A case of SRY-positive 38,XY true hermaphroditism (XY sex reversal) in a cat.

Investigation of abnormal sexual development in companion animals can allow for the elimination of inherited disorders from breeding populations while contributing to the understanding of the complex process of mammalian sexual development and differentiation. A 1-year-old mixed-breed cat, presented for neutering, was tentatively diagnosed as a male with bilateral cryptorchidism. During surgery, the surgeon identified gonads in an ovarian position and a complete bicornuate uterus. Both testicular and ovarian architecture in the gonads and Mullerian and Wolffian duct derivatives were identified histologically. The karyotype was that of a normal male (38,XY), and no causative mutation was identified in the feline SRY coding sequence amplified from genomic DNA. All features of the case were compatible with a diagnosis of SRY-positive 38,XY sex reversal, true hermaphrodite phenotype. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of this disorder in a domestic cat.

Transmission and control of Filaroides hirthi lungworm infection in dogs.

Transmission of Filaroides hirthi among cagemate pups was demonstrated to occur through the ingestion of first-stage larvae in recently passed feces. It was suggested that coprophagia is the principal mechanism of transmission of F hirthi and that transmission from brood bitches to their litters occurs by this mechanism during and after the fourth or fifth week of the nursing period. Medication of 15 infected brood bitches with two courses of albendazole at a dosage rate of 50 mg/kg of body weight twice each day for 5 days resulted in complete absence of F hirthi infection among all 21 of their progeny, whereas 16 of 19 progeny (84%) from 14 nontreated infected dams harbored F hirthi worms.