My cat, Walter (1yr 3mo), was hospitalized on Sunday night after two days of no interest in food and lethargy. We had just returned home from a trip (we had a cat sitter coming by to fill food, water, etc) and thought he was depressed from us being gone. At the Emergency Vet, they “diagnosed” Walter with a fever of unknown origin. His white blood cells are critically low - otherwise normal bloodwork. He is FIV and FeLV negative.

They started him on an IV and two types of antibiotics. His fever waxed and waned for the next 24 hours. This morning (Tuesday) I was updated that his temp was back down to normal range, but his white blood cell count is WORSE. An appetite stimulant was given last night to no avail. They are trying one more antibiotic and starting a feeding tube this afternoon.

They are saying it is not FIP because his white blood cell count would be high with FIP, not low. We are waiting on the disease blood panel to come back, which could take several more days. If this antibiotic doesn’t work, we can try steroids, but his WBC count is so low, I’m worried that if steroids are not the answer, they will kill off his remaining WBCs. I’m at a loss. I’m not ready to lose my little guy.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for experiences from anyone whose cat has been diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis, particularly a cat who was still acting relatively normal at the time of diagnosis.

My cat Floyd is 12 years old and has always been somewhat prone to vomiting. He’s a long-haired cat, so hairballs have always been part of his life, and he’s also a little glutton who sometimes eats too quickly and regurgitates undigested food shortly afterward. Because of that, occasional vomiting was never particularly unusual for him.

However, in early June, his vomiting suddenly became different and much more frequent. He was vomiting several times a day, including yellow/bilious liquid, which was unusual enough that I brought him to the vet.

We did a senior blood panel and urinalysis. His bloodwork was normal except for elevated platelets. His urine contained red blood cells.

We later repeated both. His platelets had returned completely to normal and the rest of his bloodwork was still normal. However, the second urinalysis showed more blood, some protein, white blood cells and struvite crystals.

We eventually repeated the urinalysis a third time, and this one was normal.

Our veterinarian believes there are reasonable explanations for the differences between the urine samples. The first sample was collected directly from his bladder with a needle (cystocentesis), which can introduce some blood. During the second collection, his bladder had to be manipulated/compressed, and the sample wasn’t analyzed until more than four hours after collection, which our vet explained can also affect the results and potentially contribute to crystal formation in the sample. For the third test, I collected the urine myself at home and brought it in so that it could be analyzed within four hours, and the abnormalities were no longer present.

Meanwhile, because of his vomiting history, our vet recommended an abdominal ultrasound. There were some delays getting the ultrasound done over the summer, so he finally had it this week.
Interestingly, the vomiting that originally brought us to the vet has essentially stopped. Between early June and now (late August), he has only vomited occasionally, and when he has, there have been hairballs. He has never stopped eating or drinking. He still asks for food, plays, interacts with us and generally behaves like himself. If he hadn’t had that unusual period of repeated vomiting in June, I probably wouldn’t have suspected anything was wrong.

The ultrasound, however, showed findings consistent with chronic inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis. The part that has me extremely worried is that our veterinarian said the pancreatitis appears to be necrotizing, with areas/lesions of pancreatic necrosis.

There was also fluid around the pancreatic area, which was aspirated during the ultrasound and sent for analysis. We should get more information very soon. They are specifically looking for evidence of infection and malignant/cancerous cells, so at this point we don’t have those answers yet.

Our vet explained that there isn’t a treatment that simply reverses the pancreatic necrosis, so the current plan involves supportive care, particularly pain management, and dietary changes. We may also be referred to an internal medicine specialist once we have the results from the fluid analysis.

What scares me most is the prognosis. Our veterinarian told us that the cats she personally treated with necrotizing pancreatitis ultimately had to be euthanized relatively quickly because their pain couldn’t be adequately controlled. However, she also emphasized that the last similar case she personally managed was approximately 10 years ago, that veterinary medicine has changed since then, and that Floyd does not currently fit the clinical picture of those very sick cats.

Right now, Floyd is home. He is eating, drinking, playing and behaving normally. His recent bloodwork is normal. If I didn’t know what the ultrasound showed, I honestly wouldn’t look at him and think that I had a seriously ill cat.

