Early neutering and an owner’s vigilance can minimize the potentially lethal threat.

By Tom Ewing

If you happen to be present during your female cat’s annual physical examination, you’ll notice that the veterinarian will pay special attention to the animal’s underside, gently stroking, probing and palpating the flesh and closely looking at the animal’s nipples and adjacent areas. Among the things that the veterinarian is searching for are any signs of mammary gland cancer, one of the most common and deadliest of feline diseases.

You should regularly examine your cat for any suspicious growths in the nipple area.

According to Rodney L. Page, DVM, director of the Comparative Cancer Program at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, cancer in general afflicts about 30 to 40 percent of cats, and one-third or so of these cases are mammary gland cancers. …

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