Neurological diseases in cats at a UK referral hospital

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aims of the present study were characterisation of a population of cats presented to a single hospital, regarding clinical diagnoses, neuroanatomical localisation and aetiological disease distribution, and to provide guidance for better clinical reasoning and differential diagnosis in the setting of feline neurology.MethodsA retrospective, statistical descriptive study was conducted. The number of clinical diagnoses, neuroanatomical localisations and aetiological disease distributions - classified according to the vascular, inflammatory/infectious, traumatic, anomalous, metabolic, idiopathic, neoplastic, degenerative (VITAMIN D) system - were recorded, along with signalment and duration of clinical signs.ResultsNeurological disease amounted to 10% of the total cases seen in a single veterinary hospital over a period of 9 years. A total of 266 cats were included in the study; of these, 44% had lesions in the brain, 26.3% in the spinal cord, 25.6% in the neuromuscular system and 4.1% had diffuse signs of neurological disease. Neoplastic (77 cats, 28.9%), idiopathic (67 cats, 25.2%) and inflammatory/infectious (56 cats, 21.1%) were the most frequently recognised disease categories. Regarding brain disease, neoplastic (36.8%), idiopathic (34.2%) and inflammatory/infectious (16.2%) diseases were most frequently diagnosed, with idiopathic epilepsy, meningioma and paroxysmal dyskinesia the most common specific diagnoses. For spinal cord disease, neoplastic (31.4%) and degenerative (31.4%) conditions predominated, with ischaemic myelopathy, intervertebral disc extrusion and feline infectious peritonitis the most frequent diagnoses. Among neuromuscular diseases, idiopathic processes (39.7%) were the most common, with otitis media/interna as the leading diagnosis. For diffuse diseases, inflammatory/infectious conditions (54.5%) were most prevalent, with toxoplasmosis and undetermined neoplasia the most frequent clinical diagnosis.Conclusions and relevanceThis is the first study to describe feline neurological patients in the UK in terms of clinical diagnoses, neuroanatomical localisation and aetiological disease distribution. The findings add to current knowledge in feline neurology and may contribute to a more comprehensive list of differential diagnoses and improved recognition of neurological disease in cats.