{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:07:20Z","timestamp":1790208440317,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772582400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cryptococcosis is a severe systemic mycosis affecting humans and animals, caused primarily by members of the Cryptococcus neoformans\/Cryptococcus gattii species complex. In cats, it is the most common systemic fungal infection and may present with non-specific signs involving the upper respiratory tract, skin, lymph nodes, eyes, or the central nervous system. This study presents two feline cases of cryptococcosis diagnosed by cytological examination and provides an updated literature review. Fine-needle aspiration biopsies were performed in two cats with chronic nasal swelling and submandibular enlargement. Cytological smears stained with hematoxylin and eosin revealed spherical to oval yeast-like organisms with a characteristic thick, non-staining capsule, narrow-based budding, and absence of pseudohyphae, consistent with Cryptococcus spp. Based on cytological findings, both patients were treated with oral itraconazole, resulting in favorable clinical outcomes. A limitation of this study is the lack of mycological culture or molecular confirmation, owing to the owners\u2019 refusal of further diagnostic testing. These cases highlight the diagnostic value of cytology as a rapid tool for differentiating fungal infections from neoplastic processes. Early diagnosis and antifungal therapy are crucial for successful management. From a One Health perspective, feline cryptococcosis may indicate shared environmental exposure risks relevant to both animal and human health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15030279","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T15:01:07Z","timestamp":1772636467000},"page":"279","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Feline Cryptococcosis: Two Case Reports and a Literature Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7203-2392","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stanis\u0142aw","family":"Dzimira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroc\u0142aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwid Str. 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7493","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-019-43941-w","article-title":"Mortality due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in low-income settings: An autopsy study","volume":"9","author":"Hurtado","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morales-L\u00f3pez, S.E., and Garcia-Effron, G. (2021). Infections due to rare Cryptococcus species: A literature review. J. Fungi, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/jof7040279"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02830-15","article-title":"Misidentification of a rare species, Cryptococcus laurentii, by commonly used commercial biochemical methods and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization\u2013time of flight mass spectrometry systems: Challenges for clinical mycology laboratories","volume":"54","author":"Xiao","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1098612X231219696","DOI":"10.1177\/1098612X231219696","article-title":"Invasive fungal infections and oomycoses in cats: 1. Diagnostic approach","volume":"26","author":"Barrs","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Feline Med. Surg."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.239.3.357","article-title":"Clinical features and epidemiology of cryptococcosis in cats and dogs in California: 93 cases (1988\u20132010)","volume":"239","author":"Trivedi","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405-e97","DOI":"10.1111\/vde.12423","article-title":"Atypical cutaneous cryptococcosis in four cats in the USA","volume":"28","author":"Myers","year":"2017","journal-title":"Vet. Dermatol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8368783","DOI":"10.1155\/crve\/8368783","article-title":"Feline cryptococcosis due to Cryptococcus gattii VGII (recently renamed as C. deuterogattii) in an FIV-positive cat with demodicosis from Manaus, central Amazon, Brazil","volume":"2025","author":"Ennes","year":"2025","journal-title":"Case Rep. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1111\/avj.13329","article-title":"A case of disseminated cryptococcosis with abdominal involvement due to Cryptococcus neoformans species complex in a Ragdoll cat and false-negative cryptococcal antigen lateral flow tests due to the postzone phenomenon","volume":"102","author":"Teh","year":"2024","journal-title":"Aust. Vet. J."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"myae085","DOI":"10.1093\/mmy\/myae085","article-title":"Molecular epidemiological investigation of Cryptococcus spp. isolated from cats in Japan using multilocus sequence typing","volume":"62","author":"Omura","year":"2024","journal-title":"Med. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"627","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-022-00668-z","article-title":"Cryptococcosis by Cryptococcus sp. causing lymphadenomegaly as a single sign in a cat","volume":"187","author":"Costa","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2535","DOI":"10.1007\/s42770-021-00555-7","article-title":"First report of a subcutaneous infection by Cryptococcus neoformans (former Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii) in a cat in Costa Rica","volume":"52","author":"Olivares","year":"2021","journal-title":"Braz. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"174","article-title":"Differential diagnosis of malignant neoplasia: Nasopharyngeal mass in a cat with nasal cryptococcosis in Germany","volume":"52","author":"Rickerts","year":"2024","journal-title":"Tierarztl. Prax. Ausg. K Kleintiere Heimtiere"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"20551169241265248","article-title":"First case of feline cryptococcosis in Bosnia and Herzegovina","volume":"10","author":"Spahija","year":"2024","journal-title":"JFMS Open Rep."