Naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathies have been recognised in sheep, man, mink, captive deer and cattle. Recently a similar disease was reported in a domestic cat. This paper describes the clinical and pathological findings in five cats with similar signs, including further observations on the original case. All the cats had a progressive, neurological disease involving locomotor disturbances, abnormal behaviour and, in most cases, altered sensory responses. Histopathological examination of the central nervous system revealed changes pathognomonic of the scrapie-like encephalopathies, including widespread vacuolation of the grey matter neuropil, vacuolation of neuronal perikarya and an astrocytic reaction.

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The brains from 18 cats were examined for the presence of the fibrils and modified PrP protein which are molecular diagnostic markers for scrapie-like diseases. Thirteen cats were referred with clinical neurological signs potentially indicative of feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE). Of these, five had histopathological changes of FSE, five had other lesions of the central nervous system, and in three the brain was normal. The remaining five cats had no clinical neurological signs and were selected as controls. Fibrils and modified PrP protein were found in the brains of the five cats with FSE and in one of the cats with neurological signs but no histopathological changes in the central nervous system. Fibrils were present in the absence of modified PrP in the brains of two cats, one with neurological signs and a histologically confirmed meningioma, and one with no neurological signs and a histologically normal brain.

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Benign connective tumours of the canine salivary glands are rare. This report describes lipomatous infiltration of parotid or submandibular salivary glands in seven dogs in which the glands were enlarged as a result of infiltration by fat cells; they appeared to have been successfully treated by local excision. The precise cause of the lipomatous infiltration in the dogs is unclear but different causes of similar lesions in humans are discussed.