A TWO-DECADE SURVEY OF FELINE TUMOURS (2000-2020) IN SLOVENIA: OCCURRENCE, TYPES, AND LOCALIZATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26873/SVR-2337-2026Keywords:
cat, tumour, age, occurrence, retrospective study, SloveniaAbstract
We performed a retrospective study of feline tumours diagnosed in Slovenia over a 21-year period (2000–2020), aiming to analyse their occurrence and related epidemiological features. We systematically reviewed histopathological reports from biopsies and necropsy specimens of cats submitted to the Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees at the University of Ljubljana Veterinary Faculty. Tumours were diagnosed in 901 cats, representing 28.99% of all feline submissions. The majority of tumours were malignant (741 tumours; 82.24%), while 17.76% (160 tumours) were benign. The most common tumour type was squamous cell carcinoma (20.53%), followed by lymphoma (17.20%), soft tissue sarcoma (12.76%), and mammary carcinoma (9.43%). The most commonly affected organ systems were the skin and subcutaneous tissues (44.40% of all tumours), the oral cavity (10.88%), and the mammary gland (10.54%). Tumours were more frequently found in female cats (553 tumours; 61.38%) than in male cats (348 tumours; 38.62%) and were most common in cats aged 10 to 12 years. Our findings are largely comparable with those of other similar studies.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Teodora Nikodinovska, Mitja Gombač, Tamara Dolenšek, Kristina Tekavec, Sabina Šturm, Katarina Pavlin, Boshko Koloski, Tanja Švara*
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