Foot in Mouth

By Laura Stoeker

North Carolina State University

As a newly minted second year veterinary student and a recent hire as a technician at a local small animal clinic, I was hoping to pick up some hands-on veterinary skills on the weekends and some much needed cash. What is cash, you may ask? I often wonder myself since vet students don’t come in contact with it very often. That is an aside, however. On this Saturday in June I walked into the exam room and was greeted by a friendly middle-aged woman and her not-so-friendly elderly cat. Mary the cat had not been doing so well at home. She was an 18 year-old domestic short hair, thin, and ornery. At home, the owner complained that Mary would sometimes seem dizzy or disoriented. When placed on the clinic floor, Mary began circling. The circling was followed by wandering into a corner in the clinic and staying there.  18 year-old cat, circling, wandering into corners and staying there? I was pretty convinced that Mary had a brain tumor and was showing neurological symptoms.  After all, how many video clips of circling animals do first year veterinary students get to watch during neurology lectures? 5….10….20? Enough to recognize it when they see it, in any case!

                I gave a history to the veterinarian on call and mentioned my thoughts on the neurological symptoms. We entered the exam room and she proceeded with a head to tail physical examination. In the first few seconds of the exam, she had determined that Mary had no menace response and was incapable of tracking with her eyes. In fact, she determined that Mary was…..blind. Fortunately, the blindness was likely reversible as it was secondary to high blood pressure. But my chagrin was not reversible. Yes, I suppose that blindness could be another reason for a cat walking into a wall and wandering around in circles. I was short-sighted with my diagnosis, and my lesson for the day was a simple but important one: never turn a blind eye to alternative differentials.