Introduction

In dogs, the enlargement of the temporal horn is considered an early finding related to senility.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine whether the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle changes with advancing age in healthy domestic cats.

Methods

Twelve adult (1–6 years), eleven mature (7–11 years), and ten geriatric (12 years of age or older) non-brachycephalic cats underwent brain MRI. The possibility of identification of the temporal horns was analyzed and, when possible, their widths were measured in transverse T1-weighted images. Comparisons of the categorical and continuous variables were performed using Fisher's exact test and ANOVA, respectively (p<0.05).

Results

In this study, the temporal horns were identified in 3/12 adult, 6/11 mature, and 9/10 geriatric cats. Significant differences were found between the geriatric animals in comparison to the adult and mature cats (p=0.007), indicating that the temporal horn may be identified more frequently with increasing age in cats. The average widths of this ventricular structure in adult, mature, and geriatric animals were 0.98±0.10 mm, 1.05±0.20 mm, and 1.04±0.17 mm for the left horn (p=0.827) and 1.13±0.30 mm, 1.05±0.17 mm, and 1.10±0.33 mm for the right horn (p=0.929), respectively. Significant differences regarding the width of the bilateral temporal horns were not found between the groups.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the results indicate that the temporal horns of cats may be identified with greater frequency with advancing age.