Journal of feline medicine and surgery
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J. Feline Med. Surg. · Dec 2014
Case ReportsSyndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion in a cat with a putative Rathke's cleft cyst.
An 11-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was evaluated for anorexia, lethargy and weight loss of 6 days' duration. Bilateral mydriasis, absent menace response, slow-to-absent pupillary light reflexes, bilateral retinal detachment, intermittent horizontal nystagmus, intermittent ventral strabismus and systemic hypertension were present. Biochemical analysis revealed severe hyponatremia, severe hypochloremia and mild hypokalemia. ⋯ Post-mortem histopathology of the brain revealed degeneration of the hypothalamus and optic tracts, along with a prominent fluid-filled craniopharyngeal duct (putative Rathke's cleft cyst) separating the pars distalis and the pars intermedius. The hypothalamic degeneration, possibly secondary to a Rathke's cleft cyst, was hypothesized to be the cause of presumptive SIADH in the patient. Although rare in occurrence, Rathke's cleft cyst should be included as a differential diagnosis in dogs and cats with signs of pituitary dysfunction.