Nerve Damage, couldn't move back legs and can't eliminate

[ninja8]

Hi, My cat Ninja who is 8, i noticed upon rising on Sunday that he could not use his back legs properly, one was dangling on the side when he walked. I took him to the 24hr Vet to get looked at ASAP.

X-rays came back normal, i was told to take him home and return if he didn't use his kitty litter that day. He didn't. He also was not walking at all just dragging his back end. A specialist told me the next day that he most likely had nerve damage which was affecting his ability to eliminate. he advised to chop of his tail and keep him in for observation. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him there, and i also wasn't provided enough information to prove that the removal of his tail would fix the bladder problem. I took him home and to my normal vet.

He has been put one Pred 5mg and mini press. He is walking again now but still has the following:
- still can't eliminate bladder or other on his own
- still has no use of tail
- whilst he is walking now it is still stiff and careful

He does have feeling in his back legs and tail, he gets angry if you squeeze them. He does have anal tightness (apparently this is normally loose if paralysed?)

I am manually expressing his bladder, which is not the easiest to do so i take him in at least once a day to get them to fully empty it as they are better at it then I am. I find it hard to know how much is in there to get it all out, plus he hates it and gets nasty at me.

Has anybody else experienced this, any advise you can provide? they are talking if he doesn't improve in the next week he will need to be put in intensive care to ensure he doesn't get worse, or we need to consider putting him down, which i don't want to do!

Can his nerves repair? Please help!

[critters]

Hi, My cat Ninja who is 8, i noticed upon rising on Sunday that he could not use his back legs properly, one was dangling on the side when he walked. I took him to the 24hr Vet to get looked at ASAP.

X-rays came back normal, i was told to take him home and return if he didn't use his kitty litter that day. He didn't. He also was not walking at all just dragging his back end. A specialist told me the next day that he most likely had nerve damage which was affecting his ability to eliminate. he advised to chop of his tail and keep him in for observation. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him there, and i also wasn't provided enough information to prove that the removal of his tail would fix the bladder problem.It's not likely, in my experience, for magical healing after taking the tail. The spinal cord still has to heal. I took him home and to my normal vet.

He has been put one Pred 5mg and mini press.Pred's good. He is walking again now but still has the following:
- still can't eliminate bladder or other on his own
- still has no use of tail
- whilst he is walking now it is still stiff and careful Walking is a good start.

He does have feeling in his back legs and tail, he gets angry if you squeeze them. He does have anal tightness (apparently this is normally loose if paralysed?)

I am manually expressing his bladder, which is not the easiest to do so i take him in at least once a day to get them to fully empty it as they are better at it then I am. I find it hard to know how much is in there to get it all out, plus he hates it and gets nasty at me. Yeah, they don't usually like it. I had to scruff Buddy, then express him with the other hand.

Has anybody else experienced this, any advise you can provide? they are talking if he doesn't improve in the next week he will need to be put in intensive care to ensure he doesn't get worse,I'm mystified what ICU is supposed to do in this case? or we need to consider putting him down,As long as you can express the poop and pee, for as long as it's necessary, I don't see why you would need to. which i don't want to do!

Can his nerves repair? Please help!

Yes, nerves can repair, and it sounds to me like he's off to a good start! I think I'd have to find a more open-minded vet.

[ninja8]

Thank you for your help, it can be really difficult to know what to do.

I am expressing him a bit better now, I take him out in the garden bed and he stands whilst I do it which seems more relaxing for him, he still moans and groans but is a lot better. How do you know if you have emptied their bladder enough? They are saying he will need to go in to intensive care as he could get more problems from not being emptied. I try at least 3 to 4 times a day as the pred makes him thirsty.

Am I doing enough?

[critters]

Yes, he could get a urinary tract infection (UTI) from not being emptied, but UTIs can be treated. In fact, it's not unusual for critters to be put on UTI antibiotics as a precaution while the parents are learning to express. I'm hoping the vets you're seeing are simply explaining the worst case scenarios just so you know, but you might consider finding vets who are considerably less negative.

As for knowing when they're empty, you can feel it, but it takes experience. You'll get it!