Presumptive coccygeal diskospondylitis in a cat

An eight-year-old male neutered indoor/outdoor domestic shorthaired cat was presented with a one-month onset of chronic progressive low tail carriage and tail pain. Radiographs of the tail taken by the referring veterinarian (RV) revealed questionably narrowed intervertebral disc spaces from Cd2 to Cd7. Conservative treatment with meloxicam and gabapentin was started without clinical improvement.\n\nOn admission, general physical and orthopaedic examinations revealed pain on palpation of the tail base, but were otherwise unremarkable. Neurological examination revealed tail paresis with proximal movement and marked pain on palpation of the proximal third of the tail. Neuroanatomical localisation was compatible with sacral and caudal spinal cord segments, spinal nerve roots or spinal nerves. Haematology was unremarkable, while serum biochemistry revealed mild total hyperproteinaemia (88 g/L, reference interval: 60–85 g/L) with moderate hyperglobulinaemia (60 g/L, reference interval: 27–45 g/L), suggestive of inflammation. Serology (ELISA) for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) was negative. Radiography of the lower vertebral column and tail revealed progression of the lesions previously noted by the RV, affecting Cd2–3, Cd3–4 and Cd4–5 intervertebral disc spaces (figure 1). These changes were suggestive of diskospondylitis, although other differential diagnoses such as neoplasia, although less likely to unlikely, could not be completely excluded. Radiographically guided fine …