Severe bronchiectasis resulting from chronic bacterial bronchitis and bronchopneumonia in a jungle cat

Bronchiectasis is irreversible bronchial dilation that can be congenital or acquired secondary to chronic airway obstruction. Feline bronchiectasis is rare and, to our knowledge, has not been reported previously in a non-domestic felid. An ~10-y-old female jungle cat (Felis chaus) was presented for evaluation of an abdominal mass and suspected pulmonary metastasis. The animal died during exploratory laparotomy and was submitted for postmortem examination. Gross examination revealed consolidation of the left caudal lung lobe and hila of the cranial lung lobes. Elsewhere in the lungs were several pale-yellow pleural foci of endogenous lipid pneumonia. On cut section, there was severe distension of bronchi with abundant white mucoid fluid. The remaining lung lobes were multifocally expanded by marginal emphysema. Histologically, ectatic bronchi, bronchioles, and fewer alveoli contained degenerate neutrophils, fibrin, and mucin (suppurative bronchopneumonia) with rare gram-negative bacteria. Aerobic culture yielded low growth of Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. There was chronic bronchitis, marked by moderate bronchial gland hyperplasia, lymphoplasmacytic inflammation, and lymphoid hyperplasia. The palpated abdominal mass was a uterine endometrial polyp, which was considered an incidental, but novel, finding. Chronic bronchitis and bronchopneumonia should be considered as a cause of bronchiectasis and a differential diagnosis for respiratory disease in non-domestic felids.