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1556\/004.2025.01187","article-title":"Report of a feline Cryptococcus neoformans infection in Hungary","volume":"73","author":"Lajos","year":"2025","journal-title":"Acta Vet. Hung."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Florek, M., Korzeniowska-Kowal, A., Wzorek, A., W\u0142odarczyk, K., Marynowska, M., Pogorzelska, A., Brodala, M., Ploch, S., Buczek, D., and Balon, K. (2021). Prevalence, genetic structure, and antifungal susceptibility of the Cryptococcus neoformans\/C. gattii species complex strains collected from the arboreal niche in Poland. Pathogens, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens11010008"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-020-00462-9","article-title":"Fungal co-infections associated with global COVID-19 pandemic: A clinical and diagnostic perspective from China","volume":"185","author":"Song","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"121","article-title":"Mycetes and urban areas","volume":"48","author":"Tampieri","year":"2006","journal-title":"Parassitologia"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1080\/02681219280000181","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in cats: Clinical and mycological assessment of 29 cases and evaluation of treatment using orally administered fluconazole","volume":"30","author":"Malik","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Med. Vet. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.1080\/02681219580000601","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in dogs: A retrospective study of 20 consecutive cases","volume":"33","author":"Malik","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Med. Vet. Mycol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"479","DOI":"10.1007\/s11046-017-0183-z","article-title":"Atypical morphology and disparate speciation in a case of feline cryptococcosis","volume":"183","author":"Evans","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mycopathologia"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1111\/vru.13077","article-title":"CT findings of nasal cryptococcosis in cats and dogs: A case series","volume":"63","author":"Cooley","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vet. Radiol. Ultrasound"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70564","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.70564","article-title":"Rare case of systemic cryptococcal lymphadenopathy in a Persian cat","volume":"11","author":"Choi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Vet. Med. Sci."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.1177\/03009858231158075","article-title":"Ophthalmic and immunopathological characterization of systemic infectious diseases in cats","volume":"60","author":"Wronski","year":"2023","journal-title":"Vet. Pathol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.17221\/88\/2020-VETMED","article-title":"Cytological diagnostics of cases of subcutaneous dirofilariosis imitating proliferative lesions in dogs","volume":"65","author":"Dzimira","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"141","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in a four-year-old intact male domestic short-haired cat","volume":"39","author":"Oronan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Philipp. J. Vet. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"611","DOI":"10.1177\/1098612X13489224","article-title":"Cryptococcosis in cats: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management","volume":"15","author":"Pennisi","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Feline Med. Surg."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6639","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-86169-3","article-title":"An analysis of the population of Cryptococcus neoformans strains isolated from animals in Poland, 2015\u20132019","volume":"11","author":"Florek","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1292\/jvms.22-0514","article-title":"Cryptococcal granulomas of basal ganglia due to Cryptococcus neoformans in a cat: A case report and literature review","volume":"85","author":"Huang","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Vet. Med. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"20551169221074624","article-title":"Nasopharyngeal cryptococcosis in a cat: Interlaboratory variation in cryptococcal antigen assay test results","volume":"8","author":"McEwan","year":"2022","journal-title":"JFMS Open Rep."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Miller, W.H., Griffin, C.E., and Campbell, K.A. (2013). Muller and Kirk\u2019s Small Animal Dermatology, WB Saunders. [7th ed.]."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"624","DOI":"10.1177\/1098612X13489226","article-title":"Rare systemic mycoses in cats: Blastomycosis, histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management","volume":"15","author":"Lloret","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Feline Med. Surg."}],"container-title":["Pathogens"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/15\/3\/279\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T05:26:42Z","timestamp":1772774802000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/15\/3\/279"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["pathogens15030279"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/pathogens15030279","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-0817"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-0817","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]}}}