Most mouth tumors in cats are malignant, and most are found late because cats hide oral pain and the first signs, such as a bit of drooling or bad breath, are easy to miss. On the NAVLE, the safe answer is nearly always the same: get a biopsy before you decide anything else.
Key facts
Oral malignancies at a glance- Species and system: cat; digestive system (oral cavity).
- Most common malignant oral tumor: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Fibrosarcoma is second.
- Other malignancies: melanoma (very rare in the cat mouth), lymphoma, osteosarcoma and others.
- Behavior of SCC: invasive, destroys bone, recurs locally after surgery; prognosis is generally poor.
- Classic presentation: older cat with drooling, bleeding from the mouth, halitosis, dropping food, weight loss, or a facial swelling.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no.
What's inside
11 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 8 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.