As our last post of 2021, we wanted to share a happy story with you about superstar cat Sponge. The 15 year old first came to see us in August at The West Midlands Cat Clinic (our same site cat-only vet facility) as a second opinion. He had been suffering from long-standing recurrent trouble with a nasty lesion and granulation on his ear that had not responded to treatment. Sponge also needed some dental work, so whilst our vet Emma was carrying our his dental procedure, she also took a biopsy of Sponge’s ear whilst he was under anaesthesia and sent the biopsy away for lab analysis. Results confirmed Emma’s suspicions. Poor Sponge had a malignant mass on his ear. The official name for Sponge’s cancer is squamous cell carcinoma, and it’s a typical cancer that cats with white or no fur can get from sunburn.
Sponge’s owners were happy for him to undergo surgery to remove the tumour, so Emma referred Sponge in-house to Carlos who holds an additional Postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Surgery. Given the extent of the carcinoma, Carlos needed to remove the whole of Sponge’s external ear as well as part of his ear canal. Sponge’s wound took a little time to heal, but medicinal Manuka honey helped to speed up the process.
With the tumour gone and his dental problems sorted, Sponge is now a much happier cat all round! His ear wound has completely healed and he’s generally brighter and more active. Here he is looking fabulous just before Christmas!
We wish you all the best for 2022, Sponge. And all pets everywhere!