A case of feline intoxication and fatality with the illicit drug heroin is described. A 5-year-old castrated male domestic shorthair cat was recently diagnosed with an active pneumonitis and left at home for a couple of days under the care of another resident. Upon return, the owner found his cat dead with strong suspicion of foul play. The cat was necropsied by a local veterinary clinic to retrieve the liver for diagnostic toxicology. The postmortem liver sample screened positive for 6-acetylmorphine and 6-acetylcodeine by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Deconvolution techniques were applied to chromatograms, which revealed the additional presence of morphine and mirtazapine. Subsequent quantitation of mirtazapine, heroin, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine and 6-acetylcodeine was performed by gas chromatography--tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. Although companion animal fatalities arising from toxicities are a likely consequence of drug abuse in a home, this is the first reported case of a malicious feline fatality resulting from heroin with quantitation of heroin metabolites.

中文翻译：

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猫科动物的海洛因致死率：尸检肝脏浓度的病例报告

描述了一起非法药物海洛因导致猫中毒和死亡的案例。一只被阉割的 5 岁雄性家养短毛猫最近被诊断出患有活动性肺炎，并在另一位居民的照顾下在家中待了几天。回来后，主人发现他的猫已经死了，非常怀疑他是犯规的。当地兽医诊所对这只猫进行了尸检，以取回肝脏进行毒理学诊断。死后肝脏样本通过气相色谱质谱法筛选出 6-乙酰吗啡和 6-乙酰可待因阳性。将反卷积技术应用于色谱图，揭示了吗啡和米氮平的额外存在。随后通过气相色谱-串联四极杆质谱法对米氮平、海洛因、吗啡、6-乙酰吗啡和6-乙酰可待因进行定量。