+ Theodore – Meningioma
Theodore is a 11 year-old domestic short hair who originally presented to BVSC as a referral in September 2024. He was displaying some vague and unusual behaviours at home. He was circling to the right, behaving somewhat withdrawn from his owners and the other cats in the household, and he was not eating as well as he used to.
Dr Hannah Kwong initially reviewed Theodore then consulted with Dr Harvey Saunders and they concurred that the physical examination and neurological examination findings were consistent with a lesion affecting the right side of his forebrain. With these findings and considering his age and his signs, the most likely diagnosis was a meningioma. These are a type of slow growing brain tumour arising from the meninges, which are the membranous tissue structures that surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
To further investigate his problem, a Computed Tomogram (CT) scan of his brain was performed. This imaging study confirmed the presence of a large right sided forebrain mass, with classical appearance of a meningioma. Meningiomas in cats typically grow slowly and rather than invade the brain or destroy any neural tissue, they exert their effect by compressing the brain within the boney skull causing an increase in intracranial pressure. If this is left untreated the increase in pressure in the skull and pressure on the brain can be fatal.
For cats, the treatment of choice is usually surgery. Dr Saunders and his team at BVSC performed the delicate procedure known as a rostrotentorial craniotomy which involves carefully burring away a portion of the skull in the exact location of the tumour allowing its removal.
CT Images showing brain tumour
Theodore 1 day post op
Theodore 1 week post op
This is a very complicated procedure that demands intensive anaesthetic, critical intraoperative and postoperative management to be safe and effective. This sophisticated level of care is available at BVSC. Within 12 hours of the surgery, Theodore was bright, active and well in himself and no longer displaying the neurological symptoms he was showing prior to the procedure.
He was able to be discharged home the following day after making an uneventful recovery. Histopathology confirmed that a low grade meningioma was completely excised indicating the likelihood of a favourable outcome from the surgery. This can effectively be considered a curative surgery for a cat that would otherwise have succumbed to the disease relatively quickly. Six months later, Theodore is living his best life at home with his loving family.
This case demonstrates how resilient some of our patients are. It also shows what can be done with a multifaceted approach through collaboration of our specialists and their teams involving advanced diagnostic imaging, balanced anaesthesia, specialist surgical intervention, critical postoperative care and accurate histopathology. This is our famous BVSC “Surround The Patient” approach which allowed Theodore to be able to go home to his family after successful treatment for an otherwise fatal disease. He can now enjoy the remaining years of his life in the loving paradise of his home.
