Her anxiety was building for the last 4 months, I was just hoping to not have to put her back on anxiety meds but I think I waited too long. She now screams when I touch her back - her head is fine, and she only does this in contexts related to going outside (like putting her harness on and off or taking her off the bed to go to the door). It could be that she is having back issues too and just having the major anxiety reactions because of that (she has always been hypersensitive to pain). However, over the last few months, she has also been showing concerning signs like scratching and staring at walls, which I thought was anxiety issues but now I'm worried it might be cognitive.
The vet will only do emergencies and is taking forever to get back to emails. I put her back on her anxiety meds this morning, even before the vet got back to me. I'm hoping it is hurt back and some anxiety about that and not sever anxiety in general or dementia. If it's more than a minor physical issue, I don't see how she'll have any quality of life because her anxiety just compounds everything.
I just took her for a walk and it was worse than last night.