Multicentric physeal dysplasia in two cats

Feline physeal dysplasia typically presents as unilateral or bilateral, atraumatic, slipped capital femoral epiphysis. The femoral physeal lesion consists of retention of a cartilaginous physis beyond the expected age of closure, with disorganization of the chondrocytes and subsequent slippage. In this article, we describe two cats with feline physeal dysplasia and slipped capital femoral epiphysis that died of unrelated causes (cardiomyopathy and lymphosarcoma). At necropsy, additional sites were found to have retained physes with similar abnormal arrangement of chondrocytes. This confirms that physeal dysplasia in cats is a widespread multicentric disorder of chondrocytes that precedes the development of slipped capital femoral epiphysis.