I thought I would post some pictures of Coco's button and the old pezzer tube, which he would bite at all the time. His MINI One nonballoon device works very well and gives him so much more mobility, since he doesn't pay any attention to it. He doesn't need any diapering or protective clothing with the button, unlike the tube.
He looks good, don't you think?
Coco's old pezzer (tube (tube ignored for the moment):
Hello all!
I am so sorry that you all have kitties with health problems as well. I"m looking for support in keeping an incontinent cat. I found Faolan in July and noticed he wasn't going to the bathroom even though he frequently tried. I took him to my vet and found out he had megacolon. I decided to keep him (even though, I'm sure my vet wanted me to put him down) and he had surgery to fix the colon and I also had him neutered at that time (again, my vet thought I was nuts but knew I didn't want him go to go through surgery again and at this point I knew he was the newest member of my family). We've been to the Ohio State Vet Clinic a number of times and with the use of cisapride and lactulose, pooping is going fine. it's the urinary issues that have become a problem. He was started on bethanecol but we stopped that about a month ago. He seems to pee when he is very relaxed or if he's bathing his pubic region. I have another appt. with OSU next month to reevaluate. the vet there has been very good.
I"ve had Faolan confined to the small bathroom and two days ago he started spending time in a "cat playpen." he's very unreliable as to when he will pee and how often. My brother lives with me and is less than supportive, very few of my friends understand and the rest of my family looks at me with pity. Everyone wants me to put him outside or to put him down. they feel he is costing me too much money and it's not worth the effort to try and keep my house odor free. I can't get people to stop and listen that he is healthy otherwise. Anything you can suggest will be much appreciated. every day is a struggle to try and keep my sanity, keep Faolan alive and make sure my other two cats (age 7 and 16) arent' stressed as well.
I've read something about urinary sphincter incompetence. do you know anything about that?
I"m going to do some research on the "button" that Coco has as well.
We think that Faolan is about 2 years old and was probably hit by a car that fractured his tail and his right hip. This happened way before I got him and the bones have already healed.
Thanks for reading all this. I appreciate it.
Buddy got a Pezzer 4 years ago because his spinal cord injury gave him a funky spasm at the neck of his bladder. He was probably one of the first to have the surgery, and the place where he got it was AWFUL. They left the tubing about 18 inches long, and, of course, it fell out very quickly. I think they've learned a lot since then.
I just wanted to update everyone on Coco, two years after his injury. I did have the low-profile cystostomy button (infant's feeding button) surgically placed in his bladder/abdomen wall in summer 2009, so that urine could easily be drained via the one-way valve. The button was in for about 10 months but then he contracted a bad UTI that we could not clear. Turned out some crud had formed on the device so no antibiotic could do enough. However by that time, Coco was making some successful attempts to urinate on his own, so we didn't risk putting another device in. I had found that if I stimulated his bottom with a towel (as in drying him off after a bottom-bath), he was starting to pee spontaneously. This technique helps me ensure his bladder gets fully emptied regularly. As time has gone on, he is able to pee without any assistance. With miralax, cisapride, a wet food diet, and careful watching, he is almost entirely able to manage his own bowels as well.
Coco was never expected to recover any of these functions as per the neurologist. He's doing great now and thanks to all those who did their best to help us!
