#Inspired by today's lecture in GI tumors (This counts as studying right?)

[careforcritters]

Vet Med in Warrior Cats: Oncology (Cancer)

Disclaimer

Pebblefur, a Windclan deputy who appears in Code of the Clans, was stated to have died from a “strange, agonizing lump in his belly”. Shellheart, a former Riverclan deputy and father to Crookedstar, was also stated to have a similar painful lump in his abdomen, which caused him to retire and is suspected to be the cause of his death. The medicine cat in Crookedstar’s Promise, Brambleberry, stated that she had seen this condition before and that cats who suffer from it never get better. Ravenpaw has this same condition in Ravenpaw’s Farewell, which leads to his death.

These cats are likely suffering from a form of gastrointestinal cancer, and the most common presentation of GI cancer in cats is small intestinal lymphoma. Signs of intestinal cancer include vomiting, inappetence, diarrhea, and weight loss. While vomiting and diarrhea were not mentioned in the books, Shellheart and Ravenpaw both appear to be suffering from pain and gradual weight loss. Intestinal tumors can also lead to perforation, which would cause death fairly rapidly. Most lymphomas are small cell, which is a low grade lymphoma, and has a slow onset and progression of clinical signs. This is consistent with the three cats in warriors who were seen to have cancer, as Shellheart and Ravenpaw both knew that they were dying as their pain slowly got worse. 

In a veterinary clinic or hospital, small intestinal lymphoma would be diagnosed with a combination of histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and PCR for Antigen Receptor Rearrangement. It would be treated with a combination of chlorambucil (a chemotherapy drug) and prednisolone (an anti-inflammatory). Expected survival time is about two years with treatment. Medicine cats would have no way to know what the cause of the symptoms was, and would have no treatments for it even if they did. The best that they can do is to provide supportive care and try and ease their pain until death.

In the novella Cloudstar’s Journey, Petalfall is described as having periodic seizures and progressive weakness after suffering from an illness. As the prey grows scarce in Skyclan, she eats less and becomes weaker and has more frequent seizures until she passes. It is possible that Petalfall could have had a tumor in her brain since they can cause seizures, but this is never confirmed. Since the seizures were noted to have started after Petalfall fell ill, she is more likely to be suffering from meningitis or encephalitis after the infection spread to her nervous system. This topic will be covered in the neurology section. 

Other common cancers in cats that are not seen in warriors include squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, skin, and nose, fibrosarcomas in skeletal muscles, and mammary tumors in intact females. All of these tumors could be visible in later stages without imaging or surgery, but none of them appear to be mentioned in the series. As stated before, medicine cats don’t have diagnostic or treatment options for any type of cancer. One explanation for this is that the warriors’ lifespans are shorter than most domestic cats and that many characters die of other causes before reaching an advanced age. However, since they live outside, have near constant sun exposure, and none of them are spayed or neutered, I would expect a much higher rate of squamous cell carcinoma (especially in pink skinned cats) and mammary gland tumors.

sources:

Gieger T. Alimentary lymphoma in cats and dogs. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2011 Mar;41(2):419-32. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2011.02.001. PMID: 21486644

Withrow and MacEwen’s Small Animal Clinical Oncology

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