Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Brain injury from feeding tube placed in newborn kitten's nose
By Shugg, Riley et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·BluePearl Pet Hospital, 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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Inadvertent Intracranial Nasogastric Tube Placement Causing Traumatic Brain Injury in a Neonatal Cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 20-day-old female kitten was brought in because she was having trouble breathing and wasn't eating well. The vet found that she had pneumonia and started treatment with antibiotics, oxygen, and a feeding tube. Unfortunately, during the placement of the feeding tube, it accidentally went into her skull, causing serious brain injury. Although the tube was removed quickly and she didn't show immediate signs of neurological decline, the kitten later died from respiratory failure. An examination after her death confirmed the severe pneumonia and brain bleeding caused by the tube placement.
People also search for: kitten breathing problems · pneumonia treatment in kittens · feeding tube complications in cats
Abstract
A 20-day-old, 0.26 kg intact female domestic shorthair kitten was presented for evaluation of labored breathing and decreased appetite. Physical examination and thoracic radiographs were consistent with bronchointerstitial pneumonia, and the cat was hospitalized and treated with antibiotics, oxygen therapy, and nutritional support through a nasogastric tube. Mild resistance was encountered during nasogastric tube placement before advancement to the premeasured length. Lateral thoracic radiographic examination of the thorax, neck, and head suggested the nasogastric tube had entered the calvarium through the cribriform plate and had become coiled. The nasogastric tube was immediately removed, with no acute decline in the kitten's neurologic status; however, the kitten ultimately died secondary to suspected respiratory failure. Postmortem magnetic resonance imaging and necropsy confirmed the presence of severe pneumonia and marked cerebral and midbrain hemorrhage secondary to traumatic intracranial nasogastric tube placement.
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/40887892/