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A 3-year-old cat was presented with anorexia and vomiting. Palpation revealed a caudal abdominal mass. Ultrasound and explorative abdominal surgery revealed a cystic mass in the jejunum. Histopathologic findings were consistent with an epidermoid cyst. The cyst was likely of congenital origin, since the cat had not undergone previous abdominal surgery, and gradually grew to reach a size that caused intestinal obstruction. Extrapolating from findings in people, intestinal epidermoid cysts are considered benign with a good long-term prognosis when completely excised.

A 2-years old male Labrador retriever dog was presented with intermittent therapy-resistant diarrhoea, accompanied by vomiting, inappetence, apathy, and mild fever. The blood analysis showed an anaemia, neutrophilia, eosinophilia, and increased liver enzymes. Abdominal palpation was slightly painful. X-rays and echography revealed a severely enlarged liver with multiple cavernous structures. Histopathologic examination of liver biopsies showed a severe chronic granulomatous hepatitis with numerous parasitic cysts. Morphology of the cysts was compatible with the metacestode stage of Echinococcus multilocularis. The dog was only 2-years old at the time of diagnosis. Although alveolar hydatid disease of the liver is rare in dogs, it should be envisaged as a possible differential diagnosis in cases of space-occupying processes in the liver, even in young animals, as the incubation period of this disease in the dog can be considerably shorter than in humans.