COINCIDENT ENTERIC CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS AND LYMPHOSARCOMA IN A CAT WITH DIARRHEA

A 13-year-old, neutered male, domestic shorthair cat was presented wit h the complaint of chronic, malodorous diarrhea. Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts were identified microscopically in direct fecal smears stained by a modified acid-fast technique. Results of bacteriological, serolo gical, and clinicopathological tests revealed no other cause for the p ersistent diarrhea. Clinical improvement was associated with the feedi ng of a diet that was reduced in fat and protein. Coprophagia was init ially assumed to be the source of persistent cryptosporidiosis. The ca t was euthanized due to recurrent diarrhea, approximately three months after initial presentation. Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts were again d etected in direct fecal smears obtained antemortem. Postmortem examina tion revealed intestinal lymphosarcoma.