Page 636 - Problem-Based Feline Medicine

628 PART 9 CAT WITH SIGNS OF GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT DISEASE

Mydriasis is present with normal vision and third eye- There are no other abnormal clinical findings other
lids are commonly prolapsed. than the cat appears to gulp or swallow its food without
chewing it.
Keratoconjunctivitis sicca and dry oral mucous
membranes may be present.
Diagnosis
Other signs include bradycardia (60–120 bpm) and
hypotension All clinical, biochemical, radiographic and endo-
scopic studies (if performed) will be normal.
Anal areflexia has been reported.
This is a diagnosis of clinical presumption based on
Dysuria in association with a distended urinary
history, physical exam and the ability to control the
bladder also occurs.
signs by feeding smaller meals more frequently or
The disease is rare in the US (some regional areas reducing the competition for food that may create food
especially in the central mid-west have more cases) but gulping.
was more common in Europe in the 1980s.

It is usually seen in young (< 3 years) cats. Differential diagnosis
Hiatal hernia, mild gastroesophageal reflux, mild
Diagnosis
esophageal hypomotility or lower esophageal sphincter
The constellation of clinical signs is suggestive of disease.
autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
Food intolerance and food allergy may cause vomiting
There is no definitive diagnostic test for dysauto- very soon after eating which could be mistaken for
nomia, but the following tests of autonomic function regurgitation.
are supportive:
● Intraocular physostigmine fails to provoke a
Treatment
response, but pilocarpine causes immediate miosis.
● Intradermal skin testing – There is no response to Feed the cat smaller meals more frequently or change
histamine (no wheal or flare). feeding location or time to reduce competition for
● Epinephrine should not be given to cats with food or the tendency to eat rapidly.
dysautonomia because fatal arrhythmias may
develop.
MEDIASTINAL NEOPLASIA
● Cats will respond to atropine (increased heart rate),
which proves that the post-ganglionic receptors are
Classical signs
still able to appropriately respond to stimulus.
● Anorexia.
● Regurgitation.
EATING TOO FAST (FOOD GULPING)
● Other systemic signs if paraneoplastic
disease occurs.
Classical signs
● Thymic lymphoma/thymoma is a
● Intermittent regurgitation of food mostly benign anterior mediastinal
immediately after ingestion, often in mass, usually found in older cats. Most
tubular form. affected cats are FeLV negative and the
tumor may be associated with para-
neoplastic syndromes, such as
Clinical signs
myasthenia gravis, polymyositis,
Intermittent regurgitation of whole food, often in myocarditis or dermatitis.
tubular form, immediately after it is consumed.
See main reference on page 56 for details.