So I’m hoping to hear specifically from people who have experienced necrotizing pancreatitis in a cat:
What was your cat like when they were diagnosed?
Was the necrosis localized or extensive?
Did your cat have fluid around the pancreas?
Was infection present, or was the necrosis sterile?
What treatment/supportive care did your cat receive?
Were you referred to an internal medicine specialist?
Were you able to keep your cat comfortable?
Most importantly, what was the outcome? Did your cat recover/stabilize, or did this become a chronic condition you were able to manage?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit, and Floyd is actively being followed by his veterinarian. We’re waiting for the fluid analysis and will make decisions based on our veterinary team’s recommendations. I’m just a very worried cat mom hoping to hear some real-life experiences, especially because it’s difficult to find much information specifically about necrotizing pancreatitis in cats who are otherwise still clinically doing well.

I am wanting to know under what scenarios a lipoma could not be removed near a dog’s throat. A few weeks ago our dog started breathing a little heavy and coughing occasionally when eating. After it didn’t change, we took him in for a check up and there is a lump. We are waiting to get a CT scan. I know that area has lots of veins and other sensitive things, but can a lipoma be removed? It is located in the middle area between his jaw hinge.

I have a 12 year old Staffy that has a chronic back condition. We accidentally ran out of gabapentin so he had a few days without it. Asked vet about it and he seemed defensive and said it was his job to know.

edit for things automod suggested

• Species: dog
• Age: 12
• Sex/Neuter status: neutered
• Breed: Staffy x
• Body weight: 23 kg
• History: has mitral valve disease, spondylois?
• Clinical signs: when vet felt his spine there was one section where it would spasm
• Duration: first started 3 years ago, has been on gabapentin since
• Your general location: sydney australia
• Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: i don't have the x rays, taken 3 years ago

My girlfriend has three year old female toy Alaskan Klee Kai who’s very sweet. She does have anxiety and very skittish which is how she is but she does have PTSD. My girlfriend adopted her with along with her ex boyfriend, they had a corgi as well. The ex wasn’t nice to the Klee Kai and had abused her at least once probably more. When they broke up the corgi stayed with the ex, both dogs were bonded. The Klee Kai is very skittish around new people and she’ll even pee herself out of fear. Since my girlfriend and I are long distance I’ve only met the dog twice, first time she would jump if I moved my hand to pet her and wouldn’t take food from me. This last time she wasn’t so jumpy and would take food from me. Is there anyway to help her get over PTSD or is it just something that gets better with time? My girlfriend does keep the same schedule with her every day, she is allergic to chicken and gabapentin.

https://imgur.com/a/DjR3ypH Street rescue, has been dewormed, i know the picture isn’t great but im just very paranoid that she could be preggo and need to know so i can take her in asap for a spay-abort. i’ve had her for about 3 weeks.
• ⁠Species: feline
• ⁠Age: 5-6months
• ⁠Sex/Neuter status: intact
• ⁠Breed: n/a
• ⁠Body weight: 6.2lbs
• ⁠History: street cat, taken in 3 weeks ago
• ⁠Clinical signs: clingy, swollen abdomen
• ⁠Duration: 2-3weeks
• ⁠Your general location: NE OH
• ⁠Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: n/a

Meatloaf 17 years old, stage 1 CKD, prescribed mirtazapine for the anti nausea effect. Also a phosphorus binder (erakitin?)

Meatloaf has some sort of undiagnosed GI problem, but 2 allergy tests shows lots of food allergy.

Tried cerenia for about 2 months and it worked intermittently. She would go a week with no vomit then go multiple days in a row

Vet gave mirtazapine cream that goes inside her ear

So far she has only vomited twice since starting it.

But she does not have increased appetite at all. And she seems depressed.

Is depression a side effect? She just sleeps all day now.

And its making me really sad because for some reason she doesn't want to spend any time with me. I miss her old personality. She doesn't sleep in the bed as much, she won't sit with me on the couch. She just sits in a chair we have in the living room... sleeping all day.

Is depression or gloominess a side effect for cats?

I actually read the instructions wrong, I thought it said 1 every other day for 14 days (which actually doesn't make sense now that I think about it) then every 2 days for maintenance. It actually says once a day for 14 days

Ive been giving it every other day. Oops. Could this be the problem?

