Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Kidneys infected with abscesses in six cats and their treatment
By Faucher, Mathieu R et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2017·1 Alliance Small Animal Clinic, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Renal abscesses in cats: six cases.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat was brought in for lethargy, dehydration, and abdominal pain. The veterinarian found that the cat had a renal abscess, which is a pocket of infection in the kidney. Diagnosis was made using ultrasound and tests on the fluid from the abscess. The cat was treated with antibiotics, and two cats in the study also had surgery to drain the abscess. While the short-term recovery was fair, the long-term health depended on any other underlying health issues the cat had.
People also search for: cat lethargy dehydration abdominal pain · cat kidney abscess treatment · signs of kidney problems in cats
Abstract
Case series summary Six cats were diagnosed with renal abscesses. Common clinical findings were lethargy, dehydration, abdominal pain and nephromegaly. Fever was noted in half of the cases. Diagnosis was established by ultrasonography, cytological examination and bacterial culture of abscess aspirates. At least one possible contributing factor could be identified in all cases. Antibiotics were consistently used and in two cats the abscess was surgically drained. The short-term outcome was fair but the long-term outcome was dependent on the underlying condition. Relevance and novel information The results of this small case series suggest that renal abscess should be considered when nephromegaly and/or abdominal discomfort are noted. Diagnosis of renal abscess is straightforward when ultrasonography and fine-needle aspirate analysis can be performed. Medical treatment is assumed to be preferable but surgical treatment may be warranted on a case-by-case basis. Given that almost every affected cat was diagnosed with at least one comorbidity, a thorough evaluation is recommended for all cats with renal abscesses.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26534945/