Cat with rear paralysis, has to have bladder expressed

[ginachicclett]

It has been a long road with our little Nova so far. Nova is our 1 year old male domestic kitty. He is our baby. Almost 2 months ago we brought him to our regular vet because I noticed he kept going into his litter box and would yowl while he was urinating in here. When I brought him to the vet they said it was a UTI and sent us home with antibiotics. The next day Nova was still doing this and had began shaking occasionally and looking very uncomfortable so I brought him to the local emergency vet. They kept him overnight and inserted a catheter. They told me to bring him into a regular vet the next day and have his urine checked for crystals. We made an appointment and the next day we dropped Nova off at a new vet. A half an hour later they called asking how long his tail had just been limp and just hanging there. We thought it was just because he was sore. Turns out (we looked at pics I had taken) it had been going on for several days. The x-rays looked normal. The new vet put Nova on an anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. At this point Nova was unable to urinate on his own (we were taught how to express him and caught on pretty well within a week) but was walking fine. The vet was really unsure what was going on with Nova, he seemed to be healthy in every other way. Several days later he began walking on his hocks and really looked like an old arthritic person creeping along so we took him back to the new vet. She gave him the diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome but didn't know if it was due to trauma or a degenerative disease. She started him on propolol after consulting with neurologists. A day later he was beginning to walk on the pads of his feet again and running around and even jumping a little. This lasted about 5 days before Nova's leg became weak looking and he was slow and back on his hocks. Instead of looking like he was stiff and arthritic though, he just looked like he had less muscle control in his legs. We were researching things ourselves like crazy and saw promising information about supplements, cold laser therapy, & chiropractic care so we found a vet that would perform these treatments. We put him on systemic enzymes, chicken liver for B12, prednisolon, and took him in for several cold laser treatments (so far). The latest vet believes that Nova had his tail pulled, which stretched and damaged his nerves and thinks that the leg problems we have seen are just due to inflammation from the original injury and has a decent chance at recovery. 5 days ago Nova seemed to lose about 90% of his control to both of his back legs and no longer walks but drags his back legs along. Yesterday the second to last vet that we are still consulting recommended ponazuril, a very strong antibiotic. So we started him on it but we are considering stopping it because it has given him diarrhea and you can just tell he feels awful. Up until now he has been a very happy cat and very tolerant to everything we have to do to him. He does lay around a lot but he still likes to play, eats well, and enjoys attention. We will keep him around as long as we feel he can still have a quality life. We were just wanting opinions and advice. We have seen many videos of happy and active cats who's rear ends are paralyzed so we have hope. for those that have been through it, around how long did it take for your cat to be somewhat active again? Nova is our baby and we would really do just about anything for him. Thanks!!

[critters]

It does, indeed, sound like a spinal cord injury. I wonder if he overdid his running around while he was feeling better and aggravated it?

[Jean]

Hi, sorry to hear about Nova's injury. I know it must be devastating to you. But, remember your baby is still the kitty you have always loved but he just has a spinal injury.
I pulled a cat off of Craig's list 2 months ago. Sunshine had hung upside down from a fence for over 2 hours before she was rescued. The lady who advertised her on Craig's list had taken her from the owner. I was told she was injured some time this winter. Like I said I have had her for 2 months. She has shown no improvement. But, she is a darling, happy kitty.
I also have 2 cats with paralysis. Jaime I have had for 15 years she was HBC. Caramel was injured when she was attacked by Pitt Bulls.
I express all 3 of these kitties 3 times a day. They are my babies and they mean the world to me. I don't feel my cats see themselves as disabled. The disability is what others see.
A cat like Nova will require more care but if you learn to manage his bowel and bladder he can lead a long and happy life. Jean