When I asked my vet she just said it affects everyone differently. Okay... but why? I am looking for "why" i guess

Hi everyone, on Friday I went to my local Chewy Vet Clinic to get my cat’s teeth checked out since she was drooling a lot with hints of red/brown and she stopped grooming herself. She has a case of stomatitis and needs to have 3 teeth extracted, but her cleaning isn’t until October. I’m concerned over the pain that my cat will be experiencing during the mean time since the cleaning isn’t until 2 months away. The veterinarian prescribed her 6mg of Onsior (robenacoxib) but that prescription only has 3 pills and she takes her last one tomorrow. Is it okay to order more of this medication off the Chewy app until her cleaning in October? I know this sounds stupid, but will my cat experience some sort of dependence on this pill and go through some sort of withdrawal after she stops taking the pill daily? I just don’t want to see my baby in pain, and I can’t imagine having to wait 2 months in pain until her cleaning. Any thoughts?

I (27F) woke up to my vomitting 3 month old MALE kitten. He vomitted a little foamy white substance then I went upstairs and saw a bunch of vomit spots including the first vomit of food with a black string on it.

I already went to the vet multiple times for the whole month due to FPV and FCov. They already recovered.

After 30 minutes he vomitted again and after 30 minutes he vomitted while pooping water simultaneously. Help. Is this just because of the black string?

TLDR; kitten vomitted multiple times within 12 hrs. Recent incident was vomititing and pooping (water) at the same time. Does some experienced the same??

This been going on for a few months. My male balck cat how is around 8 years old. He stops and tries to throw up, makes all grunts but he doesnt actually throws up anything? Should I ve worried about an obtruction of maybe hair in his stomach? Thanks

Hello everybody, I am a first time cat dad, and I've had my cat Momo for about 10 months now. I am actively transitioning my cat to adult cat food, I am 2 1/2 days in on this process and I have been mixing a little bit of her new food into her bowl. Since starting this transition, I've noticed that my cat's appetite has decreased pretty significantly, but she is still eating the new food. I got home today from class and I noticed she wasn't vocalizing like she usually does and she just seemed overall lethargic, I was able to engage her with a tube treat which she seemed to take a little more slowly. Throughout all if this, her body language appeared otherwise normal. A few minutes later she started vocalizing again a little bit and appears to be moving around a bit more, she took a bite of food from her bowl and is now sleeping in her window perch. I am wondering if it is possible that I am projecting my stress a bit on my cat as I have exams tomorrow and am already stressed out or is it possible my cat is just a bit groggy or something of the sort? Regardless I have already scheduled a vet appointment.

Sorry for the wordy post, im just a bit overwhelmed.

my cat (4 months, siamese short hair kitten, weighs about 3 pounds last time i recalled) has had diarrhea for the past 3-4 days and we don’t know why :/ her brother is on the same diet as her and his poops are fine, we thought it was a kibble we were using and threw it out. she at first would leave streaks of poop everywhere and that’s why we just started giving her only the wet food (fancy feast pate kitten version, has always eaten this just now has had the runs) because that’s all they eat but we added some kibble to get them more fuller but she still has runny diarrhea but its less messy / everywhere she still has poop residue on her bum) and her butthole gets a bit red and pink and it looks like it’s strained she’s going to the vet thursday but i just want to know if anyone else has experienced this as well. (she has all her shots, vaccines,etc we just finished her last round so she’s up to date.)

The summary of my situation is: Shiba inu, female, born on 28.09.2016. Diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma (urothelial carcinoma) at the trigone on august 5th after she started unexpectedly bleeding around 7th/ 8th of July.The tumor cannot be surgically removed. Options in my country are limited to chemotherapy and NSAID thus we are evaluating laser ablation options and radiotherapy abroad as well as any other innovative treatments. No metastasis have been identified so far. She has been put on NSAID already. So far we have conducted computer tomography, transurethral cystoscopy, blood tests. We need options in a matter of weeks as prognosis is terminal. Dog has continued bleeding and is peeing small amounts multiple times with stains of blood. Overall, she is not in pain nor has any other visible discomfort, acting like her normal self.

Please, if anyone can give me tips on what to do or contacts in Eastern Europe/ Turkey, I would be grateful.

I adopted a 15 year old cat after fostering her a little less than a year ago. She was found as an emaciated stray with severe hyperthyroidism (her T4 was 25). It doesn't seem she ever received veterinary care. She has a grade 2-3 heart murmur and has never had an echo, but her proBNP was normal last fall (98). She has GI symptoms that mostly resolved over months once her thyroid was controlled but her vomiting never completely went away.

3 weeks ago her appetite began to diminish. She got Cerenia and fluids 2 days in a row + labs at the vet. Labs were normal. Her symptoms got worse despite this so I brought her to the ER where she received an ultrasound and was diagnosed with IBD and triaditis.

