Physeal dysplasia with slipped capital femoral epiphysis in 13 cats.

Separation of the femoral capital epiphysis is associated with severe trauma in most species. This report describes 13 cats with slipped capital femoral epiphysis characterized by a distinctive lesion in the physeal cartilage. The lesion consists of irregular clusters of chondrocytes separated by abundant matrix on both the epiphyseal and metaphyseal side of the cleavage site. The affected population in this study is 85% male, 90% overweight, 23% Siamese, and 4.5-24 months old. The histopathology and demographics are similar to slipped capital femoral epiphysis in humans, which most often affects overweight adolescent boys.