Dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome ('kissing spine') in a cat: imaging appearance and surgical management.

Spinal pain is an important clinical presentation in feline patients, but the underlying causes can often be difficult to elucidate. Dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome ('kissing spine' or in human patients 'Baastrup syndrome') is a significant cause of spinal pain in equine and human patients and radiographically is characterised by a close approximation of adjacent spinous processes with reactive bone sclerosis affecting these spinous processes. In this report we describe the first reported case of dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome in a cat causing spinal pain, and successful surgical management of the syndrome.