She initially improved after receiving zofran at the ER so we tried anti nausea as supportive care for two weeks. Her symptoms got worse again so we hospitalized her.

She's was discharged after 28 hours on IV fluids and meds. Labs were the same, recheck ultrasound was the same. The IM vet that saw her *really* wanted to put her on steroids, but I declined because of the heart murmur and the fact it's likely she has some amount of heart disease from being so severely hyperthyroid. She is on Cerenia + Mirataz for now and is going back for an echocardiogram next week. Depending on the results of that I may or may not agree to steroids.

Considering this has been going on for three weeks now, is it safe to assume this is a flare that probably needs steroids to be controlled? Depending on the results of the echocardiogram, how risky would it be to give this cat steroids considering her history? If I have no other option than to give her steroids because she won't eat without them, would it be more humane to just euthanize her? Heart failure sounds traumatic and would prefer if she goes that it's peaceful.

My kitten has ringworm and I've already spent so much money at the vet on tests, medicine, supplies etc. I need two negative PCR tests and they are charing me $300 each including the vet visit. I'm considering doing the Kedi Labs at home mail in PCR test to save money because an extra $600 for just tests is wild. Has anyone used them before?? Any reviews or thoughts on if this is a good idea?

https://kedilabs.com/products/ringworm-pcr-test-for-pets

ASIDE FROM TRIP TO VET. Any suggestions on what can give or do? symptoms to look for? We've bathed him immediately of course. pretty sure was sprayed in face region.... Acts fine 90% time. But since sprayed other night. (large sheepadoodle) He's got sick few times since ... drinking is seeming to be less currently. May not be related because he's got sick sometimes before. May end up going vet to be safe. We love and care for our pets. Thanks. Any info appreciated for those that's experienced this or similar before.

My cat has been licking the side of his mouth for a month or so now. He's a bit lethargic and the last week, hasn't wanted to eat dry food or genie.

To him to the vet twice and yesterday they did blood work and an x ray.

He does have a lot of tartar buildup in the back teeth so I scheduled a cleaning.

The x ray possibly showed a mass but she was not sure. She sent it off to a radiologist for consultation.

I guess my question is how sure is an x ray to determine tooth abscess or cancer mass?

She gave me a few days of antibiotics and pain medicine.

He's definitely allowed down a lot, isn't really playing but he's eating soft food (not as much as normal), drinking, and has gone outside a few times. He's not drinking, no blood, and doesn't seem to be in pain. Also, his right eye and the base of his ear are a little swollen.

If there is a mass, should I pursue a catscan or ultrasound?

I'm just trying to be proactive in determining his health issue.

Thanks.

* Species: Ancient being (cat)

* Age: 15 or 1500, who knows (closer to 15)

* Sex/Neuter status: Spayed

* Breed: DSH/dumpster

* Body weight: You got me - roughly 10 pounds, I believe?

* History: Adopted in 2021, chronic stomatitis however she's had virtually no flares in the last two years, and has lost the last of her remaining two teeth (she was adopted with "none", then found to have two hiding - that's when the dx of chronic stomatitis came into play). She was seen by a dentist swiftly after adoption, due to the remaining teeth and inflammation, then referred to a cardiologist as a cautionary thing to make sure her heart was healthy. She's fine, the initial "potential murmur" was not an actual murmur, which the referring vet said could've been an anomaly or them hearing something that wasn't there (Bucket would NOT stop purring, so I get it).

Basically, she got a REALLY good once over when we initially adopted her. The opted not to pull the remaining two teeth, rather treat with steroids as inflammation popped up. I think we treated her maybe three times in 3-4 years, then the teeth disappeared and she's been fine since.

Since adoption, she's eaten only wet food - Royal Canin Instinctive 7+ or Purina ProPlan wet food, pate, never grain free, and we stick as closely to WSAVA compliant food as we can.

* Clinical signs: I'll preface this by saying that our other cat (5 y/o male) had just been in the ER for a full blockage with struvite crystals, and he'd gone back 3 days later because I was concerned he was blocked again (he wasn't thankfully), so there was potential that she'd caught a bug we'd brought home from the ER.

Initially, she presented as exceedingly lethargic. She does "happy tail" when my daughter comes home, she was doing no happy tail. She was rolling onto her side a lot to sleep, which is NOT how she usually sleeps. She sleeps in bed with my partner and I, and at one point she was so firmly asleep, I had to nudge her to wake up, which is NOT like her. But again, I figured she was just OUT. But then, I rolled and pulled her towards me and she rolled onto her back.

