What is your diagnosis? Aspirate from a digit in a cat

Abstract

A 13-year-old female spayed Domestic Shorthair cat was presented to Texas A&M University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) for a chronic nail bed infection. The owner noticed the cat favoring and holding up the left front paw about 4-6 weeks prior; no bleeding or abnormal discharge was noted. The cat was initially evaluated by the primary care veterinarian for limping, where it was noted that the nails had grown into the footpads on the 2nd and 3rd digits. The paw was also swollen and painful. The nails were trimmed and the cat was administered antibiotic and antiinflammatory injections. The cat returned to the primary care veterinarian 2 weeks later for re-evaluation, but showed no improvement. Oral antibiotics were initiated prior to referral.At presentation to the VMTH, digits 2 and 3 of the left front paw were swollen, fairly firm, and painful. Mild exudate was present along the ventral margin of the claw fold. Cytologic evaluation of the exudate surrounding the second digit on the left forelimb revealed moderate numbers of neutrophils with rare bacterial cocci. An aspirate of a lesion on the third digit of the left forelimb was obtained (Figure 1). Figure 1. Aspirate of a lesion on the third digit on the left forelimb in a cat, Diff-Quik, 9 60 objective.