You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Melanoma of the eye occurs in both cats and dogs, but there are some significant differences between these tumours in the two species.

The main differences between melanoma of the eye in cats and dogs are as follows :

 

	CAT	DOG
Frequency of occurrence	Uncommon	Uncommon - but it is the most common intraocular neoplasm in dogs
Most common site	Iris (anterior face usually)	Iris (anterior surface) or ciliary body (difficult to see in early stages).
Most common form	Diffuse infiltrate	Raised nodule
Color	Brown usually	Brown to black
Rate of growth	Often very slow. It can take months-years before secondary effects develop.	Slow
Secondary effects	Glaucoma.	Corneal oedema, glaucoma, lens luxation
Predisposed breeds		German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers
Genetic inheritance		Possibly
Metastatic spread	High - 30-60% spread	Usually less than 5% spread post-enucleation follow-up.
Treatment	Enucleation. Laser treatment?	Enucleation. Surgical resection occasionally. Laser treatment ?
Differential diagnosis	Melanosis of the iris in middle-aged cats can be difficult to differentiate.
Metastasis	Radiograph chest for secondary spread	Radiograph chest for secondary spread