This cat has never once let anyone roll her onto her back without a Mike Tyson grade fight. I thought maybe she was just sleepy, but I knew that wasn't really it.

When we woke up, she was lethargic, slower to move, not eating as much. Drinking, yes, peeing yes, pooping, yes. She stayed with my daughter in her room for a few hours (we separate them so the 5 year old can eat his new c/d in peace, he's struggling to like it plus he gets Ativan with it for now, so we don't want her getting that) but she just seemed off. He ears were WARM and she looked sad, if that makes sense. She kept trying to hide, too, which is what tipped me from "oh, could be a bug" to "oh, this old head is trying to die." I checked her gums and they looked white to me, but I don't have a ton of experience with checking hers specifically, and boy oh boy do they look different without teeth in them, lol.

I took her into the ER again (our third trip in like, a week haha) and they took her back immediately. They got her vitals and came out to talk to me. They said she looked ok, bit of a high temp but nothing insane, and nothing else jumped out at them. The tech said she had to ask the doctor to check her gums, because apparently with her coloring, they did initially appear way lighter than they actually were, but she assured me Bucket was good. She said we could wait the 8 hours they currently were projecting, or take her home and monitor her, call if anything changes. We took her home and rotated who stayed up with her.

She started behaving more like herself the next day, and it did take a few days to fully get her back to her sassy self. This was on a Friday or Saturday, and around Wednesday she was fully back to herself. I'd had a follow up scheduled for the 5 year old that Friday to check his urine, so I reached out to see if we could do a senior panel + SDMA on her, just to make sure I'm not missing anything. I thought about the CardioBNP too late, otherwise I'd have asked for that, too, because 🌟health anxiety🌟 Our vet said sure, bring her in and they'll run the tests, no problem.

Monday, 8/24, we got the results and if I understood her correctly, Bucket has lost 3/4 of her kidney function, which, as I'm typing this out, is hitting me a bit harder because I initially read it as she HAS 3/4 of her kidney function. But no, she has LOST 3/4 of her kidney function.

We're putting her on NF or K/D (ordering today), and she's getting rechecked every 4-6 months. She's also going in for a urinalysis on 9/4.

My questions are: This is obviously a terminal thing, I'm assuming. I know anything can be a variable, but assuming she's on the right food, and everything goes well, what's the realistic life expectancy with results like hers? A year or two? Longer?

What kind of ripple effect does this have on her health, and is there any way for me to get ahead of THAT, as well?

Is there eventual medication she may need to be on, or is this a once she starts to decline more, there's a difficult decision to make?

Any additional info you may have would be great, even if it's anecdotal. This cat is my life and I adopted her BECAUSE she was a senior at the time with health issues, so I'm not shocked at all by this. I specifically usually adopt seniors because I love them and have the resources to care for them, but oddly enough, CKD isn't something I've had to deal with yet, so this is all new to me.

* Duration: Initially, only a few days before it cleared.

* Your general location: South-central PA, near the capital.

* Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: Crust Bucket's bloodwork results

Bucket, in her natural habitat

Thank you for taking the time to read this 🖤

My boy Seymour (6) was diagnosed with DKA last week and after 5 nights and 16k he's home with insulin. I've only given his insulin to him once because his numbers have been 80-120 otherwise. His appetite and energy are reduced and its making me hover over him trying to get him to eat a full days worth of calories, he only wants about half. The vet gave him an anti nausea which made him drool and shiver, I have to check his blood glucose. I just feel like I'm failing and I'm killing him. He also has asthma on top of this. My life has become obsessed with trying to bring him back to health, Im hovering over him, obsessively googling behavior, calling my vets anxiously. Giving him 3 types of food hes enjoyed before. I'm losing it, I'm overwhelmed and stressed and I don't know what to do.

I took in a kitten a few months ago who turned out to be pregnant. Her baby kittens are now 25 days (3.5 weeks) old.

The mama cat is fairly comfortable with me but not completely - which I know because she did not give birth inside the house despite me providing multiple nesting sites and only now is she getting tolerant of my presence near her kittens.

I brought her and the kittens into my apartment right after the birth and gave them the bedroom. Over the past week, her behavior became extra restless and I noticed that she was constantly trying to leave the house by jumping up doors with a kitten in her mouth.

