Anyway thanks for caring

George

Kittens Mom said:

 
I believe the increase in cancer in our cats and dogs is vaccine related.

Click to expand...

Cancer is rarely caused by one thing. What about lawn chemicals, and endocrine disrupting plastics in everything (such as the lining of cat food cans)? They've found plastics in the fat of whales in the Arctic, cats and dogs (and humans!) probably have much higher levels. Plus the level of Roundup that's frequently found in people's blood..... Vaccines have been correlated with one kind of cancer, injection site cancer (that is a risk of injecting anything, but higher with vaccines that cause more inflammation/immune response).

samus said:

 
Cancer is rarely caused by one thing. What about lawn chemicals, and endocrine disrupting plastics in everything (such as the lining of cat food cans)? They've found plastics in the fat of whales in the Arctic, cats and dogs (and humans!) probably have much higher levels. Plus the level of Roundup that's frequently found in people's blood..... Vaccines have been correlated with one kind of cancer, injection site cancer (that is a risk of injecting anything, but higher with vaccines that cause more inflammation/immune response).

Click to expand...

The problem with vaccine induced cancers and auto immune disease in cats is that it isn't accurately tracked. They have admitted to the problem because pet owners knew and could figure out the direct link to the tumor where the injection was given. It is probably a combination of the things we inject them with, put on them and in some cases feed them. I will have to use a topical to prevent heartworm this year due to an extreme wet season we had our first ever mosquito infestation. I don't like it but the alternative is worse. Vaccines are good but you should always ask for one without and adjuvant and your vet should be following the latest protocols.

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/purdue-vaccination-studies/   This is a very quick read. While it only talks about dogs in immune paragraphs most cat owners recognize the feline system seems to react more than other animals in many cases. There is some evidence that an autoimmune disease may make you susceptible to certain kinds of cancer.

Add to this our pets living longer and longer we are now seeing the total effects of some of the old protocols.. Adjuvants may have a cumulative effect. Understand this is not scientific but my own observations from reading endless medical studies in the last three months in preparation for our vet malpractice case.  

No vaccine is 100% safe. But they are necessary for us and our pets. Rabies and others help prevent disease that is far worse than a mild reaction to a vaccine. The question now is when is enough , enough and how often is really necessary.

Preparing for a healthy pet in their senior years begins as puppies and kittens.

My Sammy had a mast cell on his paw.  I didn't even know until I started noticing little blood spots on the furniture.  The vet I had at the time, removed the tumor, as much as he could get of it.  He told me he did not get it all.   Yet Sammy outlived his brother.  He lived another 3 years after telling me he was terminal.  He died of renal failure.  The mast cell never came back.  Weird, huh?  That's my only experience with it and I figure it's an atypical experience.  

Ginny, I think every aspect of mast cell is not typical.

If you google cat mast cell cancer they can ascribe no real cause, treatment is to cut it out and no one can explain the re-occurrence at another site later in life.

Our actual problems have not been with the cancer playing out a role eventually leading to death but with getting the surgical spot to heal. On my poor cat and dog the sites were very slow to close up and the animals would not leave them alone (I presume due to the large amounts of histamines released when the tumor is disturbed). Even when the sites appear healed the pets continued to chew the areas to a raw state. Collars and othe deterring substances had little effect.

I guess I just look at the statistical probably of a 4 cat one dog family having three animals with it. Some vaccinated, some not and fed different foods. Then through in my daughter who has one cat, not related to our pets, showing up with it.

So I thought I would see if others are having similar experiences nationally.

Apparently it IS atypical, then. and not just my case of it.  When the vet told me that, he was adamant so I prepared in my mind to let him go when he got to that point,  But his site healed up fine and was never a problem again.  Weird, huh?  I was all set for Sammy to die and then Garfield got cancer about 2 years later (sarcoma) and died 40 days after diagnosis.  I'm sorry this is happening to your furry family!