Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most common oral tumor in cats, carrying a poor prognosis and requiring thoughtful palliative care to minimize suffering.
Feline oral SCC causes profound suffering through local tissue destruction that impairs eating, swallowing, and even breathing in advanced cases. The tongue and oral cavity are essential for thermoregulation and grooming in cats, so tumor involvement severely compromises quality of life. Pain from tumor invasion and ulceration requires aggressive multimodal pain management. Cats may experience starvation despite willingness to eat when tumor location prevents food prehension. Placement of esophagostomy or gastrostomy feeding tubes can maintain nutrition and allow oral pain medications. The poor prognosis makes early quality of life assessment and compassionate end-of-life planning essential components of welfare-centered care.