Tag Archives: mast cell tumors

This blogpost marks a personal milestone: my 1000th blogpost since I started blogging in 2008. Over that time, much has changed—in our country, at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center and in veterinary medicine. To mark this achievement, I want to reflect on some of those changes and on what continues to matter the most.

About ten years ago, I developed an educational presentation for veterinarians titled “A Cat Is Not a Little Dog.” This presentation highlighted diseases that affect these two species very differently. For example: Diabetes: Dogs can develop Type I diabetes, while cats develop Type II diabetes Thyroid Disorders: The most common endocrine disorder in dogs is hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland), while cats more often have the opposite condition, hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland) Mast Cell Tumors: These skin tumors are most common in dogs, while in cats they often occur in the spleen. However, there are a few medical similarities between dogs and cats that might surprise you. Today’s blogpost highlights three key areas where our feline and canine companions face similar health challenges.