© dk-fotowelt / stock.adobe.com
Warts in cats can develop into dangerous skin cancer and should be examined.
Ever spotted a tiny bump on your cat’s skin during a cuddling session? It’s probably a wart. Warts in cats can look alarmingly similar to other skin changes. Often, only the vet can tell if it’s skin cancer. Discover everything about feline warts and their treatment.
Warts, also known as papillomas, are typically caused by a viral infection with papillomavirus. For cats, this means feline papillomaviruses come into play. They enter the cat’s body through skin wounds.
Some papillomaviruses in cats can lead to a nodular sarcoma, a type of tumour also known as cutaneous fibropapilloma. Consequently, warts in cats are prone to turning into skin cancer.
While warts are relatively common in dogs, they are less prevalent in cats. However, it seems that quite a few cats carry feline papillomaviruses, even if they don’t all develop warts.
In general, any cat can develop a wart, regardless of gender or breed.
© kathomenden / stock.adobe.com
Unlike the cauliflower-like shape of warts in dogs, feline warts tend to appear as flat plaques. These are patch-like changes in the skin. Many cats with warts also display scaly skin at the affected spots.
Most often, cat warts look dark and may have some damage on the surface. If warts get inflamed due to a bacterial infection, they might swell and become painful for your cat.
Initially, warts in cats usually reach a maximum diameter of about eight millimetres. However, it’s possible for them to grow larger over time.
Warts can form on any skin area, including the oral mucosa. Yet, they’re often found on the following parts of the body:
Since it’s usually difficult for non-professionals to distinguish between a wart and malignant skin tumours in cats, it’s wise to consult a vet. The vet will examine the wart closely and might remove it.
To differentiate warts from other skin conditions, the vet must examine the tissue more closely. This involves taking a tissue sample and sending it to a specialised lab. There, a pathologist will inspect the cells. Another diagnostic method is molecular biology, like the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). A PCR test can determine whether papillomaviruses are to blame for the cat’s wart.
Cat warts tend to become malignant more often than dog warts. Therefore, many vets recommend their early removal. The following methods can be used:
Even if your vet has removed your cat’s wart, it could grow back. That’s why you should monitor the skin after the procedure and revisit the vet if necessary.
The cause behind a cat’s wart is a prior infection with feline papillomaviruses. There are seven different types of these cat-specific viruses (as of 05/23), with FdPV2 being the most common in cats.
Note: An infection alone doesn’t always lead to wart formation. Other factors also play a role. Immunodeficiency as a result of underlying diseases can also promote wart growth.
It is only the papillomaviruses that trigger warts in cats that are contagious. Cats can contract these viruses in two ways, with small skin wounds increasing the risk of infection:
For example, using a brush that groomed an infected cat could pose a risk of transferring the virus to a healthy cat.
No. Papillomaviruses are very host-specific, meaning they’re incompatible with the human body and only survive for a brief period. Therefore, humans can’t contract feline papillomaviruses.
Warts are primarily benign skin changes. However, in cats, they more frequently turn into skin cancer than in dogs. That’s why it’s imperative to present them to a vet while the wart is still in an early stage.
If the wart has already become malignant, the individual prognosis for the affected feline depends on the type of tumour.
A significant portion of the cat population already carries feline papillomaviruses. These don’t necessarily lead to warts or tumours, but this fact makes it tough for cat owners to prevent warts in their pets.
What you can do, however, is boost your cat’s immune system to help it deal with the viruses as effectively as possible:
This article from zooplus Magazine is purely informative. If your pet is experiencing discomfort, contact your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
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At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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