NALA'S TREATMENT

Nala arrived on June 22, 2008 with her friend Simba. They had been wandering a Vanier neighbourhood over the spring months. Nala, upon first glance, appeared as though she may have mange, as enormous clumps of fur were missing in areas all over her body. Upon further examination no abrasions, parasites or other signs of disease were found, confirmed by the rescue's veterinarian's examination and skin scrapings the following day. The cause of her fur loss seemed stress related. She was spayed that day and remained happy and healthy with Simba until the evening of August 2.

August 2, 2008: Nala was found, albeit quite cheerful, with a severe head tilt. Her symptoms had developed literally overnight. She was barely able to stand and could not eat or drink on her own. She had lost a significant amount of weight in a very short time. Her treatment regiment began immediately.

She began a course of Enroflaxin (Baytril) of 1.5cc twice/day, as well as 1/4 tablet of Bonamine for motion sickness 2-4 times/day. Her apparent "wasting" and inability to eat was the most crucial matter and she was immediately started on Critical Care, which she happily ate.

A special cage was set-up for Nala with soft padding along the sides and bottom, with a layer of soft bedding on top to absorb urine. She was reluctant to move other than to beg for attention and had to be bathed with a washcloth and her "bathroom" area cleaned at least twice per day to prevent urine scald and/or sores.

August 9, 2008: Nala's condition had continued to worsen, despite her antibiotic treatment. The use of one or both hind legs was limited and she was finding it difficult to right herself once fallen over into a "roll." Her spirits remained high and her appetite for syringe feeding formula unhindered. She disliked the time out of her cage and liked only being there or in a lap, where she felt secure. Her "hopping" was limited to shaky crawling in tight circles.

August 13, 2008: Nala was showing only one improvement since the onset of her illness. Her head was less tilted, however she was showing more general weakness and was less active and alert. Her "down" eye was showing some irritation and tearing.

The rescue's veterinarians prescribed a course of Fenbendazole (Panacur), used in rabbits to treat the parasite E. Cuniculi and antibiotic eye ointment to aid in lubricating her "down" eye.

August 15, 2008: Nala was showing significant improvement, managing to hop awkwardly rather than crawling along and doing so in somewhat of a straight line. Her spirits improved immensely and she began to gain weight at a steady rate.

August 16, 2008: Nala began to enjoy her time out of her cage and was happy to be exploring. She began to eat small amounts of pellets, greens and hay on her own.

August 18, 2008: Having shown such significant improvement with the addition of Panacur to her treatment regiment, it was to be continued along with Baytril for 6 more days, at which time she would be re-examined.

August 24, 2008: A seed bead sized lump was found on Nala's cheek (in the vicinity of her whiskers). It was senstitive to the touch, but did not cause her pain to eat.

August 25, 2008: Nala had her examination, at which time it was determined that she was doing well, however needed to continue her weight gain. Her lump was also examined and was to be observed for any change, as treatment options were limited in her compromised state.

August 26, 2008: Quite suddenly, Nala showed sudden neurological decline. During the evening, she vacantly leaned over her water bowl without drinking and ceased eating on her own. She proceeded to have five seizures (involving drolling, rolling eyes and intermittently stiffening and relaxing muscles) within an hour.

August 27, 2008: Due to the alarming onset of new neurological symptoms, Nala once again began a regiment of Baytril, Panacur and Metacam. She was forcefed a high caloric formula to further aid her in gaining the weight she had lost during her illness. Her seizures continued for the following two days when they finally and abruptly stopped altogether. Baytril was discontinued after 10 days with no decline and the Metacam was discontinued shortly after, again with no decline. Panacur was continued.

September 16, 2008: No recurrence of seizures or further neurological symptoms were observed following the completion of Nala's Panacur treatment and she was now a healthy weight. However, the lump on her cheek had increased significantly in size, while she continued to have no diffculty eating. Nala is to be reexamined on September 22.

September 22, 2008: Pus was extracted from Nala's lump, which was confirmed to be an abscess. Since anaesthetic was not recommended in her case (with continued lack of balance), a procedure to clean the abscess under local anaesthetic would be performed if the abscess did not drain on its own.

September 27-October 3 2008: The abscess burst on its own and daily flushings were performed and antibiotics administered to prevent a recurrence. Unfortunately, during the weekend of September 27, Nala's seizure activity resumed, albeit to a lesser degree. She is under careful monitoring.

In January 2009, Nala's seizure activity had ceased, no abscess had returned and she had clearly recovered! She was sent to foster care that month and adopted to a loving home in March 2009.