NEVPC 2022

Signalment:12-year-old - Male castrated - Domestic longhair

History:This cat was presented for a one-week history of tail paralysis and paraparesis, as well as a one-month history of reduced jumping and climbing upon presentation. Within the past two weeks, two episodes of urinary obstruction were additionally reported. General physical examination abnormalities were limited to an overweight body condition (7 out of 9 on the Purina body condition scoring system). Neurologic examination revealed ambulatory paraparesis with marked plantigrade stance, reduced hopping in the pelvic limbs with normal paw placement, reduced extensor postural thrust, and reduced muscle tone in the pelvic limbs. Segmental reflexes were intact. The tail was paralyzed and flaccid with absent pain sensation. Pain was elicited on caudal lumbar spinal palpation. The patient’s neurolocalization was L4-S3. Radiographs of the lumbar spine taken four days prior to presentation were reportedly within normal limits, but a pre-operative MRI revealed a spinal mass at the level of the L5-S1 segment. Though surgical debulking was attempted, euthanasia was ultimately elected intra-operatively as the process appeared more infiltrative than initially determined based on the MRI, combined with a presumptive cryosection diagnosis of spinal lymphoma.

Gross Lesions:The spinal mass manifested as a markedly infiltrative, diffuse and irregularly bulging spinal thickening, imparting a dark red-to-brown discoloration to the spine starting from the caudal aspect of the body of L4 to the cranial aspect of S1, most severely distorting the L5-S1 segment. Upon serial sectioning of the mass, marked, indiscriminate neoplastic infiltration of both the grey and white matter occurred in the affected segments. Based on these findings and coupled with the cryosections results, an initial diagnosis of spinal lymphoma was made.