Intussusception in cats

RE: Intussusception in cats

Julian Earl — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 21:56:38 GMT

I can only remember seeing one in a cat, six months after I qualified in fact so a couple of years ago or more!! But I've seen dogs suffer repeated intussusception usually after eating a foreign body a Dobermann that ate carpet and curtains the socks. It was euthanased after that so never got a third chance.I saw twelve intussusceptions in my first 18months after qualifying and have never liked enterectomies ever since !I thought they would be rare? You know vomiting dogs are simple yes?; ; "common things are common correct?"

RE: Intussusception in cats

grumpyoldman — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 18:40:53 GMT

I have seen a few (not recently) where the event was complicated by large numbers of ascarids requiring eviction pre end to end.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Bibs — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:41:51 GMT

The only intussusception I've ever seen in a kitten was a ileocolic intussusception in a pedigree kitten (can't quite remember which breed) and my colleague had performed surgery for the same thing in it's litter mate a few weeks before. No obvious underlying cause was found.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Melissa Coles — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 09:57:45 GMT

Thanks everybody for your thoughts.

Neither cat showed any previous GI signs as far as I'm aware. We'd only seen them once previously for a weight check. Each had a 24 hour history of inappetence and a single episode of vomiting. It was quite hard to convince the owners that anything was really wrong the first time, they were convinced it was just a hair ball. They were much more willing to believe me the second time. I kept the resected gut from the first cat so can send it off in future if needs be. I will have a closer look into their diet as well.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 09:21:19 GMT

[quote user="Julie Innes"]I was wondering if the FIP was possibly a factor?[/quote]

Or could it be a hypermotility linked to FCoV, which could then mutate to FIP? If it's an aggressive enough coronavirus, to cause clinical signs?

RE: Intussusception in cats

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 08:50:49 GMT

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"]ha! a few people I told this story said this![/quote]I didn't think I'd be the only one!

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"]back to the intussuscepted cats. I've never seen one, only a couple of dogs.[/quote]Opposite, here I used to see intussuscepted cats quite frequently but can only recall the odd dog. They were mostly kittens/cats <12 months. I wonder just how much improvement in diet and worming has influenced the fact I don't see them anymore.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 22:08:58 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]am I alone in having unsavoury thoughts about the equivalent of the Welsh and sheep?! [/quote]

ha! a few people I told this story said this! Both were intact bitches that had recently been in heat with significant vaginal hyperplasia so fit the predisposition to prolapse. Just wondered if some extra oestrogen helped them along the way - perhaps some sort of fertility supplement in the case of the Neo as they wanted to breed her. (Get this - the breeder who had sold them the bitch had done AI several times THROUGH THE PROLAPSE. Thankfully without success. We were astonished so got a handy Chinese vet nurse student to translate (didn't have her handy to ask about the supplements when we thought of it). Yes, we did hear that right). Sorry for hijack - if anyone else has a crazier breeder story we'll start a tangent thread.

back to the intussuscepted cats. I've never seen one, only a couple of dogs.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 19:11:15 GMT

[quote user="Virginia Campbell"]I vaguely remember a college lecturer talking about a cat he had seen that cuddled up in the owner's arms against her chest- arms and chest both had had some cream or other applied (possibly vitamin D laden eczema cream, can't remember)- anyway, enough of it got off the person and into the cat orally or transdermally to affect it.[/quote]I always ask owners about this one specifically if I find an idiopathic hypercalcaemia before I embark on expensive lab tests. No one has ever admitted it though. Not sure what they would been using that give a cat gut hypermotility though.

Re the Chinese owner's dogs: am I alone in having unsavoury thoughts about the equivalent of the Welsh and sheep?!

RE: Intussusception in cats

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 17:32:31 GMT

Sorry, didn't read the OP thoroughly enough and didn't realise two different cats intussuscepted. Still would do z/d in the first instance and biopsy if either is a repeat offender.

The boss at one of my previous practices saw vaginal prolapses in two bitches belonging to the same owner within a month of each other. A Neopolitan and a Shar Pei. The owners were Chinese and we did wonder whether the dogs had had some sort of traditional Chinese food supplement or tonic that had a high oestrogen content, though the language barrier made it impossible to rule out. Check and see whether your two patients get given any weird foods or supplements, or could have accidental access to any human medication that could affect gut motility. Including exposure to topical medications - I vaguely remember a college lecturer talking about a cat he had seen that cuddled up in the owner's arms against her chest- arms and chest both had had some cream or other applied (possibly vitamin D laden eczema cream, can't remember)- anyway, enough of it got off the person and into the cat orally or transdermally to affect it.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Sarah Mark — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 17:18:24 GMT

Maybe so - I do remember one in a Siamese that did the same thing - recovered fine after surgery but at about 5months developed a huge fluidy abdomen, was euthanased with suspected FIP (but not confirmed.)

The breeders used to call these kittens 'pencils' as they tended to have overexaggerated, ear carriage and long straight faces, so whether there was some familial link or possibly just a cluster in certain households?

RE: Intussusception in cats

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 17:16:57 GMT

If it does it again, get some biopsies elsewhere along the gut while you're in there.

I wonder if enteroplication would be indicated if it does it again? Maybe some soft tissue surgeons will be along to advise.

I'd put it on z/d or something like that no matter what its poo is like or whether it is a chronic vomiter or not. Hydrolysed protein diets are expensive, but repeat enterectomies are more expensive! Can't remember the percentage of gut you can take out before you run into problems .

RE: Intussusception in cats

Julie Innes — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:20:18 GMT

Interesting! I just recently saw my first ever (in 20 years of practice!) Intussusception in a young kitten (12weeks) Seemed to recover post surgery but developed ascites a few weeks later and died of suspected FIP (based on analysis of abdominal fluid) I was wondering if the FIP was possibly a factor?

RE: Intussusception in cats

Sarah Mark — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 12:47:16 GMT

Anecdote alert! I used to see a lot of these in young Siamese kittens and cats - not sure how common/uncommon in other pedigrees, but rarely in domestic kittens. In recent years I can only recall one in a young spayed female DSH that was just vomiting a bit, she also needed a resection.

RE: Intussusception in cats

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 12:05:07 GMT

Coincidences do occur but as these cats are related it is likely they have some familial common anatomical/physiological predisposition or a common diet that is causing hypermotility - you haven't said if there is a history of diarrhoea.