2021
Signalment:17-year-old female spayed domestic shorthair cat
History:A 17-year-old female spayed domestic shorthair cat presented to NCSU-CVM repeatedly over a week for persistent and progressive anorexia of several weeksÕ duration.Ê Physical examination revealed mild dehydration, a mildly distended and painful abdomen, increased respiratory effort after handling, and a grade II/VI systolic heart murmur.Ê Abdominal ultrasound performed at initial work up revealed several abnormalities, including pancreatomegaly with presumptive pancreatitis and steatitis, cholecystic debris and common bile duct thickening (choledochitis), mild small intestinal thickening and corrugation, jejunal lymphadenopathy, and scant peritoneal effusion.
Gross Lesions:Skin, mucous membranes, and visceral fat were diffusely pale to bright yellow. Present multifocally across the surface of the pancreas, as well as throughout the adipose of the mesentery and omentum, were too numerous to count, firm to gritty, bright yellow, pinpoint to 3 x 1.5 x 0.5 mm plaque-like nodules (fat saponification). Scattered across the mesentery, splenic capsule, and the serosa of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, and stomach, were too numerous to count tan nodules ranging in size from pinpoint to 5 mm in diameter that are similar to those described in the thoracic cavity. At the level of the major duodenal papilla, the common bile duct was markedly, segmentally thickened but was patent upon applying pressure to the gallbladder.