High rise syndrome in cats with Vicente Herreria Bustillo

In this we discuss the peculiarities of cats falling out of windows – what we can expect to find and how we might manage them. Think chest tubes, cardiac rupture, traumatic pancreatitis and a nostalgic dose of physics.

Vicente was lecturing on this topic at IVECCS in San Diego, sees plenty of these cases in Valencia, Spain and has a particular interest in traumatic coagulopathies. There are some great articles listed below for your interest.

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Articles:

High-rise syndrome in cats and dogs. JVECC 2022 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vec.13206

High-rise syndrome in cats (part 1): epidemiology and risk factors. JFMS 2025 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1098612X251334091

High-rise syndrome in cats (part 2): injury patterns and survival rate. JFMS 2025 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X251334096

Pancreatic rupture in four cats with high-rise syndrome. JFMS 2012 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1098612X11431527

Retrospective evaluation of traumatic pneumomediastinum in dogs and cats (2005–2022): 52 cases. JVECC 2024 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/vec.13384

Recommended recumbency to avoid insertional complications during small-bore wire-guided thoracostomy tube placement in cats-a cadaver study. BMC Veterinary Research 2024 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12917-024-04301-7