My cat has jaw bone cancer. How can I make her more comfortable?

This is a tough question without knowing what things she is currently having trouble with. You are asking for advice on what we call palliative care, which means we are treating with medications/supplements to help make her comfortable. If she is having trouble eating, then offering soft canned food and pain medication would be the recommendation. If she is having trouble walking, then offering joint supplements and pain medication would be the recommendation. So it really just depends, because you won't be able to confirm if she has osteomyelitis or bone cancer without a bone biopsy here. And these two conditions are treated very differently. However, even with that said, treating Angel with a short course of antibiotics and low dose steroids may be beneficial, especially if she has any decrease in appetite or severe inflammation present. I hope this helps and best of luck moving forward with your pet Angel. Take care.

It’s important to keep her quiet with minimal stress. Your veterinarian may decide to switch from the metacam to prednisone at this stage as it may reduce the swelling that may ease her breathing and eating. Unfortunately this sounds like a life threatening cancer at some point so give her lots of love and enjoy every minute with her. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Moosh.

Unfortunately ulcerated tumours are incredibly painful and analgesia will do little to help. If it cant be removed and cant heal you have limited options. Personally I would consider quality of life carefully and consider euthanasia. Othet management options would be to try orobase cream which makes a protective film over the open area and alleviates pain, but the cat would have to be amenable to you applying it. You could consider having an oesophageal feed tube placed so you can bypass the mouth completely whilst it heals. These tubes are usually temporary but there are linger term versions that allow you to put feed into the stomach directly. Consider carefully though as quality of life should be the overall deciding factor.

Good morning. I'm so sorry to hear about Mimi. If you have seen a veterinarian recently then I would reach out to them for some pain management. Hopefully they will prescribe something for you over the phone since they are aware of her condition. There are not really any safe over the counter pain medications for cats. Also, you may want to discuss with your veterinarian their process for euthanasia. It's not always pleasant to talk about, but having a plan and knowing what to expect is usually very helpful when the time comes. I'm so sorry Mimi is sick, and I wish you both the best.

Hello Linda, So sorry that Bugger has this issue. The other thing you can do to make him more comfortable is to give him oral pain medications, such as piroxicam and/or buprenorphine. Those medications will reduce discomfort associated with the tumor. You will need to get those medications from your veterinarian as they are prescription only. Topical medications unfortunately, do not help. Again, I am sorry that you and Bugger are dealing with this. Cancer is a terrible disease.

I'm very sorry that Persephone has been diagnosed with cancer in her spleen and intestines. You can talk to your vet about putting her on pain medications, but if she isn't eating and not responding to appetite stimulants or antiemetics, then it may be time to let her go peacefully. Not eating will cause her to slowly starve, which will be painful in itself, and she will be suffering from that. From what you have told me, it sounds like her quality of life has declined to a point where humane euthanasia should be considered. Because I work for a home euthanasia service, I face these types of decisions frequently with my clients, and I'd be happy to have a consult with you to discuss this further if you'd like. Just click the "consult" button under my answer. I wish I had better information for you, and I'm very sorry :-(

Please make an appointment to have Gia seen by a vet as soon as possible. A swollen jaw can indicate infection, a foreign body stuck in the jaw, or a mass/ growth in the area, all of which can be extremely painful and require treatment by a veterinarian. Pain medications meant for humans can be very dangerous (and even deadly) for cats, so I do not recommend giving any to your kitty without consulting with your vet.