LAUSR

A 5-year-old, spayed female Domestic Shorthaired cat was presented to the referring veterinarian for a 4-day history of anorexia, painful abdomen, and repetitive gagging. No laboratory data were generated. Abdominal radiographs revealed gas distension in the stomach and intestinal loops. The cat underwent abdominal exploratory surgery. Upon surgical evaluation, the intestinal tract appeared normal; however, the tail of the pancreas was noticeably thickened, nodular, and dark brown to black. This affected region was firm on palpation and approximately 3 times the thickness of the adjacent normal pancreatic tissue. Dark viscous material was aspirated from the pancreatic nodules and several direct smears were prepared. All slides were submitted to the University of Missouri–Columbia, Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory cytology service for review (Figure 1).