Sly, cat w/broken pelvis

by **MissWhiskers** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:38 pm

Everyone! Please help advise us on Sly! The person who originally intervened to save him writes:

On Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 5:10 PM, Adrienne wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I have good news and bad news about Sly. The good news is that everyone's prayers worked! He is still with us! His bladder had not actually ruptured as was first thought. After he was sedated on Friday and had x-rays taken they saw that he was actually blocked! His bladder was very large and was unable to be expressed. The days prior it had been increasingly difficult to express him. He was never very easy to express, but we found that with some stimulation of his penis area that he would more easily urinate. We are not sure if by doing this we irritated his penis, causing him to block, as the tip of his penis was slightly bent. So we placed a urinary catheter, and the collection bag began to fill with very dark amber urine. The other problem is that he was also very constipated. We gave him a Lactulose enema and started him on oral Lactulose, but from the xrays it showed that they way his pelvis was healing that he has a very narrow pelvic inlet. We think this is causing all the stool to back up, because it is unable to pass. The doctor confirmed this by rectal exam and she found it was very difficult to place her finger up into his rectal area. Last night, our little boy must have been feeling a little brighter because he managed to pull his urinary catheter out, and sadly, he became blocked again. We are just completely unable to express his bladder, although this time the urinary catheter passed very easily. This morning, he managed to keep the catheter in but had still not passed any stool. We gave him another lactulose enema but nothing. The doctors are beginning to see this as a hopeless case, and are recommending we all think about euthanasia. They are concerned that he may never be able to defecate properly, and on top of that he has the problem with his urination. It is also possible that he may need some type of orthopedic surgery to fix his pelvis. They are also worried about the financial burden of his case on the hospital, as nobody has taken financial responsibility for him. He definitely looks down and out the little man, his third eyelids are up and he spends most of the time sleeping, but he still wants to eat and he still wants to give affection and still makes biscuits. It's just killing me to think we might have to give up on him after all this. I just can't understand why when he first came to us he was able to defecate normally and was actually dribbling urine.
Does anyone have any advice, ideas? Have you see a situation like Sly's that turned around for the good? I feel like if I can tell them something hopeful about his situation that they might not be jumping to put him to sleep right away.

Thank you all for caring about him and continuing to help!

adrienne

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE US ANY SUGGESTIONS YOU CAN!

Thank you,
Karen
Miss Whiskers

by **FYI** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 8:17 pm

The other problem is that he was also very constipated. We gave him a Lactulose enema and started him on oral Lactulose, but from the xrays it showed that they way his pelvis was healing that he has a very narrow pelvic inlet. We think this is causing all the stool to back up, because it is unable to pass. The doctor confirmed this by rectal exam and she found it was very difficult to place her finger up into his rectal area. Last night, our little boy must have been feeling a little brighter because he managed to pull his urinary catheter out, and sadly, he became blocked again.

Diana R. in a message posted at viewtopic.php?f=5&t=15358&p=81863&hilit=+pelvis#p81863 wrote:I have a cat Glory who was thought to have some kind of compression injury at birth. Her back legs are paralyzed but she typically poops and pees on her own. Last year she got very constipated which I understand can happen even years later with injuries to the pelvis which heals such that the pelvic canal through which the stool has to pass is narrowed. I had to have the vet clean her out and she got numerous enemas. She is a 10# cat and I have her on 2 ccs of lactulose twice a day so you may want to consider uping the lactulose. You might also want to try cisapride which increases the ability of the large intestine to contract. Mineral oil, which I have heard people use,should not be used since it can be inhaled accidently into the respiratory tract and it cannot be removed then; the immune system will try to wall it off. You can also try increasing fiber with canned pumpkin or metamucil. I have also used the poop on demand techniques on this board and at least once a day I rub her anus with a baby wipe and see if she can go and then when the poop gets beyond the pelvic inlet just kind of pinch it out. So far this has worked for her and she has had no recurring episodes of constipation.

by **MissWhiskers** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:02 pm

Thank you Diana! very good info. I am not sure if the lady who was seeing to his rescue and who I am considering his current caretaker - is signed up on this site, so I am relaying this info, but I hope she will sign up!

