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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #240: Feline Hypervitaminosis A

Cat veterinary case - Easy - October 29, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. An adult cat gradually stops grooming its shoulders and hesitates before jumping.
  2. Examination finds a painful, stiff neck with reduced range of motion.
  3. The stiffness has developed over months, without a single injury or fever.
  4. The household has fed large amounts of liver as the cat's main food for a long period.
  5. Spinal radiographs show extensive new bone bridging cervical and cranial thoracic vertebrae.
  6. The diet and characteristic exostoses support feline hypervitaminosis A rather than a simple neck strain.

Diagnosis

Feline Hypervitaminosis A

Long-term liver-heavy feeding and cervical-to-thoracic exostoses explain the cat's progressive painful stiffness as feline hypervitaminosis A. Degenerative spondylosis may also form bridges but does not by itself explain the marked dietary exposure; trauma or muscle strain would not produce this extensive chronic new bone. Diet alone would not establish disease without compatible lesions. Remember: Ask what a stiff cat eats; sustained liver-rich feeding plus cervical exostoses points to vitamin A excess, not a transient strain.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this cat case supports the provided diagnosis, Feline Hypervitaminosis A, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: An adult cat gradually stops grooming its shoulders and hesitates before jumping.
  2. Clue 2: Examination finds a painful, stiff neck with reduced range of motion.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: The stiffness has developed over months, without a single injury or fever.
  2. Clue 4: The household has fed large amounts of liver as the cat's main food for a long period.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Spinal radiographs show extensive new bone bridging cervical and cranial thoracic vertebrae.
  2. Clue 6: The diet and characteristic exostoses support feline hypervitaminosis A rather than a simple neck strain.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this cat case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Feline Hypervitaminosis A?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Feline Hypervitaminosis A?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.