Well, poor Cookie can’t seem to catch a break. Now, she not only has only 3 hooves, but we just found out that she is CAE positive. I’ve never had a goat that is CAE positive so I had to do some research on this. CAE stands for Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis. This means, from what I can gather, that she will probably need medical care the rest of her life.

It appears that most will cull a goat that receives a positive CAE test. I’m not sure that I want to do that yet. I will be talking to the vet tomorrow when she comes out to see what my options are with her. She seems to have had a hard life before she came here and now it’s just going to get harder. From what I understand, the arthritic form is the most prevalent, but the pneumonia isn’t far behind. Either way, she will need medical care for the rest of her life.

If she has the arthritic form, this will mean anti-inflammatory drugs to help control the swelling and the pain. If she has the pneumonia form, she will likely have to be put down or I will need to have antibiotics on hand all the time to handle the flareups. I am so torn on this because she really is a sweet girl that hasn’t had the best life up til now. I was hoping to care for her til her death, when ever that may be. However, I am beginning to feel this decision may have been taken away from me.

If you have any insight on this virus, I would love to hear from you. Is it possible to care for a CAE positive goat without breaking the bank? Is there anything special that she needs right now that may make her life a little easier? I am still learning about this virus so I have a lot of questions still.

Have a great day!

Renee