Tom&Pam, thank you for your note and welcome to Pet Talk!! You know it's funny because my brother's name is Tom!! I am so, so sorry to hear about what happened to Dandy. You described his symptoms as being hurting one day and normal the next and then back to hurting. That was what gave my vet his first clue. He said that is the way Lyme acts and he had seen 200 little furry patients with it so I figured he knew what he was talking about. If it had been a sprain it wouldn't have been an on again/off again thing and there was also the blood test too. Back in the 80's when your Dandy went through this I don't think very much was known. It was just coming to the forefront and the reports were scattered. I now have both Bella and Ripley on Frontline and Bella will be getting her second dose of the vaccine after she finishes her antibiotics. There are so many humans here in South Jersey with Lyme as well. There are quite a bit of pine forrests and the disease naturally is worse in wooded areas. I am so grateful that we were able to help Bella quickly by getting her on the antibiotics and I am so sorry that you did not have the benefit of the knowledge that we have today. I hope others may benefit from this thread and can nip this thing in the bud if, God forbid, it should strike.
P.S. Another similarity - my daughter's cat's name is Dandy!