Feline Dysautonomia (Key-Gaskell Syndrome)

Feline dysautonomia, also known as Key-Gaskell syndrome after the researchers who first described it, is a rare but devastating disorder of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic system is the body's automatic control network — it runs the parts of the body we never think about, such as the movement of the gut, the emptying of the bladder, the size of the pupils and the production of tears and saliva. In this disease the nerve cells that make up that network degenerate, so many of these automatic functions fail at the same time.

The result is a cat that seems to break down on several fronts at once. The gut slows or stops, so the cat becomes constipated, regurgitates food or vomits, and loses its appetite. The pupils sit wide open and react sluggishly to light. The nose and eyes turn dry, the third eyelid may creep across, and the bladder fills without emptying properly. Because so many systems are involved, affected cats often look profoundly unwell.

The condition was reported most frequently in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and has become much rarer since, which points strongly towards an environmental trigger or a toxin rather than an infection, though the exact cause has never been pinned down. There is no specific cure, so treatment rests on meticulous supportive care — keeping the cat fed and hydrated, protecting the eyes with artificial tears, and helping the bladder and bowel to empty — while the nervous system is given the chance to recover. Some mildly affected cats do slowly improve over months, but the prognosis is guarded, and this is very much a disease that calls for early and experienced veterinary involvement.