Urine infection & skin irritation
Urine infection & skin irritation
Hi I have a gorgeous cat called Amber who had an injury 4 months ago. We are not certain how it happened but they said she was attacked and fell from a great height. She had surgery for hernia due to the fall from a great height, then once she went back they noticed a problem with her tail. We paid alot money for the surgery & vet said they could do no more for her as she is incontinent & tail damaged best to put her to sleep. We got second opinion from another vet who said hospital rest was needed so she was taken in for 10 days to be cared for bladder emptied and rest. The vet was positive she would regain control of bladder and tail function for which she has not. We had pre tail op chat and he advised us to put her to sleep, we refused and went ahead with op to remove tail (done Mon 17th Oct 2016) she is still in hospital tail fine but she is a little sore around bottom area so they wanted to keep her in. When she is at home she goes to the litter box and pee small amounts. She wears a cone and has done for some time but she manages to get to her bottom area to lick somehow! I want to bring her home and was hoping someone could give me some advice/step by step on how they stop skin irritation because amber seems to suffer with this as she does dribble a few days once home from vets, and also she has some puddles during the night when she is fully rested. also she suffers from urine infections. we were told be the vet that she is emptying her own bladder so we do not need to express her. If we can somehow manage to stop urine infections & skin irritation from leaking bladder on her legs we will be so happy & so will amber as we wash her twice a day and as and when in the day. we use water to remove urine, then previdine antiseptic wash, rinse of with clean water, paper towel dry then sudocrem. this is what was advised by vet but its not enough as her skin is still irritated hence having to stay in hospital to clear up skin irritation. Sorry for long post but getting so upset now as i am just not doing something right. We have spent 2,000 in 4 months on vet bills. I just want amber to be able to go bk to being such a happy cat with minimal washing & medication as possible. Any advice is so much appreciated especially on cleaning routine/products used to stop irritation.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
These are only comments, I am not a vet. It is wonderful that she is going some on her own. Yay! Improvement tends to be gradual with nerve injury and sometimes even a 1% improvement at a certain point is the difference between being able to do something and not being able to do something. In the meantime you are in kind of a changing condition and are assessing and adjusting her care to correspond with the current status as it changes. To me (not being a vet) from a practical standpoint, I would be expressing her until she is closer to 100% on her emptying. She is regaining control, but it is not complete yet, she's just not quite there yet. One thing I have seen (with dogs but it could be done with cats, too) is where you let the dog pee as well as the dog is able, and then right afterward you express to get the rest. That way the dog has a chance to respond to nature, which is good, and by expressing afterward you know the dog is empty, it reduces dribbling, and helps prevent urinary infections.
There are a variety of medications that work to change bladder function. It can be trial and error to find the right medication or combination. There are variations in bladder control. Some pets will dribble a lot, some have partial control and will be dry for a while after expressing but may dribble after a certain number of hours, and some are at the other end and can't urinate at all. If you can find a combination of medication that has her holding her urine a little longer between trips to the box, or helps her empty her bladder more completely when she goes to the box, then you will have less urine on her skin. Here are two articles which describe some of the options of medication, and they are both fairly old so there may be newer options as well.
https://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/P ... R00442.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... ourceID=42
On treating the actual skin irritation, I have no experience with the products you are using but it sounds like a good program. The only thing I would add is to keep her shaved on the area that is getting wet, as that will make her easier to clean. The fur will grow back later when things have improved.
I am sure this is the last thing you want to do, and it sounds like it is not going to be needed, but diapering is one more option. The advantage of a diaper is that the new diapers have a gel lock interior core that traps urine, and a dry weave top layer that is next to the skin, and therefore the skin stays dry and healthy. I can give you some photos of cats in diapers and some videos on putting diapers on cats. But it sounds like if you can just get her dribbling a little more under control, she will be fine while she continues to recover, so I would probably be inclined to try to focus on that instead of diapers since she is recovering. Also, just want to say that 4 months no doubt seems like a long time, but healing is still continuing, so hang in there. Recovery from nerve injury can be slow, but good things come with time. I hope something in this helps to give a few ideas.
There are a variety of medications that work to change bladder function. It can be trial and error to find the right medication or combination. There are variations in bladder control. Some pets will dribble a lot, some have partial control and will be dry for a while after expressing but may dribble after a certain number of hours, and some are at the other end and can't urinate at all. If you can find a combination of medication that has her holding her urine a little longer between trips to the box, or helps her empty her bladder more completely when she goes to the box, then you will have less urine on her skin. Here are two articles which describe some of the options of medication, and they are both fairly old so there may be newer options as well.
https://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/P ... R00442.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... ourceID=42
On treating the actual skin irritation, I have no experience with the products you are using but it sounds like a good program. The only thing I would add is to keep her shaved on the area that is getting wet, as that will make her easier to clean. The fur will grow back later when things have improved.
