Clinical characteristics, classification, and surgical outcome for kittens with phimosis: 8 cases (2009-2017)

To describe clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes for kittens with phimosis and to develop a system to classify phimosis on the basis of gross pathological lesions.

8 kittens with phimosis.

Medical record databases of 2 veterinary teaching hospitals were searched to identify records of cats ≤ 20 weeks old (ie, kittens) with phimosis that underwent surgical intervention between 2009 and 2017. For each kitten, information extracted from the record included signalment, history, clinical signs, physical examination findings, treatments, and details regarding the surgical procedure performed, postoperative complications, and outcome.

The most common clinical signs were stranguria (n = 6), marked preputial swelling (5), and a small (6) or inevident (2) preputial orifice. Six kittens had type 1 phimosis (generalized preputial swelling owing to urine pooling without penile-preputial adhesions) and underwent circumferential preputioplasty. Two kittens had type 2 phimosis (focal preputial swelling and urine pooling in the presence of penile-preputial adhesions) and underwent preputial urethrostomy. No postoperative complications were recorded for kittens that underwent preputial urethrostomy. All 6 kittens that underwent circumferential preputioplasty had some exposure of the tip of the penis immediately after surgery, which typically resolved over time. At the time of last follow-up (mean, 1.4 years after surgery), all 8 patients were able to urinate and had no signs of phimosis recurrence.

Results suggested that circumferential preputioplasty and preputial urethrostomy could be used to successfully manage kittens with type 1 and type 2 phimosis, respectively.