Feline Squamous Cell Carcinoma

(SCC) Warriors

“MUGSY” DIGREGORIO

“Mugsy” was a handsome, black domestic short-hair cat with the heart of a panther. His mom, Dina, adopted him in 2003 when he was just about one year old and had been abandoned by his previous family. There was no doubt in Dina’s mind that she would take in a kitty with such a cute, little mug - hence, she named him “Mugsy.”

Over the years, Mugsy continued to steal his mom’s heart. She loved his calm, cool, “I’m the king of the jungle” demeanor, which occasionally slipped into a playful one when no one else was looking. He loved sitting near Dina while she put on her lotion in the morning, and he would always play with the lotion cap when she set it on the sink countertop. While this may not have been a “kingly” action, she never told any of the other household’s cats about it; he had a reputation to uphold, after all!

In early April of 2016, Mugsy started having some intermittent sneezing and bad breath. He had not been grooming himself as frequently as he usually did, and he occasionally drooled. An exam with his regular veterinarian revealed weight loss and moderate dental tartar, but nothing else out of the ordinary. General blood work and a urinalysis were performed, and all of it was normal.

By the end of April, Mugsy was sneezing more frequently, and sometimes his nasal discharge had blood in it. Because of these progressing symptoms, it was decided to have Mugsy’s oral and sinus cavities evaluated under general anesthesia. A less than 5mm ulcerated lesion was found towards the front of the roof of his mouth. Malodorous material was draining from this lesion. X-rays of Mugsy’s upper jaw and sinus cavity revealed subtle changes in the bone structure of the sinus cavity on the right side. A fine needle aspirate (FNA) of the lesion was performed in order to get a better idea of whether or not this lesion was cancerous or not. A culture and sensitivity of the material was also performed in order to ensure that the correct antibiotics were being used to treat Mugsy’s infection.

Unfortunately, the FNA revealed evidence of a carcinoma, most likely a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Due to Mugsy’s poor tolerance of car rides and the sheer stress that multiple veterinary visits would have on him, Dina elected to pursue palliative care to treat the side effects of the SCC and to provide him with the best quality of life possible for the time that he had left.

Mugsy was maintained on Metacam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that also has anti-cancer properties, for several months. He also had several rounds of injectable antibiotics due to the ulcerative and malodorous nature of the SCC in his mouth.

In November of 2016, Mugsy began to develop drainage from the right eye and enlargement of the right submandibular lymph node. He was also starting to have a harder time breathing. He was gradually switched over to prednisolone, an oral steroid, from the Metacam, in hopes that it would more effectively reduce all of the swelling that was going on.

Unfortunately, Mugsy continued to deteriorate despite his mom’s best efforts to keep him as comfortable as possible. He was humanely euthanized at his home on December 2, 2016.

Mugsy had an absolutely amazing life with his mom, Dina, even after his cancer diagnosis. Dina made sure that none of his medications were causing too much discomfort when they were being administered to him. His quality of life was Dina’s utmost priority.

Dina recently shared that Mugsy had always slept curled by her side. She reminisced: “When he sat on my lap, he would look at me with his beautiful, green eyes, reach up and place his paw on my heart, breathe deeply, and settle in with a contented little sound.”

Mugsy was a very special kitty and continues to be missed by all who knew him. Dina will forever remember him sitting in her lap and looking at her with his beautiful green eyes. He would reach up, place his paw on her heart, breathe deeply, and settle in with a contented little sound.

Mugsy will forever be missed, and he will always be remembered as Dina’s handsome “Mugsy Man.”