Congenital pulmonary airway malformation in a cat

Abstract

Congenital structural anomalies of the lower airways of the respiratory tract are uncommon in cats. We describe here a case of cystic pulmonary lesions in a 6-wk-old domestic shorthair cat consistent with congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM; formerly referred to as cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung, or congenital pulmonary adenomatoid malformation; Stocker type II). CPAM is rarely reported in veterinary species and, to our knowledge, has not been reported in cats. In humans and veterinary species, individuals with CPAM (Stocker types I–IV) can be asymptomatic at birth but are predisposed to developing respiratory abnormalities that typically manifest clinically in the early years of life. We review the pathologic features of CPAM.