Background: Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (CEHPSS) are rare in cats.Outcome after attenuation of CEHPSS with thin film has been described in a small number of cases.Objectives: To describe the clinical presentation, postoperative complications, and outcome of cats treated with thin film to attenuate CEHPSS.Animals: Thirty-four cats with CEHPSS were identified from the database of 3 institutions over 9 years.Methods: Retrospective study. Medical records were reviewed to identify cats with a diagnosis of a CEHPSS that underwent surgical attenuation. Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts were suspected from clinical signs, clinicopathologic findings, and diagnostic imaging, and confirmed at exploratory laparotomy. Cats treated with thin film band attenuation were included. Postoperative complications and follow-up were recorded.Results: Complications were recorded in 11 of 34 cats. Deaths related to CEHPSS occurred in 6 of 34; 4 cats did not survive to discharge. Persistent seizures were the cause of death in 4 cats. Seizures were recorded in 8 of 34 cats after surgery; all these cats received preoperative antiepileptic drugs. Serum bile acid concentrations normalized in 25 of 28 of the cats for which data was available. Three cats had persistently increased serum bile acid concentrations and underwent a second exploratory laparotomy. One had a patent shunt, the other 2 had multiple acquired portosystemic shunts. Median follow-up was 8 months (0.5-84 months).Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts attenuation using thin film in cats carries a good short-and mid-term prognosis if they survive the postoperative period. Seizures were the most common cause of death. K E Y W O R D S bile acids, feline, seizures, shunt closure, thin film Abbreviations: CEHPSS, congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts; CPSS, congenital portosystemic shunt.

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THE rapid and reliable attainment of vascular access may prove crucial for the provision of an effective therapeutic solution in the critically ill or emergency small animal patient. Although in such cases it is more common to consider venous vascular access for the administration of medication and for the measurement of venous pressures, the attainment of arterial vascular access may prove just as important, allowing the direct measurement of arterial blood pressure and the sampling of arterial blood. This article provides guidelines on appropriate catheter selection for vascular access, placement techniques for both venous and arterial access, and procedures required for the long-term maintenance of these access sites.

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The dog made an unremarkable recovery from surgery and there have not been any clinical signs of local or distant disease at the time of writing. We would be interested to hear from any colleagues who have seen a similar presentation of intramuscular mast cell tumours in the dog with a view to compiling a case series.