Diaphragmatic hernia occurs when the continuity of diaphragm is disrupted such that abdominal organs can migrate into the thoracic cavity. They may be congenital or may occur as a result of trauma, particularly the result of motor vehicle accident. In this retrospective study, clinical data, surgical and anesthetic complications, age, sex, weight, direction of the line where diaphragm had ruptured and organs which had herniated in to the thorax of 7 cats with diaphragmatic hernia which had referred to the Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, were evaluated. Dyspnea, exercise intolerance, anorexia and tachypnea were the major clinical signs in all of them. Differential diagnosis was performed with radiographs. Surgical treatment was performed under general anesthesia through midline celiotomy for all of the cases. Directions of diaphragmatic rupture were transversally in one of the cases and in the others were dorsoventral. Rupture of the muscular portion of the diaphragm were in the right side in three cases, left side in three others, and transverse in one case from right to left.

The survival rate was 71.4%. Eight months follow up and survey radiographs showed no complications for the other five cats.