Feline coxarthrosis and the validity of x-rays

Feline coxarthrosis and the validity of x-rays To describe normal and pathological conformation of the feline coxofemoral joint, ventrodorsal radiographic views of 101 cadavers (mean age: 12.3 years) were compared to their macerated bones. Typical findings in the x-ray, different to coxarthrosis in the dog, are located at the cranial articular rim that runs horizontally without a caudolateral course. If there are already small spikes or if there is a sharp boundary at the cranial acetabulum rim it can be evaluated as enthesiophytes. Remodeling of the acetabulum at the caudal articular margin can be visualized in the x-ray as a broad sclerotic line. Unlike canine coxarthrosis, degenerative changes in the cat at the femor are not presented in a collar around the neck, but as an osteosclerosis at the craniodistal aspect of the femoral head and osteolysis at the proximal aspect of the femoral head. In more severe cases the femoral head becomes a typically mushroom shaped deformation but only limited to the femoral head and there is no contact to the neck. As in the dog, the osteoarthrosis was found to be positively correlated to age and there were no gender differences.