A case report of an ectopic fetus in a cat

An ectopic fetus was discovered in an 18-month-old uniparous queen that was admitted for an elective ovariectomy. Six months prior she had delivered three healthy kittens. During the preoperative examination, a mass similar in size to a full-term fetus was detected in the abdominal cavity. Ultrasound examination revealed the mass to be an ectopic fetus in the mid-abdominal region. A mummified fetus was removed by laparotomy. No rupture of the uterine wall was visible, but a small necrotic area was present on the left uterine horn, adjacent to the very proximal portion of the uterine horn. The fetus, which was fully developed and covered by a thin membrane, was carefully dissected. Histological examination did not enable us to definitively prove the extra-uterine development of the fetus; however, the ectopic development of the conceptus secondarily expelled into the peritoneal cavity could be assumed.