Injured kitty found...
Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 11:21 pm
Background: I'm an RN and we have three indoor and one indoor/outdoor kitty. Two days ago, my son's friend found an injured kitty. When he posted on Facebook about it, I offered to help and he brought her over. It was obvious to me that kitty had some sort of spinal injury so my hubby and I took her to the vet. Because the people who found her gave her tylenol (!) for pain medicine, we held off on xrays until we knew if she'd survive the night. She pulled through with flying colors and xrays showed a fracture with compression of the spinal cord. She is able to feel her hind legs but not move them, and seems to have little if no control of her tail.
The vet said it was likely she wouldn't be able to urinate or defecate on her own. This seems to be accurate. She has not gone potty on her own since her accident. I manually expressed urine from her this evening, but am unsure about how to manually express feces from a cat.
She's eating and drinking, she purrs and loves on anyone close enough for her to rub her head against. She also keeps trying to play though we discourage that because we don't want to exacerbate her injury. This evening she started pulling herself around the room by her front feet. Should I be forcing her to stay in a larger carrier so she can't move around? She just cries if we leave her in there.
Is there anything I should be doing for her that I'm not aware of? I've never taken care of a paralyzed animal before. I'm up for it... we already have an epileptic kitty who has special needs. I just want to make sure she is as safe and healthy as I can. Thoughts?
-Terra
PS: I've been attempting to find the kitty's owners, posting all over online and at our local shelter. No one is claiming her. I'm afraid if someone does, they'll have her put to sleep... my hubby said after almost $500 that she is ours now.
The vet said it was likely she wouldn't be able to urinate or defecate on her own. This seems to be accurate. She has not gone potty on her own since her accident. I manually expressed urine from her this evening, but am unsure about how to manually express feces from a cat.
She's eating and drinking, she purrs and loves on anyone close enough for her to rub her head against. She also keeps trying to play though we discourage that because we don't want to exacerbate her injury. This evening she started pulling herself around the room by her front feet. Should I be forcing her to stay in a larger carrier so she can't move around? She just cries if we leave her in there.
Is there anything I should be doing for her that I'm not aware of? I've never taken care of a paralyzed animal before. I'm up for it... we already have an epileptic kitty who has special needs. I just want to make sure she is as safe and healthy as I can. Thoughts?
-Terra
PS: I've been attempting to find the kitty's owners, posting all over online and at our local shelter. No one is claiming her. I'm afraid if someone does, they'll have her put to sleep... my hubby said after almost $500 that she is ours now.