Infective endocarditis in 13 cats

To describe the clinical presentation, clinicopathological abnormalities and outcomes of a series of cats diagnosed with infective endocarditis (IE) at two tertiary care referral institutions.

Thirteen client-owned cats presenting to the cardiology or emergency services of tertiary referral institutions with a diagnosis of endocarditis based on the modified Duke criteria.

Retrospective case series. Medical records were reviewed to extract relevant data. In addition, cases that had cardiac tissue available were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of Bartonella DNA.

Prevalence of feline IE was 0.007%. Cats with endocarditis tended to be older (median age: 9 years, range: 2-12 years) and no sex or breed was overrepresented. Commonly encountered clinical signs included respiratory distress (n = 5) and locomotor abnormalities of varying severity (n = 5). Echocardiographic examination detected valvular lesions consistent with endocarditis on the aortic (n = 8) or mitral (n = 5) valves. Nine cats were diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the time of endocarditis diagnosis. Overall, prognosis was grave with a median survival time of 31 days.

In contrast to dogs, cats with IE typically present with clinical signs consistent with cardiac decompensation and locomotor abnormalities suggestive of either thromboembolic disease or inflammatory arthritis. Given the advanced state of disease when diagnosis typically occurs, prognosis is grave.