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Objectives: There is a paucity of information on feline discospondylitis. This study aimed to describe the signalment, clinical and laboratory findings, aetiological agents, treatment and outcome in cats affected by discospondylitis., Methods: This was a retrospective review of the medical records of cats diagnosed with discospondylitis at four referral institutions., Results: A total of 17 cats were identified. Most were domestic shorthair cats (76.5%) and male (58.8%), with a median age of 9 years (range 0.9-14) and a median duration of clinical signs of 3 weeks (range 0.3-16). All cats presented with spinal hyperaesthesia; 3/17 had pyrexia. Neurological dysfunction was found in 64.7% of cats, which was indicative of a T3-L3 or L4-S2 spinal segment, associated nerve root or associated nerve neurolocalisation. Haematology, serum biochemistry and urinalysis revealed occasional inconsistent non-specific changes. All cats underwent urine culture; 9/17 cats also had a distinct tissue cultured. Positive bacterial cultures were obtained in two cats (11.8%) for Staphylococcus species (urine, blood and intradiscal fine-needle aspirate) and Escherichia coli (urine); both presented with multifocal discospondylitis. Treatment was non-surgical in all cats, with sustained antibiotic therapy for a median of 3 months (range 1-9). Analgesia provided included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alone or in combination with gabapentin. Restricted exercise was advised for a minimum of 4 weeks. Outcome information available in 12 cats was excellent in terms of pain control and neurological function in 10 cats (83.3%) at the time of stopping antibiotics. Recurrence occurred in one case, which had received a single antibiotic for 6 weeks, and relapsed 4 months after presentation. One other case failed to improve and was euthanased during the course of hospitalisation., Conclusions and Relevance: Feline discospondylitis is uncommon and no obvious signalment predisposition was found in this study. Spinal hyperaesthesia was universally present, with neurological dysfunction also highly prevalent. Bacterial culture was unrewarding in most cases. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or cephalosporins are reasonable choices for first-line antibiotics. Prognosis was favourable, with no long-term evidence of recurrence in cats on sustained antibiotic therapy, for a mean duration of 3 months.

Case Series Summary: This was a retrospective study on the clinical features and response to treatment in seven cats with feline hyperaesthesia syndrome (FHS) and tail mutilation. FHS is a poorly understood disorder characterised by skin rippling over the dorsal lumbar area, episodes of jumping and running, excessive vocalisation, and tail chasing and self-trauma. The majority of the cats were young, with a median age of 1 year at the onset of clinical signs, male (n = 6) and with access to the outdoors (n = 5). Multiple daily episodes of tail chasing and self-trauma were reported in five cats, with tail mutilation in four cats. Vocalisation during the episodes (n = 5) and rippling of lumbar skin (n = 5) were also reported. Haematology, serum biochemistry, Toxoplasma gondii and feline immunodeficiency virus/feline leukaemia virus serology, MRI scans of brain, spinal cord and cauda equina, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and electrodiagnostic tests did not reveal any clinically significant abnormalities. A definitive final diagnosis was not reached in any of the cats, but hypersensitivity dermatitis was suspected in two cases. A variety of medications was used alone or in combination, including gabapentin (n = 6), meloxicam (n = 4), antibiotics (n = 4), phenobarbital (n = 2), prednisolone (n = 2) and topiramate (n = 2); ciclosporin, clomipramine, fluoxetine, amitriptyline and tramadol were used in one cat each. Clinical improvement was achieved in six cases; in five cats complete remission of clinical signs was achieved with gabapentin alone (n = 2), a combination of gabapentin/ciclosporin/amitriptyline (n = 1), gabapentin/prednisolone/phenobarbital (n = 1) or gabapentin/topiramate/meloxicam (n = 1)., Relevance and Novel Information: This is the first retrospective study on a series of cats with FHS. The diagnostic work-up did not reveal any significant abnormalities of the central or peripheral nervous system; dermatological and behavioural problems could not be ruled out. We propose an integrated multidisciplinary diagnostic pathway to be used for the management of clinical cases and for future prospective studies.