Feline Lung-Digit Disease-Have You Ever Hear of it? Neither Did I Until My Cat Died Because of It....

UPDATED Links below as of 6/1/19:


Cat lovers, have you ever heard of Feline Lung-Digit Lung Disease? No. Don't be surprised. Neither did I until my 14 yr old furry baby kitty named Charlie came down with it. It was out of the blue. I take pride in the fact that I take great care of my furry babies. I'm always checking them out, observing them and taking them to the vet for check-ups and blood work. I don't skimp on their care or their foods. That is why this disease took me by my surprise. It all started so simply, too. So innocent. True cancer. 

            Charlie was a happy, friendly soul who loved everyone, animal or human.
Charlie had always been a healthy cat. He adopted us several years earlier in 1997 when he wandered onto our porch when we lived in Colorado. We began feeding him and he always returned. Finally, we took a chance and let him into our home everyday for a hour or two for a week to see how he would behave and how he and our two girl house cats would get along. He was no problem. The girl cats followed him everywhere. After a week, we adopted him. We took him to the veterinarian for a checkup, vaccinations, getting neutered and needed extensive teeth cleaning and two bad teeth had to be removed. He was just about one and a half years old.
       

The little sore on Charlie that began it all.    

                One afternoon in May 2012 I noticed that my little boy was limping and when I picked him up to check his feet, I found an open sore on his left front paw just at the bottom of the toe pad. It looked nothing awkward or horrible. It was just what appeared to be an simple sore, as if he caught it on a nail, though he never went outside. Our veterinarian seriously thought it was a spider bite. That was certainly feasible. However, as it was being treated per directions from our vet with bacterial ointment and fresh bandages, it didn't seem to get better. In fact, it got worse, ugly and pussy looking. Our veterinarian still swore it was a spider bite. After all, what else could it be, right? But the sore didn't seem to heal and then, it spread to two toes and began to turn black, which I knew wasn't a good thing. 
        
       X-ray for the toes.      
The spider bite diagnosis just didn't sit right with me. Something was tugging at me. Something told me that it was something else. Hence, I was driven by curiosity to find out what else it could be. As I did some research, I ran into something called Feline Lung-Digit Lung Disease. It scared the hell out of me and something told me to check this out just in case and exactly what I intended to do. 

                          Charlie at beginning with bandaged sore.      But first, what is it? In simple terms, a cat develops a tumor in his lung and for some strange reason it manifests in a paw. There is no warning sign. That is the warning sign. There is no lack of appetite or coughing accompanying it. There was no rapid breathing. Nothing out of the normal happened to Charlies except for the sore that wouldn't heal. When I mentioned what I had found to my vet the next day, he shook his head because he had never heard of it, and when I asked for an X-ray to check Charlie's lungs, he didn't hesitate. By this time, he knew that we knew and cared about animals, especially ours. We were responsible, caring owners. Sure enough when we did the X-ray, we found a large tumor in Charlie's lung. 

Needless to say, we were both floored. I was floored because I was right and saddened by it. The vet was floored because he had never heard of it but there it was with the corresponding sore on Charlie's paw to confirm it. What on earth was this? How did this happen? I had found very little on this ailment to begin with and most of what I did find was from the United Kingdom. Our veterinarian also found next to nothing. As it turned out, the prognosis wasn't good. 

Charlie was 14 and a happy cat, but to put him through iffy treatment that may not work. I couldn't do it. We opted for pallative care instead. A week or so after the X-ray, the sore spread to two toes and the toes had to be amputated to prevent further infection. Fortunately, the minor surgery didn't harm him. In fact, he seemed to rebound, albeit for a short time. The pathology on the removed toes found nothing. Of course not, because the cancer was in the lungs.  Through the rest of it, Charlie was a trooper. He never whined or pitied himself. He ate and drank well. He used the litter box. He was loved until the end. 

                                Charlie after the toe amputation.       Less than two months from discovering the sore on his paw, Charlie failed fast and had to be put to sleep. We buried him in our backyard. To this day, I can not locate any more specific related information on this cancer metastasis. That is why I decided to share what I learned and lived through with you. I hope you never have to go through this. Ever. As I said, there isn't much information out there about this cancer sign, but if you find anything else, I'd love to know. Below, I've shared some of the sites I located to post this blog page. Again, I hope no one else and I hope no other cat has to go through this. If you find your cat is diagnosed with this horrible cancer, celebrate your cats' life now with him/her. Give him/her all the love you can. Talk to him/her every minute you have together. Make him/her comfortable. Support your cat. Emulate your cat. They don't feel pity. Be strong for your cat. D.H. Lawrence said it best, "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself." Your cat doesn't feel sorry for itself. Don't let your cat feel or know you feel sorry for it. 

