Is it possible for cats to develop idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? X-rays of my cats show scaring in lower lung cavity. They were exposed to years of toxic air pollution in northern Thailand where AQI is between 200-300 for part of the year. I was diagnosed with IPF myself.
Hi Anders, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis does occur in animals. However, it is very rare in cats and I have not definitively encountered a case myself. Here is a link to an article on it: https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis
In cats it appears as acute respiratory signs that are typically progressive. I was not clear if your cat has actual clinical signs of respiratory issues or not.
More commonly we can see inflammatory airway disease in cats, which can be chronic and can make the lungs look quite abnormal, especially in cats badly affected.
We can also see pulmonary fibrosis as an age-related change in older pets.
It is possible that with the exposure your cats experienced that they did have inflammatory airway disease in their lower airways which over time turned into scar tissue.