My cat has a recurring tail tumor. Will surgery and radiation cure it?

That's a complicated recommendation to give, especially since we don't know the type of cancer. It is possible that local excision could be curative. It is also possible that after local excision and a diagnosis from histopathology, we find that amputation is needed. In my opinion solely based on the pictures, I would probably remove the tumor and not try to get aggressive clean borders and wait to see what the tumor is before doing anything more drastic.

If it is a persistent problem than it might be best to have the tail amputated. You could treat him medically again and see if it recurs before making a decision about surgery. If he is a healthy cat than the risks associated with surgery should be minimal.

I am so sorry that your and Gingers are both going through this. Mammy tumors in cats can be malignant or benign. Unfortunately, studies show that 90% of them are malignant and aggressive where only 10% are benign. The normal treatment would be a full mastectomy on the side that the tumor is located. With her age, this is still an option but you may just consider taking off just the mass to make recovery easier. The other option is to do nothing and just keep her comfortable. I am sorry that she is going through this and I know it isn't easy on your as she is part of the family. My thoughts are with you during this time and whatever you decide, just know you are doing it with her best interest in mind. I hope this helps!

Yes. If the margins were "dirty", then there is the likelihood of tumor regrowth. Another surgery with wider margins may be indicated. If the tumor is malignant, a consult with an veterinary oncologist for follow up treatment is strongly recommended.

In this case it is very likely that the tumor is aggressive and it is coming back. To be able to give you a specific answer in this case, I would need to have more informations about the tumor (name of it if it was analyzed after removal) and other clinical investigations that have been done (if any).

Surgery is the preferred method for treating meningiomas, and is usually successful if the tumor is removed completely. Meningiomas in cats are firm, well-circumscribed masses that do not usually invade the neural parenchyma, and are easily delineated from normal brain tissue. The overall prognosis depends on the extent of the tumor, but a study found that surgical removal yielded survival rates of 71% at six months. The MRI is the next step, so I would have that done. That will help give you a better idea of his prognosis. I hope this helps.

This appears to be ceruminous cystomatosis - very common in Himalayan and Persian cats. It is a benign neoplastic condition but sometimes becomes a problem when lesions enlarge and occlude the ear canal, which disrupts normal self-cleaning. With just one cyst present I would not be overly concerned but if more start to appear and/or they get larger then you may need to have treatment done. Cryotherapy and/or laser treatment is usually the first line of treatment. It does not cure the issue then surgery to remove the entire ear canal is needed (TECA). At this stage I would just recommend monitoring it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.