Radiography & CT of Feline Skeletal Disorders

In small animal orthopaedics cats are often overlooked or assimilated with canine orthopaedic diseases, which are arguably more common. However, cats have several specific skeletal diseases that they do not share with dogs, and that do have relatively specific imaging features. In this lecture, the focus will be on radiography, CT and to a limited degree other imaging modality features of skeletal diseases, that are relatively specific to cats, or that are particularly common and relevant in cats. These conditions include:

• Osteogenesis imperfecta & stress fractures
• Caffey’s disease (polyostotic cortical hyperostosis)
• Osteochondrodysplasia of the Scottish Fold cat
• Acromegaly
• Meniscal mineralisation
• Synovial osteochondromatosis
• Nutritional or renal hyperparathyroidism & rickets
• Osteopetrosis / Myelosclerosis
• Femoral head physeal dysplasia
• Mucopolysaccharidosis
• Hip dysplasia
• Hypervitaminosis A
• Osteochondrosis dissecans
• Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy
• Mycobacterial and other infectious osteomyelitis and arthritis
• Pelvic fractures and consequences
• Malunion fractures
• Synovial cysts
• Sternal malformations
• Osteoarthritis
The main radiographic features, relevance and diagnostic implications will be captured for each condition. It is likely that small animal practitioners will recognise many of these disease that they were not always familiar with.