Ruptured Discs

bmorecat

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Hello - I wanted to see if anyone has dealt with this or can offer advice:

My cat is soon to be 14 years old.  About 6 months ago she started chewing her tail in one small area and now has less hair there. After a few months, whenever she stretched up on her back legs for more than a few seconds, she'd whip around and bite her tail like it attacked her. The lower part of her back is sensitive to touch. The vet tried steroids, gabapentin, amitriptyline, and phenobarbital with no success. She was referred to a neurologist who did an MRI and found she has degenerative disc disease with two severely ruptured discs in her lower back that are putting pressure on her spinal cord causing discomfort and likely the tail biting. 

The neurologist recommends surgery to decompress and fuse the discs. He says she is not in pain but is uncomfortable. The surgery would help alleviate the discomfort but may not stop the tail biting. She would have to be hospitalized post-surgery for several days to manage main, and then confined at home to a crate or the bathroom for 6 weeks. It could take 2-6 months for the nerve insulation around the spine to regrow. If no surgery is performed the vet recommends painkillers and reevaluations.  Surgery would likely not be an option for me later because the vet would need to do a new MRI, bloodwork, and x-rays to reassess - so I need to make my decision soon.

She still eats normally, has no litter box problems, and runs, plays, and jumps (but less than when she was younger). The blood tests showed slight anemia.

This surgery is expensive but I would find a way to make it happen for my cat if I knew the benefits outweighed the risks and the post-op pain and long recovery period.  Has anyone faced this issue?  I want to do what's best for my cat.  Thank you.
 
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