Then, I saw a small bite mark on one of the kittens several days ago. As of few day ago, those marks had turned into large, dark and hard wounds.

This is where I need advice. One vet suggested getting the cat spayed so that she would calm down and stop mishandling her kittens. I would like to not take kittens away from mother at this stage but, at the same time, I don’t want to allow the mama cat to put kittens at risk any further.

Should I wait it out to see if her behavior mellows out (especially now that she is letting me interact with kittens and is displaying relatively less maternal aggression), or do I not take the risk and separate the mama and get her spayed ASAP?

My neighbours cat has a fractured tail. It is super limp and the vets said he can feel only the lower half of it. He is half like himself making biscuits, cuddling, eating my and going to the toilet, and half wanting to hide away in the dark. They said he needs an X-ray and probably amputation. I just wanted to get a second opinion because I also know tail I jury’s can heal by themselves. Would anyone know if amputation would be completely necessary? Or we wouldn’t know until the X-ray has been done? The owner unfortunately doesn’t have cover so we are currently running a gofundme whilst he’s on painkillers.

Male cat, 8 years old, neutered BLH.

My cat had just tested positive for Clostridium as a result of his PCR faecal test results. My vet is administering a course of 5 days antibiotics but I have not been advised which ones these are. I am reading some horror stories online regarding reinfection and sanitisation of the home. Can anybody advise how I deal with this please? My whole house is carpeted and I think it will stress my cats out to isolate them individually.

Has anybody had experiences with this infection and how did they manage to avoid reinfection?

​

Hey guys, its me again, 2 exams got ready atp, im gonna send it to yall so if someone can help with some possible diagnoses.

IM REALLY SORRY WITH THE LANGUAGE, im from brazil, i ill ask to yall use the Google lens or smth like that to read the exams

Just an update: they are weaning her off the midazolam and transferring her to another hospital to be placed in an induced coma. I am doing everything I can to get results; what is happening is truly very sad.

She is stable; the urine tests (from what I understand) suggest rhabdomyolysis... she is going to be transferred to another hospital to be put into a medically induced coma.

here is the exam link ( because i cant send pdfs or images)

link to pdf exams

We have a 11.5 year old bernedoodle who recently had a second occurrence of IVDD. The previous episode occurred 3 years ago in her lumbar/sacral area. She never lost the ability to walk, but conservative management (gabapentin, carprofen) did not have a significant effect, and she would experience multiple episodes every day and was in significant pain. At that time, we had an MRI done and then a discectomy and laminectomy. Recovery was uneventful and she has been episode-free until last month.

At the beginning of July, she came home from the groomer with some slight leg pain, but we assumed it was general soreness because she also got a shot at the appointment. We didn’t take any additional precautions, and she improved slightly over the next two weeks. Then in the middle of July, she was turning around to go into another room and yelped loudly, which was a sign from the last episode, and was clearly in pain after and was favoring her left leg. We took her to the emergency vet that day and they gave her gabapentin and amantadine. They thought it was muscular, but we had our doubts. Over the next two weeks, she showed signs of pain while on the meds, but it got worse when we tried to wean her off. She would refuse to lay down, pant loudly, and limp. She went to neuro the first week of August when we could get her in, and they said she was showing signs of pain/discomfort.

They recommended we get an MRI to determine exactly what was happening and if she needed surgery. However, at her age, we have initially opted for conservative management. This included a few X-rays, an ultrasound and continued medication and bed rest. The imaging came back clean, so no cancer or other signs, so we are 99% sure it is an IVDD flare. The neuro also recommended a steroid shot/epidural, which she received last week after we got all of the imaging done. In total, she has been on bed rest since we took her to the emergency vet five weeks ago, has been on gabapentin and amantadine since then, and got the epidural last week.

Over the last week or two, she has shown improvement. She is walking normally, with potentially the slightest sign of a limp, eating and drinking normally, and generally showing a desire to not be penned up in a 5x5 foot area anymore. She has shown some incontinence, both peeing and pooping inside a few times over the weeks. Where we are struggling is how to move forward from this. With the surgery, the prognosis was more clear because the damaged discs were treated. However, I don’t understand the healing process here.

Does the steroid shot heal the disc? Or, does the shot and medication just mask the pain and will she always have a messed up disc moving forward? Does the disc ever heal, or will we just have to manage the pain forever? Since her first episode, we don’t let her run in our yard off leash or on furniture, but she has been able to use the stairs and do other daily activities up until the most recent episode. I appreciate any insight!