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Nerves are those parts of the body that allow virtually every organ to function properly. When we talk about neurological disease, clients often immediately focus on the brain. However, neurological disease can affect any nerve or nerves of the body. Of course, there are the nerves of the central nervous system: the brain and spinal cord, and nerves of the peripheral nervous system: those nerves that leave the central nervous system to innervate, well, just about everything! So neurological problems in dogs and cats can be very diverse, just like in humans.

Common neurological problems in cats and dogs include (but are not limited to) seizure disorders, interverterbral disc disease (“pinched nerves” in the back), nerve dis-ease caused by diabetes (especially in cats), intoxications, middle and inner ear infec-tions (causing disequilibrium, amongst other symptoms), and infectious diseases. Dogs, too, can get meningitis, botulism, and tetanus.

Intervertebral disc disease is quite common in dogs and sometimes seen in cats. When you hear about your aunt or father suffering from sciatica, well that’s a “pinched nerve,” usually caused by a disc that is compressing the sciatic nerve. Even though numbness and pain down the bum and leg are some of the symptoms, the problem lies in the lower back. This is important because some dogs (and cats) have signs of lame-ness, pain, and presumably tingling of a limb or paw, and it is important to consider a disc or back problem as the underlying cause. This is especially true if your pet has back pain when the veterinarian carefully pushes down on the spine during the examination (and the problem is not an obvious orthopaedic problem). Not only can the sciatic nerve be compressed but any nerve coming off the spinal cord. Therefore, symptoms will vary depending on what organ or muscle is innervated by that nerve. Some animals can have urinary or bowel incontinence, while others may just show subtle lameness of a front or hind limb (called a root-signature). More serious disc disease can sometimes cause se-vere weakness or even paralysis of the affected limbs.

Advanced imaging techniques like MRIs and CT scans are often necessary to make a definitive diagnosis, especially when dealing with diseases of the brain and spi-nal cord. Specialists in veterinary neurology often use these imaging techniques to find out exactly where the problem is, in order to treat it. Severe or recurring disc disease is often treated surgically if pain or symptoms cannot be controlled with medication and rest.

Should your pet be stumbling around or appear to have consumed “one too many,” perhaps a trip to the vet might be in order to see if the problem is “just nerves.”

This poor dog had a brain tumor (in red).