Cat/Cerebellar Hypoplasia Poop/Pee Issues ER

[Lindapag]

Hi, I have a 12 year old male cat whom has been healthy all his life and has cerebellar hypoplasia. Never one problem with litter box. Two months ago started falling to side and peeing outside the box. Taken to vet. Antibotics given. No blockage. To sum up things have gotten worse. Vet 7 times past two weeks. Does not urinate for 3 days, we have to relieve his bladder. He deficates outside the litter box also. When he does urinate on his own falls to side and urinates, also he deficates the same way. Tried much bigger litter boxes, but he just poops in front of it. He is being medicated to stimulate his bladder. This is not working. He was given predisone. This did not work. Valium, this did not work. He pees in his sleep also. It seems he has no control over his eliminations anymore. Vet says no blockage, they can not help me anymore. I have tried for 2 months everything and nothing is working. I may have to put him down next week because he does not urinate on his own and he is pooping and peeing everywhere. Can anyone help? Complete Bloodwork, urninalyis, urine culture-All showed fine. Thank you.

[CarolC]

Hi lindapag,

I am not one of the experts on CH here. What little I know (very little) I have not heard of this in association with CH. Perhaps critters or Diana R. or mumpkees will know more when they sign on and read your message. Since both bowel and bladder are affected, it makes sense you are not finding a UTI or blockage, although a UTI could develop if his bladder is not fully emptied several times a day. I wonder if it is something neurological in the brain, but I am not a vet.

I do not have an answer from the medical standpoint, but we have had a lot of people here with cats in diapers. This is a webpage with information on diapering.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php/Diapers_and_male_wraps

http://www.handicappedpets.com/gallery/ ... /index.htm

Here is some information on expressing the bladder (squeezing his tummy ever 8 hours so he pees and empties completely). We have lots of people here expressing both dogs and cats.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Express_a_dog_or_cat

If he is not using his litterbox, I would probably just put disposable or washable pads down around it. Puppytraining pads tend to wrinkle, I like the human underpads that are about a yard square and quilted on one side and waterproof on the other. You could also cut up a mattress pad and get something that is a good size to put under/around the litter box for when he misses.

Perhaps with a combination of expressing his bladder and diapering him, you can keep things clean enough to give him some more time while you try to figure out what is going on. I hope someone else here will have ideas for you. It is sad to think you have cared for this CH kitty for 12 years and now something undiagnosed has come up. It would be a lot of money, but I wonder if an MRI would show anything. If you find out what it is, I hope you will post here as it might help someone else someday.

Here is a link to the CH Kitty Club Yahoo group, in case someone there can shed some light on this.

http://www.chkittyclub.com/pages/home.html

[Lindapag]

Thanks for the information everyone. Vets (four of them now) have leaned towards neuro problem. He already has a neuro problem so they say nothing really I can do. Very, very distressing. Thanks again. Printed on how to express kittie. We have awful problems doing ourselves.

[critters]

It sounds like a spinal problem to me; Koi, my spinal cord injured boy, pees in his sleep, but the baby, my megasevere CHer, doesn't. I couldn't agree more with expressing and diapers; Bendy's Mimosa, who is a brain damaged tripod, among other disabilities, and she's expressed into a litter box. I preferred to express Buddy on towels or into a baby diaper.

[Lindapag]

Hi thanks for your advice. Xanax (that is his name) is 12 years old now and had never peed in his sleep until he has been given all the medications. We are trying to give him drugs to pee because he has not been doing at all. So I attribute the peeing in his sleep to the medications however, I feel it is because he does not feel when he has to urinate anymore and then it just shoots out after a couple of days. He falls to his side and it just pours out. That is why we are learning how to do ourselves instead of running to vet every other day. His pooping outside the litter box (which I saw this morning) seems to related but in which way I don't know. He seems to be going poop always in the same place, edge of my bed. So I put a litter box there and watched him this morning fall to his side and just start to poop in front of the litter box. All this is very strange and stressing. I don't know if I am keeping him alive for selfish reasons. I just can't seem to let this special boy go...

[Lindapag]

Good News! We tried a new approach yesterday. We gave Xanax 2mg. of Valium...ironic...lol...he could not walk for hours and I was heart broken for him. He finally went to sleep. My husband was yelling at me saying "why would you and the vet give him this when he already has a neuro problem?". I said I was desperate and will try anything at this point. Well this morning before I went into the shower I heard a noise and looked and saw something I have not seen in 2 months. Xanax was in the litter box peeing!!! I was actually crying I was so happy, like my child taking his first step. LOL. I am going to cut his dosage to 1/4 of what we gave him last night so he can function and hopefully this will work too. This was not a behavioral issue, but the Valium worked anyway. Probably calming down his insides.....Thanks for everyone whom tried to help....Cross your fingers X

[toomanycats]

I am just now joining this forum. I have an 11-year-old CH kitty who has led a healthy life until now. He has not eaten anything since Saturday (this is Tuesday) and has urinated only once and has not pooped at all since then. I took him to our vet yesterday and he ran CBC, urinalysis, X-rays, and everything is normal. He did notice in the X-ray that he has a lot of poop in his colon but no blockage. Could this be a nerve issue? He literally pushes food away and is not drinking at all. I'm giving him a laxative (from the vet) but it's not working. I will take him back to vet tomorrow but I'm worried what he will tell me.

[critters]

I don't think it's too likely that it's directly related to the CH, but it could be a nerve thing, such as a spinal cord injury. They don't preclude each other; in fact, it may be that CHers are a little more prone to SCI because of their clumsiness. Have you tried super-yummy stuff, like canned food, cheese, lunch meat, Fancy Feast, etc? Some parents swear by KFC chicken picked off the bones and skin removed. Special food like a/d or Recovery (my personal fave) are extra yummy and are also soft enough to be force fed or syringe fed, if necessary.

[toomanycats]

He finally ate a little yesterday (chicken) and this morning he actually pooped a little! I'm very relieved. He's not 100 percent but he's on his way, I think.

[critters]

Is he taking lactulose or other poop softener?

[toomanycats]

Yes, the vet gave me a tube of Laxatone. I guess now that he's getting on in years, he'll need a softener (like old folks and their prune juice!).