Brain Tumors in Dogs and Cats

TL;DR. Brain tumors in dogs and cats are abnormal growths within the skull that cause progressive neurological signs like seizures, behavior changes, and unsteadiness.

Advanced imaging like MRI is the most accurate way to detect and characterize brain tumors in pets.

What is it?

An intracranial tumor, or brain tumor, is an abnormal growth of cells within the skull of a dog or cat. These tumors are categorized as either primary or secondary. Primary brain tumors originate directly from the tissues within the brain or its surrounding membranes (the meninges). Secondary, or metastatic, brain tumors are cancers that start elsewhere in the body—such as the mammary glands, lungs, or blood vessels—and subsequently spread to the brain.

To understand how a brain tumor affects your pet, it helps to understand the anatomy of the skull. The skull is a rigid, unyielding bony vault. Inside this vault, there is only enough room for the brain tissue, its normal blood supply, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). When a tumor begins to grow, it acts as a "space-occupying lesion." Because the skull cannot expand, the growing mass increases pressure within the brain cavity (intracranial hypertension).

This increased pressure, along with direct tissue destruction, localized inflammation, and potential bleeding (hemorrhage), disrupts normal neurological function. This disruption leads to the progressive behavioral changes, balance issues, and seizures that owners often observe. While a diagnosis of a brain tumor is undoubtedly challenging, understanding the underlying mechanisms helps guide the veterinary team in choosing therapies that reduce swelling and improve your pet's quality of life.

Causes & risk factors

In veterinary medicine, the precise underlying causes of primary brain tumors remain largely unknown. Genetic mutations, environmental factors, and dietary influences have been studied, but no single direct cause has been identified.

Age is the most significant risk factor for intracranial tumors. The vast majority of dogs and cats diagnosed with brain tumors are older, typically over seven to ten years of age. However, certain genetic predispositions exist among specific breeds, suggesting an inherited component to tumor development.

In addition to breed-specific risks, the shape of a dog's skull may influence the type of tumor they develop. For example, brachycephalic (short-nosed) breeds are statistically more prone to developing tumors of the brain tissue itself (gliomas), while dolichocephalic (long-nosed) breeds are more frequently diagnosed with tumors of the protective membranes surrounding the brain (meningiomas).

Signs to watch for

The clinical signs of a brain tumor depend heavily on where the tumor is located within the brain and how quickly it is growing. Because the brain controls every bodily function, the symptoms can range from subtle behavioral shifts to severe physical impairment.

• Seizures (Cardinal): A sudden onset of seizures in a pet over the age of five is one of the most common warning signs of a brain tumor.
• Dullness and Depression (Common): Affected pets may seem unusually quiet, unresponsive, or disoriented.
• Mentation Changes (Common): You may notice your pet staring blankly at walls, losing their house training, or failing to recognize familiar family members.
• Ataxia (Occasional): A wobbly, uncoordinated, or "drunken" gait.
• Abnormal Postural Reactions (Occasional): Knuckling over on the paws or an inability to place the feet normally.
• Vision Loss (Occasional): Bumping into furniture or failing to track moving objects.
• Progressive Loss of Consciousness (Occasional): Slipping from stupor into a comatose state as intracranial pressure rises.
• Compulsive Circling (Occasional): Walking continuously in tight circles, usually toward the side of the brain where the tumor is located.
• Positional Nystagmus (Occasional): Rapid, involuntary, rhythmic eye movements, especially when the head is held in certain positions.
• Head Tilt (Occasional): Holding the head cocked to one side, often indicating a tumor affecting the vestibular system in the brainstem or cerebellum.
• Subtle Cranial Nerve Deficits (Occasional): Facial drooping, difficulty swallowing, or an inability to blink normally.

Compulsive circling and disorientation are common clinical signs of intracranial tumors in cats.

How vets diagnose it

Diagnosing a brain tumor begins with a comprehensive physical and neurological examination. Your vet will assess your pet's reflexes, cranial nerve function, gait, and mental status to localize where the problem lies within the nervous system.

Because most pets with brain tumors are older, your vet must first perform a thorough systemic evaluation. This is crucial because older pets frequently have concurrent health issues, or the brain signs may actually be due to a tumor that has spread from another organ. As noted in a leading veterinary internal medicine reference:

"Also, most dogs and cats with intracranial neoplasia are older, and systemic evaluation for neoplasia has been reported to identify an unrelated extracranial neoplasm in up to 25% of cases, a finding that can have a major impact on prognosis and treatment decisions."

To perform this systemic evaluation, your vet will recommend thoracic (chest) and abdominal radiography (X-rays) alongside abdominal ultrasonography. These tests help ensure there are no primary tumors elsewhere in the body before pursuing advanced brain imaging.

An MRI scan allows veterinarians to pinpoint the exact location and size of a brain tumor.

If the systemic screening is clear, advanced imaging of the head is the next step. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for visualizing the brain. According to a leading veterinary internal medicine reference:

"MRI is the most accurate advanced imaging modality for detection and characterization of intracranial tumors."

