Vol.:(0123456789) Comparative Clinical Pathology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-024-03561-x CASE REPORT Canine distemper with myoclonus and tonic‑clonic seizures in a domestic cat (Felis catus) in Kerala, India Neethu Balakrishnan 1  · Arun George 1  · A. Javed Jameel 1  · Y. Ajith 2  · K. Shanab Abdulla 3  · Usha N. Pillai 1 Received: 10 November 2023 / Accepted: 31 January 2024 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2024 Abstract Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a major global pathogen of dogs affecting multiple organ systems of the body and caus- ing the characteristic malady with prominent neurological manifestation. Natural CDV infections with typical clinical symptoms in domestic cats are not yet reported in Kerala, India, even though a few reports on the occurrence of fatal canine distemper in large felids exist. The present study reports a documented preliminary report of the natural canine distemper virus infection in a domestic cat from Kerala, India, with typical neurological manifestations. An unvaccinated adult female domestic cat was presented to the University Veterinary Hospital with the acute onset of neurological signs, viz. typical continuous myoclonus like in a CDV-infected dog and tonic-clonic seizures in between the short intervals of time. The rapid immunochromatography revealed the presence of canine distemper viral antigens on ocular, nasal and faecal samples, and the hemogram revealed thrombocytopenia and severe leukocytosis with granulocytosis, lymphocytosis and monocytosis. The animal responded well to the symptomatic therapy for viral encephalitis and recovered within 24 h to apparent normalcy, except for the myoclonus. The recurrence of acute encephalitic symptoms was reported after 45 days, and the animal died due to uncontrolled seizures by day 90, as the owner was unwilling to provide further veterinary aid for the animal. This case indicates the need for screening the cats with neurological signs for CD and further molecular characterisation of the strains involved. Keywords Canine distemper · Felines · Seizures Introduction Canine distemper is a highly fatal infectious disease caused by the pantropic canine distemper virus (genus: Morbillivirus, family: Paramyxo) complicated by viral encephalitis with the characteristic neurological signs in animals of the Canidae family worldwide (Lempp et al. Highlights •A documented preliminary report of natural canine distemper virus infection in a domestic cat from Kerala, India, with typical neurological manifestations. •This case indicates the need for screening the cats with neurological signs of canine distemper and further molecular characterisation of the strains involved. * Arun George arun@kvasu.ac.in Neethu Balakrishnan neethubalakrishnan50@gmail.com A. Javed Jameel javedj@kvasu.ac.in Y. Ajith ajithy@kvasu.ac.in K. Shanab Abdulla shanababdulla@gmail.com Usha N. Pillai ushanp@kvasu.ac.in 1 Dept. of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Ethics & Jurisprudence, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala 680651, India 2 Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, Mannuthy, Thrissur, India 3 College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala 680651, India