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DuPerry B, Lopez KE, Rush JE, Berridge BR, Mitchell RN, Breitschwerdt EB, Freeman LM. Dilated cardiomyopathy of possible dietary origin in a cat. J Vet Cardiol 2023; 51:172-178. [PMID: 38141434 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2023.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
An 11-year-old spayed female domestic shorthaired cat was diagnosed with severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and congestive heart failure. The cat had been eating cat foods that were high in pulses (e.g. peas, lentils, chickpeas). Neither plasma nor whole blood taurine concentrations were deficient. Primary treatment included furosemide, pimobendan, and clopidogrel, and changing to diets that did not contain pulses (a taurine supplements was not administered). The cat's clinical signs improved, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I concentrations decreased, and echocardiographic measurements stayed relatively stable for over one year after initiating cardiac medications and changing the diet. Ultimately, the cat was euthanized for worsening congestive heart failure 374 days after the diagnosis of DCM. Infectious disease testing during the time of clinical surveillance was negative. Routine histopathology of the heart was unremarkable, but electron microscopy of the left ventricle showed large numbers of mitochondria of variable size and structure. A moderate number of lamellar bodies and autophagic vacuoles also were noted. This case report illustrates an unusual case of a cat with DCM unrelated to taurine deficiency. The relative roles of diet change, cardiac medications, and a dedicated owner are unclear, but this cat's relatively long survival time is similar to that seen after diet change in dogs and cats with DCM eating high-pulse diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- B DuPerry
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA
| | - K E Lopez
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA
| | - J E Rush
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA
| | | | - R N Mitchell
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - E B Breitschwerdt
- Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, and the Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - L M Freeman
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA.
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