A feline case of isolated fourth ventricle with syringomyelia suspected to be related with feline infectious peritonitis

Abstract

A one-year-old female cat was unable to stand. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and an enlargement of the lateral, third, and fourth ventricles and syringomyelia were detected. The cat was diagnosed with an isolated fourth ventricle (IFV) with syringomyelia. The serum isoantibody test for the feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) virus was 1:3,200. After the cat died, a pathological examination revealed nonsuppurative encephalomyelitis. We suspected that the IFV, detected in the cat, was associated with FIP encephalomyelitis. To our knowledge, there has been no report on IFV in veterinary medicine.