Chronic upper airway obstruction caused by laryngeal adenocarcinoma in a cat

An eight-year-old spayed female cat developed upper respiratory obstruction, abnormal vocalisation and anorexia over a period of a few months. Examination under general anaesthesia revealed unilateral laryngeal distortion by a soft tissue mass; there was no radiographic evidence of metastatic disease at this time. Over the next four months the upper respiratory obstruction became more severe as a result of progressive laryngeal stenosis and metastatic lung masses were observed radiographically four months after initial examination. Necropsy revealed an infiltrating laryngeal adenocarcinoma with metastases in the upper cervical lymph node and lungs. This case illustrates the value of early biopsy diagnosis to spare the patient the distress of progressive upper respiratory obstruction.