Addie Jane’s Story: the Beginning
Our encounter with Pet Paralysis: Scott fed and checked in on all of our cats one evening. Everyone was good and wanting attention, as usual. One of our cats, Addie Jane, who had been born in our office closet seven years prior faithful made the rounds with Scott every night. She would follow him around and want to “help”. She was not a very active cat, and did not jump up on the counters or furniture. Scott finished up with food and petted Addie Jane before going to bed that evening. The next morning he went to check on the cats and noticed right away that is side kick, Addie Jane, was not waiting for him and wasn’t there to help. He began to look for her, and at first couldn’t find her. Then crumpled up underneath a corner area of the recliner, he saw her. He pulled her out and put her on the ground and noticed she couldn’t stand up on her own. She was paralyzed from her mid back to the tip of her tail.
Pets can become paralyzed for several different reasons. Paralysis usually happens when something affects the brain, spinal cord, nerves, or muscles, because these control movement. Some causes are sudden and emergency situations, others develop slowly.
Most Common Causes:
1. Injury or trauma
Examples include: Being hit by a car, falling from heights, bite wounds, or rough accidents
These can cause spinal cord damage, which can lead to partial or complete paralysis depending on how severe the injury is.
2. Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD)
This is very common in certain dog breeds like Dachshunds, Beagles, and French Bulldogs. IVDD happens when the discs between the spine bones bulge or rupture and press on the spinal cord.
Symptoms often include: Sudden weakness in back legs, difficulty walking, pain when touched, dragging legs, and sudden paralysis. This condition can sometimes be treated if caught early.
3. Infections
Certain infections can affect the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Examples: Tick paralysis (caused by toxins from ticks), bacterial infections, viral infections like Rabies (rare but serious), fungal infections
4. Poisoning or toxins
Examples: Certain plants, chemicals, botulism toxin (from spoiled food), snake bites
5. Degenerative diseases
Some conditions slowly damage nerves or the spinal cord over time. Symptoms many be hard to detect.
Example: Degenerative myelopathy (similar to ALS in humans) usually causes gradual back leg weakness in older dogs.
6. Blood clots (common in cats)
Cats can develop a condition called feline aortic thromboembolism. This happens when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the back legs.
Signs include: Sudden paralysis, cold back legs, crying in pain, difficulty breathing.
7. Tumors
Tumors near the brain or spine can press on nerves and cause paralysis, usually causing symptoms that slowly worsen.
8. Autoimmune diseases
Sometimes the immune system attacks the nervous system.
Addie Jane’s Story: the Ending
We didn’t get to Addie Jane fast enough, since she had a sudden paralysis over night. We got to her the vet that same morning, but even with months of treatments, acupuncture and physical therapy, she was still paralyzed. Addie Jane lived for one more year, but due to chronic infections from lack of rear movement, we had to choose to let her cross over the rainbow bridge.
When paralysis is an emergency
You should contact a veterinarian immediately if a pet shows: Sudden inability to walk, dragging legs, loss of bladder control, severe pain, sudden weakness, trouble breathing
Fast treatment can sometimes prevent permanent paralysis.
Sudden paralysis (minutes to hours) is considered an emergency! Waiting 24 hours can sometimes make recovery harder depending on the cause.
Fast progression (hours to a few days) might mean noticing systems listed above and acting on them by consulting your veterinarian.
Peace Love Paws cares for paralyzed pets as a dedication to Addie Jane.
If you have a special needs pet, please call us to discuss pet care for them.
-💜Bobbi