Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Muscle spasms in two young male cats linked to tetanus
By Polizopoulou, Z S et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2002·Department of Clinical Studies·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Presumed localized tetanus in two cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two young male outdoor cats were brought to the vet with severe muscle spasms in their front legs, and one also had a wrinkled forehead and difficulty closing his mouth. After tests showed no other issues, the vet diagnosed them with localized tetanus, a rare condition caused by a toxin. The treatment included medications to relax their muscles, antibiotics, physical therapy, and supportive care like feeding assistance and fluids. Over the course of a couple of months, both cats improved significantly and regained normal movement in their limbs.
People also search for: cat muscle spasms treatment · localized tetanus in cats · cat physical therapy for muscle issues
Abstract
In this report two cases of localised tetanus in two young (<1 year) intact male and outdoor DSH cats, which had been missing, are described. Clinical examination revealed severe muscular spasms on the right (case 1) or both thoracic limbs (case 2). In the latter cat, wrinkling of the forehead and mild trismus were also seen. The routine diagnostic workup (CBC, survey radiographs of the spine, CSF analysis) did not reveal any abnormalities in both cats. EMG testing on the affected muscles in the second animal showed persistent spontaneous motor unit potentials, strongly indicating tetanus. The treatment, that was symptomatic (diazepam, metronidazole) and supportive (physical therapy, assist feeding and intravenous fluid therapy) resulted in the progressive improvement of limb rigidity and the restoration of motor dysfunction in a period of 5- (case 1) and 2- (case 2) month duration.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12468315/