Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with polycystic kidney and liver disease develops
By Lee, Eun-Soo et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, South Korea·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Case Report: Budd-Chiari-like syndrome in a cat with polycystic kidney and liver disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old spayed female Persian Chinchilla cat was brought to the vet because she was very lethargic and had sudden pain and limping in her right back leg. Tests showed she had cysts in her kidneys and liver, which were causing her liver to enlarge and compress a major blood vessel. Unfortunately, despite receiving supportive care, her condition worsened, and she passed away from kidney failure about seven weeks later. This case highlights how serious complications can arise from kidney and liver diseases in cats.
People also search for: cat lethargy and limping · Persian cat kidney disease · Budd-Chiari syndrome in cats · cat liver disease treatment
Abstract
A 9-year-old spayed female Persian Chinchilla cat presented with progressive lethargy and acute right hindlimb pain and lameness. Diagnostic imaging revealed diffuse renal and hepatic cysts, resulting in marked hepatomegaly. Computed tomography (CT) further identified a localized narrowing of the intrahepatic caudal vena cava (CVC), likely due to extrinsic compression by the enlarged liver. Laboratory tests revealed moderate anemia, leukocytosis, hypoalbuminemia, and a hypercoagulable state with markedly elevated serum amyloid A levels. Based on these findings, the cat was diagnosed with polycystic kidney and liver disease (PKD/PLD), complicated by Budd-Chiari-like syndrome (BCLS), a rare hemodynamic disorder in felines. Despite supportive care, the patient succumbed to renal failure within 7 weeks. Whole-genome sequencing identified a heterozygous known pathogenic non-sense mutation in(XM_023247051.2:c.9864C > A), a novel frameshift mutation in, and multiple missense variants inand. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of feline BCLS secondary to PLD-induced CVC compression. These findings underscore the importance of considering vascular complications in advanced PKD/PLD and suggest that multigenic variation may contribute to disease severity and clinical variability.
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/41669239/