Causes of Feline Uveitis: A Retrospective Study of 96 Cases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, 2012-2015

Uveitis is a common cause of blindness in feline patients as incorrectly treated or its chronicization can lead to formation of pre-iridal fibrovascular membranes, pupillary block and secondary glaucoma. The objective of this study was to investigate the causes of uveitis in cats diagnosed at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest between 2012 and 2015. Medical records were reviewed and cats were considered if complete diagnostic work-up, clinical examination and imaging studies were performed. All the feline cases were serologically tested for at least two of the common infectious causes: feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline coronavirus, Toxoplasma gondii, and Bartonella spp. Ninety-six cats with a mean age of 5.42 years, ranging from 1 month to 17 years old, with a male to female ratio of 1.33/1 were diagnosed with uveitis. The European domestic cat was overrepresented at 76% followed by Birman cat (6.3%), Persian cat (4.2%), Russian blue (4.2%), Norwegian cat (2%), British Short Hair (1%), Sphynx (1%) and Cornish Rex (1%). Infectious diseases were the cause of uveitis in 31 cases (32.3%), neoplasia was diagnosed in 22 cases (22.9%), uveitis secondary to septic keratitis in 8 cases (8.3%) and uveitis secondary to direct ocular trauma in 6 cases (6.3%). Twenty-nine cats (30.2%) with a mean age of 4.33 years old were diagnosed with idiopathic or immune-mediated uveitis, less than previously reported. Aqueous flare occurred in 91 cats and keratic precipitates were noted in 39 cats. The most common infectious cause of uveitis in this study was Toxoplasma gondii (n=18). Infectious diseases remain the most common cause of feline uveitis, therefore systemic evaluation and serological investigations should be performed in all cats with uveitis, cataract and glaucoma.