Symmetric cutaneous necrosis of the hind feet and multicentric follicular lymphoma in a cat.

A 7-year-old castrated male domestic shorthair cat was admitted to the veterinary teaching hospital for evaluation of symmetric necrosis of the skin of its hind feet and high liver enzyme activities. Lymphoma was diagnosed on cytologic examination of a fine needle aspirate of the liver. The owner declined treatment for the lymphoma. On postmortem histologic examination, lymphoma was found in the liver, stomach, and multiple lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical staining revealed the neoplasm to have a mixed B- and T-cell follicular arrangement, and a diagnosis of multicentric follicular lymphoma was made. The distal portion of the feet were necrotic, but a neoplastic infiltrate was not seen on histologic examination. After thrombosis and vasculitis were excluded as causes, the ischemic necrosis of the feet of the cat in this report was considered a paraneoplastic syndrome, as can be seen in people with lymphoma or other internal malignancies.