XY DISORDER OF SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT (DSD)/HYPOSPADIAS IN A EUROPEAN CAT

An intersex is an individual in whom it is difficult to attribute sex showing one or more anatomical features of both sexes. In literature, there are different nomenclatures and classifications but they have historically been improved when sex chromosomes structure started to be analyzed. The first important approach in pets was to categorize the defects based on a chronological sequence of events that lead to sexual development. The intersexes were divided into 3 categories of disorders: chromosomal sex, gonadal sex, phenotypic sex. A new classification has been proposed in humans and recently adapted to the dog and the cat [2], even to create comparative models. All conditions are enclosed in the acronym DSD (Disorders of Sexual Development). Each anomaly is cataloged for the arrangement of the sex chromosomes, therefore for the type of abnormality. The aim of the study is to contribute to these cases with the description of a feline XY DSD. In a 2-year-old European cat a rare urogenital anomaly was diagnosed. There was a cloacal structure with two outlets: the rectum dorsally and the urethra ventrally on the floor of a pseudovagina. Near the ventral commissure of the cloacal structure a peniform structure with spicules was recognized without relationships with the urethral meatus. The testicles were in place but the scrotum was splitted by the cloacal fissure. The cat showed no disorders of urination and defecation; it was destined to castration, being a stray cat. After general anesthesia, prior castration, an exploratory laparotomy was performed to investigate the presence of other possible anomalies of the enteric and genitourinary tract, like megacolon and Müller duct residues, which were excluded. No plastic surgery in the genital area was performed because it was thought to be not necessary. Histologically, the testicles showed normal spermatogenesis. The karyotype was XY. A diagnosis of XY DSD/hypospadias was made. Hypospadias is the ventral displacement of the urethral meatus which, due to a defect of formation, is not at the apex of the glans penis but in a backward position up to a pseudofemale place. A few cases of XY DSD/hypospadias have been described in the cat, with a comparable anatomical presentaion. Defects and consequent disorders of urinary and enteric tracts are frequently associated and may require corrective surgery, with the exception of the presented case.