MRI provides highly detailed, cross-sectional images of the soft tissues of the brain, allowing veterinarians to see the tumor's exact size, location, and relationship to surrounding structures. Computed Tomography (CT) scans can also be used, particularly for evaluating bony involvement of the skull, though CT offers less detail of the brain tissue itself than MRI.

To further characterize the disease, your vet may recommend cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection and analysis. This involves collecting a small sample of the fluid bathing the brain and spinal cord to rule out infectious or inflammatory diseases. Finally, a tissue biopsy remains the absolute gold standard for diagnosis, as it is the only way to definitively identify the specific histological type of the tumor.

Treatment options

Treatment for brain tumors is tailored to the individual pet, focusing on reducing tumor size, controlling secondary swelling, and managing clinical signs like seizures.

First-Line Therapy: Symptomatic Management

The immediate priority in treating a pet with a brain tumor is reducing the severe inflammation and fluid accumulation (edema) surrounding the mass.

• Glucocorticoids (Corticosteroids): These powerful anti-inflammatory medications are the cornerstone of initial treatment. They help shrink the swelling around the tumor, which often leads to a rapid and dramatic improvement in the pet's neurological signs and overall comfort. While they do not destroy the tumor cells themselves, they buy valuable time and significantly improve quality of life.

Second-Line Therapy: Chemotherapy (Antineoplastics)

Chemotherapy may be recommended to slow the growth of the tumor. Treating brain tumors with chemotherapy is uniquely challenging because of the "blood-brain barrier"—a protective membrane that prevents most foreign substances from entering brain tissue. Veterinarians must select specific medications capable of crossing this barrier.

• Lomustine: An alkylating agent (specifically a nitrosourea) that is highly lipid-soluble, allowing it to successfully cross the blood-brain barrier to target tumor cells.
• Cytarabine: An antineoplastic agent that can be used in protocols to treat certain intracranial tumors.
• Mechlorethamine: Another alkylating agent that may be utilized in specialized oncology protocols.

Surgical Removal

For some patients, neurosurgery to remove or debulk the tumor is a highly effective option. The feasibility of surgery depends entirely on where the tumor is located. As explained by a leading veterinary internal medicine reference:

"Once identified with CT or MRI, some small, superficially located, well-encapsulated, benign cerebral tumors; dorsal cerebellar tumors; and bony tumors of the skull are amenable to surgical removal. In particular, there has been some success in removing feline cerebral meningiomas. Canine cerebral meningiomas are similarly superficially located and histologically benign, but they are not well enca"

In cats, meningiomas tend to be benign, well-encapsulated, and distinct from the surrounding brain tissue, making complete surgical removal highly successful. In dogs, these tumors are often more invasive and less encapsulated, making complete surgical removal more challenging.

Prognosis

The long-term outlook for a pet with a brain tumor is highly variable and depends on the tumor's specific histological type, its location within the brain, and how advanced the neurological signs are at the time of diagnosis.

For dogs undergoing surgical removal of primary brain tumors, the median survival time is typically 140 to 150 days. However, cats with meningiomas have a significantly more favorable prognosis following surgery, with a median survival time of 22 to 27 months.

When surgery is not an option, medical management using glucocorticoids and chemotherapy can still provide several weeks to months of comfortable, high-quality time. It is important to note that long-term prognosis data for some of the rarer tumor subtypes remains limited, and your veterinary oncologist will help you understand what to expect based on your pet's specific diagnostic results.

Prevention

Because the exact causes of primary brain tumors in dogs and cats are unknown, there are currently no proven preventive measures, lifestyle changes, or genetic screening tests available to prevent their development.

The most effective strategy is early detection. Routine veterinary checkups—especially bi-annual exams for senior pets—allow your vet to perform regular neurological assessments and catch subtle changes before they progress to severe clinical signs.

When to call your vet

If your older pet exhibits any sudden changes in behavior, balance, or vision, you should schedule a veterinary evaluation promptly.

You must seek emergency veterinary care immediately if your pet experiences any of the following red-flag signs:

• A sudden, severe seizure or a series of multiple seizures within a 24-hour period (cluster seizures).
• A rapid, progressive loss of consciousness or inability to wake up.
• An inability to stand, walk, or lift their head.
• Sudden, complete blindness.

For specific breeds

While any dog or cat can develop a brain tumor, several canine breeds carry a suspected genetic predisposition. Owners of these breeds should be particularly vigilant for early neurological signs, such as subtle behavior changes or mild unsteadiness:

• Golden Retriever
• Labrador Retriever
• Boxer
• Boston Terrier

In brachycephalic breeds like Boxers and Boston Terriers, there is a higher incidence of glial cell tumors (gliomas), whereas Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are more frequently diagnosed with meningiomas.

Sources

• Internal Medicine, 5th Edition, pages 1039-1040.