Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with pansteatitis and severe low blood calcium levels
By Zini, Eric et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2007·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pansteatitis and severe hypocalcaemia in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old Siamese cat was brought in because it was very tired and had a swollen belly. Tests showed that the cat had extremely low levels of calcium in its blood, and an ultrasound revealed unusual changes in its abdominal fat. During surgery, the fat looked abnormal and firm, and a post-mortem exam confirmed the cat had pansteatitis (a condition where fat becomes inflamed) along with calcium soap formation. Unfortunately, the cat did not survive, but this case highlights a rare link between pansteatitis and low calcium levels in cats.
People also search for: cat lethargy swollen belly · Siamese cat low calcium symptoms · pansteatitis treatment in cats
Abstract
A 13-year-old Siamese cat was presented for investigation of lethargy and progressive abdominal enlargement. Serum chemistry revealed severe reduction of total and ionised serum calcium. The omentum appeared hyperechoic with scattered hypoechoic foci on abdominal ultrasound examination. Elevated serum parathormone and low fractional excretion of calcium excluded a parathyroid disorder and renal loss of the electrolyte. During laparotomy the omentum appeared opaque, white and firm. Post-mortem examination revealed that the thoracic and subcutaneous fat was also affected. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of pansteatitis with diffuse calcium soaps formation. While, severe hypocalcaemia is occasionally seen in cats, the association with pansteatitis has not been reported previously. In man, a cause-and-effect relationship between calcium soaps and hypocalcaemia is recognised, though the association is rare.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17175190/