Narcolepsy has been reported in dogs, cats, cattle, and horses. Photo: Bigstock/famveldman
Before diving into the details of narcolepsy's causes, diagnosis, and treatment, here's a case study.
Case description
A four-year-old spayed female miniature dachshund was presented for evaluation of episodes of collapse. Three months prior to presentation, the patient had been relinquished to a rescue organization with no disclosed health issues. The reason for relinquishment was "unable to care for." While in the rescue's care, the dog was placed into a foster home for two and a half months before being adopted by her current owner. No issues were reported during the foster care period. According to the rescue's medical records, the dog had received boosters of rabies, distemper, and parvovirus vaccines three weeks prior to adoption. A heartworm test was meant to be performed but was accidentally skipped. The dog consumed a commercial kibble and had a normal appetite per the foster family and the new owner.
Useful questions to ask the client
At this point, there are several broad etiological causes for this dog's collapse episode (Figure 1). Broadly, collapsing episodes occur either due to cardiac dysfunction or neurological dysfunction. As these etiologies are drastically different from each other, determining the broad inciting category is paramount. Some key questions to distinguish between cardiovascular and neurological causes of collapse include:
- What did this episode appear like?
- What was your dog doing before the onset of the episode?
- How long did the episode last?
- How long after the episode was over did it take for your dog to recover?
- Does your dog cough?
- Does your dog seem to get tired easily?
- Did your dog seem conscious during the episode?
- Did she urinate or defecate during or after the episode?
- Has your dog had more than one episode? If so, how many, and how often?
- Have you observed a trigger or pattern to the episodes?
These questions were all posed to the client. Below are the client's responses:
Question: What did the episode appear like?
Answer: "We were on a walk, and she was barking a lot at this dog across the street. Suddenly, she just seemed to go limp and fell over."
Q: What was your dog doing before the onset of the episode?
