Nonhematopoietic neoplasms in cats

In a study of 3,145 feline necropsies conducted for 11 years by the pathology department of The Animal Medical Center, 289 tumors of nonhematopoietic origin were found in 264 cats. Malignant and epithelial tumors were more common than benign or mesenchymal tumors in all ages and breeds, and in both sexes. They were also more common in female cats than in males, even after mammary neoplasms were excluded. Analysis of groups of tumors according to their tissue of origin indicated some sex and breed dispositions not observed before. Pulmonary carcinomas and osteosarcomas were more frequent in domestic short haired cats than in other breeds, whereas intestinal carcinomas occurred more often in Siamese cats. Female predominated in pulmonary carcinomas, hemangiosarcomas, osteosarcomas, and squamous cell carcinomas, but males outnumbered the females in intestinal carcinomas.