Intervertebral disc protrusion in a cat

Abstract

A case of prolapsed intervertebral disc at C5–6 is described in an adult cat with a history of quadriparesis and two episodes of quadriplegia in a two year period. Plain radiographs showed no abnormality, there was no narrowing of the intervertebral space, but the protrusion was detected by myelography. Severe degeneration was found in the spinal cord.

Feline Spinal Cord Diseases

“…38 Recently, various investigators have published single case reports or case series of cats with IVDD, and there are 17 reports describing a total of 44 clinically affected cats with 50 intervertebral disc protrusions published between 1981 and November 2009. 1,35,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] One case report from 1971 was not considered, because the author later included the same case in a study on spinal lymphosarcoma. 54 Based on the information provided in these publications and including data from 8 cats from Marioni-Henry and colleagues, 1 the median and mean age of cats with clinical signs of IVDD was 8 years (range 1.5-17 years; 28 male cats and 16 female).…”

“…Thirty cats had surgery, and 16 of them had an excellent outcome with the cat returning to normal; 5 cats had a good outcome with some residual neurologic deficits, 5 had a fair outcome, 3 were lost to follow-up, and 1 died. 1,35,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Ten cats were treated conservatively, 3 cats had a good outcome, and 1 an excellent outcome after treatment with corticosteroids, acupuncture, and physical therapy. Among the cats with IVDD treated conservatively, 1 cat had a poor outcome, 1 died, and 4 were euthanized; the remaining 5 cats were euthanized immediately after the diagnosis.…”

“…Among the cats with IVDD treated conservatively, 1 cat had a poor outcome, 1 died, and 4 were euthanized; the remaining 5 cats were euthanized immediately after the diagnosis. 1,35,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]…”

Cervical disc disease

“…Disc herniation is not uncommon in cats, particularly in the cervical region, but clinical signs related to these lesions are rare (Heavner, 1971;Littlewood et al, 1984;Kathmann et al, 2000;Knipe et al, 2001;Muñana et al, 2001). The principles of diagnosis and treatment are discussed above.…”

Feline intervertebral disc disease: a review of the literature

“…Numerous reports describe the aetiology and pathogenesis of disc disease in this species (2,3,9). However, although disc degeneration, rupture and protrusion occur commonly in the cat (5,(14)(15)(16)(17)(18), clinically significant disc disease is rarely described (1,8,10,13,(20)(21)(22)(23)26,27,29).…”