Emphysematous gastritis in a cat

To describe the presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of a case of emphysematous gastritis (EG) in a cat.

A 15-year-old female neutered domestic short-hair cat presented for a 4-month history of weight loss and intermittent vomiting. Clinicopathologic and imaging findings suggested an underlying primary gastrointestinal (GI) disease, as well as possible hepatobiliary disease. Two days following exploratory laparotomy to obtain GI and liver biopsies, the patient became septic and intracellular bacteria were present on cytology of peritoneal effusion. On radiographs, the stomach was markedly distended with fluid and contained a thin gas opacity surrounding the stomach wall. The patient was taken back to surgery to identify a source of sepsis. At surgery, the patient's stomach was firm and emphysematous on palpation but grossly appeared normal. There were no signs of dehiscence of the previous biopsy sites. Stomach biopsy confirmed the presence of intralesional Gram-positive rods, consistent with microbial EG, and a light growth of a Clostridium sp. was cultured from abdominal fluid, consistent with clostridial peritonitis. During a third surgery for suspected septic peritonitis, a jejunostomy tube was placed for postgastric enteral feeding. The patient ultimately survived to discharge and is clinically stable 10 months later.

EG is a rare but potentially fatal clinical entity in the human and veterinary literature with only 1 other case reported in cats. Though clostridial organisms have been reported in EG in people, this is the first implication of EG secondary to a Clostridium sp. in the cat. This is also the first report to document the use of a jejunostomy tube for postgastric enteral nutrition to treat EG in the veterinary literature.