Dislocated sacrum/NERVE DAMAGE/manual bladder expression

[CheCharlie'sMom]

My name is Che and Charlie is the cat who walked off the streets of Richmond, Ca and into my humble apartment over two years ago. We now reside in Sonoma County, Ca and Charlie, up until two months ago to the day, lived a very happy life as an outdoor/sleep indoor cat. This all changed when he came home after a day out with a dragging tail and wobbly in the hind legs. He was still able to walk and jump up onto the window sill, so I kept an eye on him. Later that night, I found him curled up in the closet. When I went to pick him up, he howled in deep pain. We rushed him to the nearest 24 hour pet ER (30 minutes away), where they discovered via X-ray that Charlie suffered a dislocation of the first caudal vertebrae in the tail where it attaches to the sacrum. His tail was amputated and he spent the next four days in the hospital with IV and catheter since he was not able to pee on his own (though he was able to poop). We were told we would have to manually express his bladder three times a day and that they would teach us how to do it.
Charlie came home but, being a former stray badass, he was very opposed to the idea of having his bladder manually expressed by myself and my roommate (it takes two of us to do it because he is so opinionated). And so, with the help of phenoxybenzamine and bethanechol, we have been manually expressing him three times daily. About a month into it, we hit a bump in the road- we could not express his bladder and had to rush back to the ER at 3am to have them "unblock" him using a catheter. He came home and a week later (on the exact same day), Charlie was blocked again. Trip to the ER was an ominous one, where we were told that Charlie would either have to undergo a perineal urethrostomy OR...say goodbye to him. With the help of my roommate, we immediately sprung for the surgery to save Charlie. $2500 later (AFTER the initial $2000 spent on the amputation and hospital stay), Charlie's urethra was reconstructed to that of a female's, and he came home again to heal. One week spent confined to the bathroom, and two with an E-collar on (he was MISERABLE, poor guy), but he recovered from the surgery and we are now back to manually expressing him three times a day with (knock on wood) no more blockages.
I have been taking Charlie on walks with a harness and leash (which I feel he resents but will do anything at this point to be back outside), and he often digs, postures and tries to pee on his own. Only little amounts of urine come out on his own but he can do this several times in one walk, and also has begun to do it in the litter box. The vet he has been going to since the injury is very happy to hear of this news and says to be patient as nerves are notorious for taking forever to regenerate. I was told that the nerve damage he sustained could or could not repair- but only time would tell. I am wondering if anyone out there has been in a similar situation with their cat and how long (if at all) it took for their cat to pee on their own??? I want to let Charlie go outside on his own but the vet says that could be dangerous as he might take off for an entire day and we could do damage to his kidney if we aren't able to get to him and express his bladder....can anyone shed some insight/experience they've personally gone through with their pet, please???

[Christine]

Hi Che....and welcome. Some of our cat experts will be along shortly. Glad you found us!

[CheCharlie'sMom]

Thank you, Christine

[Christine]

Hang in there...you would usually hear something by now..I know one of the ladies was having internet problems.

[Sasha's Mom]

Hi Che,

First of all, you've already provided a few miracles for Charlie and I certainly agree with the vet not to let him out until he is able to completely eliminate on his own. Tough break for Charlie, but he'll appreciate your tough love in the end.

Since there appears to be nerve damage in addition to Charlie's other problems, I would like to suggest a Bulgarian remedy, Nivalin: http://www.biogenicstimulants.com/sopha ... alin.phtml (Please read everything on the website for a complete explanation.)

I am just about to begin another round of Nivalin injections on my Sasha in another effort to help rebuild the nerve connections that have deteriorated since my return to the US. If you like, I can have my husband send the "Nivalin tablets 5 mg x 60 # 418-09", of which you would use 1/2 a tablet daily for 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off. Having them sent rather than buying on the website is MUCH less expensive and there is nothing like this available in the US. The Nivalin from the site linked above is the original and completely natural product. Any US counterparts are synthetic and I would not trust them. The dosage for a cat is the same as for a child "From 1 to 2 years of age: 0.25 – 1 mg (= 0.1 – 0.4 ml of 2.5% solution)". One ampoule serves you for four days.

It's late now and I shall check back tomorrow.


I use the ampoule for injections as the pill is extremely bitter and I could never get the little piece down Sasha without having him spit it out. He is mailing me a package next Thursday, so if you would like to try the Nivalin in pill form (or if you are comfortable with injections, the "Nivalin ampoule 2.5 mg 1 ml # 418-17") I can ask for an addition to the parcel. Don't worry about the cost, it is so inexpensive from the pharmacy, I will gladly add it.

[critters]

Oh, how well I know about opinionated boys who won't be expressed!! My usual technique is to scruff the victim, hold him on his back on the floor on a "blanket" of folded towel, and express with the other hand.

I found that bethanechol (sp) and phenoxybenzamine were at cross-purposes with my boys; PBZ worked better for those with spastic, tight bladders and beth. was better for those with loose, floppy ones. Buddy, who had the spastic bladder, was IMPOSSIBLE to express with beth.

Yes, nerves take a long time to heal, but it happens.

[Sasha's Mom]

My apologies for leaving you hanging without a decent response. The last month has been a bit hectic with my dearest uncle walking steadily toward the Rainbow Bridge. A couple weeks ago, Sasha and I visited my uncle in the nursing home and uncle finally got to meet him. One thing about Sasha is he travels extremely well, which makes caring for him on trips a breeze. He adjusts very quickly to any new environment and whether in a crate or carrier, he plops down, makes himself comfortable and never complains.

Anyway, there are two links below of expressing Sasha and two links showing the box setup.
Cats like to feel secure if you are doing something different with them and not to make little of any other styles of expressing a cat, I can't imagine doing it any other way than without the little box set-up as illustrated below.

As I've mentioned before, the box gives you control of the amount of wiggling a cat can manage in a confined area (and you are not breaking you back as with some other methods), the cat is positioned in a "natural" squatting position and in a short period of time, the cat will learn to feel secure in the box.

If you decided to go with this method, let kitty sniff the box in the exact area you will be doing the expressing and let kitty do whatever it is kitty's with a new item. I found that having the box to the right of the sink and then turning on the cold water to attract kitty's natural curiosity is a great way to get him in the necessary position for expressing. He may try to play with the water, but it certainly gets their mind off what you are doing and helps them relax.

One thing I can not emphasize enough is to be GENTLE with expressing both bladder and bowels. So many videos show this aggressive squeezing of the bladder or the bowels and it is completely unnecessary. In fact, the more gentle the manipulation, the better the result. GENTLY squeeze the bladder as if milking a cow, pushing downward toward the urethra. If manipulating the bowels, never, never force! Gently massage the intestines in an UP and DOWN motion. Massaging GENTLY in both directions actually stimulates the bowels and you may notice the anus begin "throbbing" before kitty eliminates.

If the stool is hard, I have found that about 6 ml (about 1 tablespoon) daily of natural, organic canned pumpkin http://www.nummytumtum.com/products.html (force fed through a syringe if not accepted by the kitty) is the most sure fire way of adding sufficient fiber without additives and after two days, you will see a marked difference in the stool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVdJI-qsOus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFTKuR9-uc

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawik ... _setup.jpg


http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawik ... xpress.jpg


Hope this helps and now off to take care of Sasha!