Karen

by **squeezycat2005** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:15 pm

Thank you Diana so so much for your care and suggestions for Sly! We just started him on Cisapride last Thursday. I am going to see if I can manipulate some stool out of him tomorrow. I will also increase his Lactulose and add some Metamucil! I will keep you posted!

by **MissWhiskers** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:29 pm

Squeezycat,
Thank you for signing on!
Please do keep us posted!

Will everyone please say a prayer for Sly? or send healing energy or whatever you believe that might help?

thank you,

Karen
Miss Whiskers

by **Christine** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 7:31 am

Welcome Adrienne!

Thought I would post the Chip In for Sly here and in his other thread. We want the vet to know that Sly is definitely worth saving and people care.

by **Christine** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:04 pm

Just got an update email from Adrienne and it is very encouraging! :hearts:

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to give an update on how our handsome and sweet Sly Man is doing. Yesterday we pulled his urinary catheter (He was so happy to get his cone of shame off!) I was a nervous wreck all day hoping he was going to be easily expressed. Finally in the afternoon when his bladder was big enough we were able to express him easily! Yay! So glad that the medications are working for him. Now it seems that our major obstacle is getting him to defecate normally. His narrowed pelvic canal and the reduced motility from the nerve damage only allows him to pass one or two very small pieces of stool per day. We have him on Lactulose, Cisapride and Miralax. Someone had suggested pumpkin...the little man wasn't too interested in eating it...so we gave him some by a spoon and that went okay. He is still eating and loves to knead on his foam bed so we are just taking things one day at a time. And we are not giving up on this little angel yet!!! Please everyone keep sending your positive thoughts and prayers for him! They are definitely working!

Hugs to all,
Adrienne
Happy Feet
www.happyfeet.petfinder.com

by **MissWhiskers** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:45 pm

Thank you for the update. I am so relieved he is hanging in there! I hope anyone with ideas to help Sly will let us know. I am thinking Diana's message above describing pinching the stool - might be a helpful method!?
I hope all will share the story of Sly with their friends - in hopes of adding to the chip- in - as I am sure the vet costs are adding up and he doesn't have an owner to pay! He needs our help!
:twisted:

Karen

by **Jean** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:26 pm

How is Sly doing?
I have a Manx cat with a narrow pelvic opening. Chynna's hips have gradually turned as she has matured. She kind of bunny hops when she walks.
I give her high fiber food 8 % , 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin and 5cc of Lactulose. I have to really keep her stools soft to evacuate her bowel. I have to really bare down and put more force into emptying her bowel than I do with my paralyzed pets. The stool is usually the consistency of pudding and the width of a pencil. Chynna is only 5#. You really have to stay on top of evacuating the bowel. When I adopted her 2 years ago I thought we would never get her bowel cleaned out.

by **Jean** » Sun May 27, 2012 10:42 am

Karen have you heard anything else about Sly? Hopefully, his caregivers are becoming more familiar with his needs and are better able to manage his bowel and bladder care. Jean

by **MissWhiskers** » Sun May 27, 2012 6:56 pm

Hi,
Yes. Last I heard he was doing well. There was an update, oh, maybe a month ago? I will look for it in a little bit.
And Cleric - NOW Claire - is with Mary Christine now, for about a week? I am behind on reading her last couple of updates. I think she is doing pretty well too, but sounded like MC was getting used to "expressing".
Thank you for asking about Sly - I think he's a Sweetie!!

Karen

by **Jean** » Sun May 27, 2012 11:26 pm

Glad Sly is doing better. I was a little worried since his "chip in" hadn't raised many funds. Is he with a rescue??
Where is MC updating about Claire? I had wondered how she is doing? I gave MC my phone number but never heard back from her.
Both cats are so lucky !!!!!!!Jean