Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with blocked epiglottis causing breathing and balance problems
By Arbona, Diana Victoria et al.·Published in Veterinary medicine and science·2023·Veterinary Specialty Hospital - Sorrento Valley, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A case of epiglottic entrapment in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-month-old male neutered Russian Blue cat was brought in because he was making strange breathing sounds and seemed unsteady on his feet. The vet found that his airway was blocked due to an unusual growth of tissue around his epiglottis, which is the flap that helps control airflow. Despite efforts to help him breathe better, the cat struggled to recover from anesthesia and sadly passed away two weeks later. A necropsy revealed that the airway obstruction was likely the cause of his sudden death.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · Russian Blue cat airway obstruction · cat upper respiratory issues · why is my cat making strange noises
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe a case of epiglottic entrapment in a cat. CASE SUMMARY: A 5-month-old male neutered Russian Blue cat was evaluated for progressive stertorous upper airway sounds, acute onset vestibulopathy and abnormal laryngeal anatomy. Endotracheal intubation was only able to be achieved using videoscopic guidance and identified concern for severe nasopharyngeal stenosis. A computerized tomography scan revealed otitis interna, narrowed nasopharynx and no definitive cause for the stertorous breathing. The cat recovered very slowly from anaesthesia due to concern for airway obstruction following extubation. It was discharged the following day and then passed away at home 2 weeks later. Necropsy revealed that the epiglottis was obscured by 2 cm of redundant mucosal tissue extending from the base of the tongue to the larynx resulting in epiglottic entrapment. Also noted was chronic, severe otitis interna and externa. Upper airway obstruction is suspected to be the cause of sudden death. NEW OR UNIQUE INFORMATION: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of these oropharyngeal anatomic abnormalities in a cat.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37465985/