Does anyone here have experience with lumbosacral syndrome? My cat, Fiona, was diagnosed with this last Tuesday.
We went on vacation from the 5th-9th of July, and brought Fiona with us. While in the car, I noticed a knot at the base of her tail. She did not seem to be in any pain, so we decided we would take Fiona to the vet when we got back in town. Over the course of the vacation, the knot dissipated to an almost imperceptible, tiny bump. Since the problem seemed to be going away on its own, and Fiona was acting totally normal, we did not take her to the vet the day we got home.
On Tuesday the 14th, 5 days later, she would not lift her tail. I work overnight, and when I got home in the morning, I immediately noticed that she was dragging it behind her and showed no reaction if you touched it, so we went to our veterinarian an hour later.
She was diagnosed with lumbosacral syndrome, which, from what I have read online, is another name for cauda equina syndrome. I have also read that it is rare in cats, so I have not been able to get much information on it.
Our veterinarian prescribed her a course of metacam (1 ml on day 1, 1 ml on day 2, skip day 3, 1 ml on day 4, skip day 5, 1 ml on day 6, then bring her back for a followup), saying that normally, with pain medication to get her over the worst of it, the issue should resolve itself. And indeed, she has been able to lift her tail and use it normally since the first day of the metacam, even on the days we have skipped. She has not had any today, and her tail function is totally normal. However, she is still whining in pain when lifted (which was our doctor's first clue that it was something spinal, rather than a broken tail).
Her followup visit is scheduled for Wednesday, 7 days after she was released from the hospital. Obviously, I will get more information then, but in the meantime, should I expect the rest of her pain to go away on its own? Is it normal for her to still be experiencing pain? Has anyone else gone through this and have any advice for me? Thank you so much for anything you can offer.
We went on vacation from the 5th-9th of July, and brought Fiona with us. While in the car, I noticed a knot at the base of her tail. She did not seem to be in any pain, so we decided we would take Fiona to the vet when we got back in town. Over the course of the vacation, the knot dissipated to an almost imperceptible, tiny bump. Since the problem seemed to be going away on its own, and Fiona was acting totally normal, we did not take her to the vet the day we got home.
On Tuesday the 14th, 5 days later, she would not lift her tail. I work overnight, and when I got home in the morning, I immediately noticed that she was dragging it behind her and showed no reaction if you touched it, so we went to our veterinarian an hour later.
She was diagnosed with lumbosacral syndrome, which, from what I have read online, is another name for cauda equina syndrome. I have also read that it is rare in cats, so I have not been able to get much information on it.
Our veterinarian prescribed her a course of metacam (1 ml on day 1, 1 ml on day 2, skip day 3, 1 ml on day 4, skip day 5, 1 ml on day 6, then bring her back for a followup), saying that normally, with pain medication to get her over the worst of it, the issue should resolve itself. And indeed, she has been able to lift her tail and use it normally since the first day of the metacam, even on the days we have skipped. She has not had any today, and her tail function is totally normal. However, she is still whining in pain when lifted (which was our doctor's first clue that it was something spinal, rather than a broken tail).
Her followup visit is scheduled for Wednesday, 7 days after she was released from the hospital. Obviously, I will get more information then, but in the meantime, should I expect the rest of her pain to go away on its own? Is it normal for her to still be experiencing pain? Has anyone else gone through this and have any advice for me? Thank you so much for anything you can offer.