    Charlie watched over by his older sister, Princess. She couldn't stand him, but is obviously concerned. When he died, she yowled every night until her death on 3/18/16 from a lung infection. 

    From Medscape.com      

Feline lung-digit syndrome: unusual metastatic patterns of primary lung tumours in cats.

J Feline Med Surg.  2012; 14(3):202-8 (ISSN: 1532-2750)

Goldfinch N; Argyle DJ

PRACTICAL RELEVANCE: Feline 'lung-digit syndrome' describes an unusual pattern of metastasis that is seen with various types of primary lung tumours, particularly bronchial and bronchioalveolar adenocarcinoma. Tumour metastases are found at atypical sites, notably the distal phalanges of the limbs; the weightbearing digits are most frequently affected, and multiple-digit and multiple-limb involvement is common. Often primary lung tumours in cats are not detected because of clinical signs referable to the primary tumour; rather, many cases present with signs referable to distant metastases. Other sites of metastases from feline primary lung tumours include the skin, eyes, skeletal muscle and bone, as well as multiple thoracic and abdominal organs. These lesions are thought to arise from direct arterial embolisation from the tumour. Indeed tumour embolisation to the aortic trifurcation is possible.

PATIENT GROUP: Primary lung neoplasms are uncommon in the cat. Older animals are most affected (mean age at presentation 12 years, range 2-20 years). There is no apparent sex or breed predilection.

CLINICAL CHALLENGES: Feline lung-digit syndrome presents a diagnostic challenge. Typically there is swelling and reddening of the digit, purulent discharge from the nail bed, and dysplasia or fixed exsheathment of the associated nail. While these signs might be suggestive of infection, this could be secondary to a digital metastatic lesion, particularly in a middle-aged or elderly cat. Radiographic evidence of extensive bony lysis of the distal phalanx, which can be trans-articular to the second phalanx, raises the index of clinical suspicion for metastasis of a primary pulmonary tumour. Thoracic radiography is warranted prior to any surgery or digital amputation as the prognosis is generally grave for cats with this syndrome, with a mean survival time of only 58 days after presentation.

EVIDENCE BASE: This article reviews the previous literature and case reports of feline lung-digit syndrome and feline primary pulmonary neoplasia in general, discussing the course of this disease and the varying clinical presentations associated with different sites of metastasis.

For more information about this insidious disease: 
     New links will be added as I find them. Please feel free to send me a link not listed. Thank you.
    as of 6/1/19: 
(NOTE: this first one leads to another site where you can download the PDF of it. As of this writing, you don't have to join the site to download it) 
     https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261351400_The_lung-digit_syndrome_in_a_cat


     (NOTE to access the below one you will have to pay to join or purchase the article. Not my cup of tea.)

   
      https://www.pubfacts.com/detail/22370862/Feline-lung-digit-syndrome:-unusual-metastatic-patterns-of-primary-lung-tumours-in-cats

        https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/skin-and-toe-cancer



      https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/2019/03/13/feline-toe-biopsy-reveals-a-bigger-problem/

    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lung-digit-syndrome-cancer.69627/

     http://www.orthovetsupersite.org/abstract/feline-lung-digit-syndrome-unusual-metastatic-patterns-primary-lung-tumours-cats

     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22370862

     http://www.cytopath.co.uk/caseofmonthapril2011.html

     http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/feline-lungdigit-syndrome-unusual-metastatic-patterns-of-primary-lung-tumours-in-cats(1f856627-3619-4670-97e0-79ad80e76c8f).html

     http://www.justanswer.com/cat-health/5weon-7-5-year-old-male-cat-diagnosis-lung-digit-syndrome.html

     http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/22370862

For more information about lung cancer in cats:
As of 6/1/19: New links will be added as I find them. Please feel free to send me a link not listed. Thank you.

  https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/pulmonary-neoplasia-digital-metastasis-cats

    https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/pulmonary-neoplasia-digital-metastasis-catshttps://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/cancer/c_ct_squamous_cell_carcinoma_digit

     https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/consider-this-casesenior-cat-with-front-paw-swelling-pain/

   https://www.vsso.org/index.php/education-new/cancer-information-new/cancer-in-cats-by-tumor-type-new/9-education-1/education/345-lung-tumors-feline

   http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1098612X12439267

    http://www.winnfelinefoundation.org/docs/default-source/cat-health-library-educational-articles/lung-cancer-in-cats-2c-2014.pdf?sfvrsn=4

    http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_information/CW_lungs.cfm

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