Using Mobile Footage for Feline Neurological Diagnoses

As the sayings go, ‘a video speak a million words’ and ‘once you’ve seen it once you never forget’! These sayings could not be more appropriate to this webinar. The smartphone has significantly impacted how we approach veterinary neurology. It now allows us to observe pets in their home environments, providing invaluable insight into abnormal behaviours. While finding information of pretty much any neurological conditions can be done on the internet, seeing them on a video and having an expert analysing them with you can be priceless especially when dealing with conditions which are episodic. Often these patients can be totally normal when presented to you. Smartphones also help in cases where cats won’t walk in consult rooms or for nervous dogs that dislike vet visits. Owners can record their pets moving naturally at home, reducing stress for the animal and giving us a clear view of what concerns the owner. When faces with a discrepancy between a pet owner who is clearly worried about what they have witnessed and a pet who does not give any clinical clue on examination, the temptation can be high to (re-)act by running lots of tests which are often prescribed ‘blindly’ hoping to find these clues. Many of the episodic conditions we will cover often do not show up on any tests making their diagnosis even more challenging. The take home message is if you are not sure ask for the owner to obtain a video before embarking on any diagnostic procedure especially if the animal is normal on examination.