Spinal disease in cats including disc disease, spinal lymphoma and trauma causes pain and loss of mobility that requires prompt diagnosis and appropriate management.
Spinal disease causes significant acute welfare harm through pain and progressive loss of mobility. Cats with spinal lymphoma can achieve good quality remission with chemotherapy, making diagnosis and treatment access important welfare considerations. Traumatic spinal injury requires emergency care and dedicated nursing for bladder management. The welfare of paralysed cats depends entirely on the quality of supportive care they receive.