I am sure this is the last thing you want to do, and it sounds like it is not going to be needed, but diapering is one more option. The advantage of a diaper is that the new diapers have a gel lock interior core that traps urine, and a dry weave top layer that is next to the skin, and therefore the skin stays dry and healthy. I can give you some photos of cats in diapers and some videos on putting diapers on cats. But it sounds like if you can just get her dribbling a little more under control, she will be fine while she continues to recover, so I would probably be inclined to try to focus on that instead of diapers since she is recovering. Also, just want to say that 4 months no doubt seems like a long time, but healing is still continuing, so hang in there. Recovery from nerve injury can be slow, but good things come with time. I hope something in this helps to give a few ideas.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Thank you so much for replying. Amber has legs, belly, and bottom area shaved by the vets to keep all areas clear and to keep an eye on her legs etc.
We discussed using diapers with the vet but they have said no as she needs to have the skin healed before thinking about putting a diaper on her.
We have also spoke to the vet about expressing amber when she had accident but they said no due to her internal injuries, they expressed her daily for us, then after awhile they said she did not need expressing as she was emptying her bladder herself. but the problem is she empties her bladder doing periods of rest/sleep when she is totally settled. hence urine on the skin/legs/sides etc.
also we never know if she is fully emptying her bladder as she keeps getting urine infections. the vet said the muscles around her bits are not shutting up properly due to damage hence infections.
We discussed using diapers with the vet but they have said no as she needs to have the skin healed before thinking about putting a diaper on her.
We have also spoke to the vet about expressing amber when she had accident but they said no due to her internal injuries, they expressed her daily for us, then after awhile they said she did not need expressing as she was emptying her bladder herself. but the problem is she empties her bladder doing periods of rest/sleep when she is totally settled. hence urine on the skin/legs/sides etc.
also we never know if she is fully emptying her bladder as she keeps getting urine infections. the vet said the muscles around her bits are not shutting up properly due to damage hence infections.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Hello from the house of incontinent and semi-continent cats.
thank you for not putting her to sleep.
chronic urinary infections are a problem with incontinent cats. diet is a huge factor. What is she eating? I keep my guys on prescription urinary tract food as much as possible. there are some over the counter commercial urinary tract diets too. as much canned as possible. You want as much fluid intake as you can get. I have several fountains because the cats seem to drink more wit them.
I'm glad she is shaved.
I do not think emptying her bladder when she is sleeping is a good thing because then she is lying in the pee, and as you said you don't know if she's really emptying.
It hasn't been very long since the surgery, or the injury, nerves take a long time to heal. It is great that she has some function on her own.
I would recommend expressing her bladder before you go to bed and, as suggested, helping her in the litterbox to make sure her bladder is empty.
part of the problem is the infeciton, it makes them pee frequently but small amounts. Does the vet have her on any pain meds or anything for inflammation? That can make it a lot easier for her to pee. I assume she is on antibiotics.
the skin, ah, the great battle. sound slike you are doing a great job of keeping her clean. I use a lot of puppy pads when they are leaking. it saves on laundry (which i already have too much of) and helps to keep the urine away from them. If you can get artificial fleece that is very good at wicking the moisture to whatever is under it and providing a soft dry barrier.
I'm not familiar with the skin cream you are using, there are many good skin creams. aslong as it isn't the white paste used for diaper rash that is made with zinc oxide (it is poisonous to cats). Antibiotics can help the skin heal, too.
My spina bifida boy wears diapers adn periodically gets very irritated. it can happen very fast. I once took him to teh vet because his little sheath had swelled up and looked like a grape! poor boy! What helps this, is a cream called silver sulfadizine. it is prescription in teh usa, i'm not sure what country you are in. it is not the same as the silver oitnments i see sold as a "natural treatment" please don't use those, they can poison the liver.
cats are clever when it comes to cones! When I had to keep cherry from licking her legs I ended up getting a newborn size sundress and putting that on her. I had to use some vetwrap to wrap it snug behind her arms or she woudl wiggle out of it. It hung down and covered her legs so she couldn't wash, but it wasn't pressing on her skin.
expressing the bladder is the key to keeping her clean. Are there other vets in your area who you could call and see if any of them have experience with incontinent animals and bladder expression? you never know, one might. Sometimes you have to look at your vet and say "i've talked to all tehse people who have incontinent animals and they all insist this is key." I've had incontinet cats from injury or birth defects since 2002, so I have a little experience. i work very closely with my vets, and I talk to a lot of other people who have incontinent animals. You can express gently so you aren't pressing on other areas that may be sore from her injury. after two months I would hope most of the swelling and bruising has resolved. there are videos that explain bladder expression if you look at the top of this forum.it can be frustrating at first, bladders are like slippery water balloons and kitties are wiggly, so the first dozen or so, or maybe more times it will be frustrating. then one day, hey it works! suddently it's like your fingers know what to feel for.
if your vet does laser therapy that can also be useful in getting skin to heal. I have a cat who is allergic to everything, it makes him itch. Sometimes it gets awful and his fur falls out and his skin is horribly irritated. no amount of allergy meds or baths or creams seem to help. We did cold laser treatment on him, it takes several treatments, is totally painless, each treatment just takes about 10 minutes. wow. the difference was amazing, it healed up, so you might want to ask if they do that.
thanks for posting!
thank you for not putting her to sleep.
chronic urinary infections are a problem with incontinent cats. diet is a huge factor. What is she eating? I keep my guys on prescription urinary tract food as much as possible. there are some over the counter commercial urinary tract diets too. as much canned as possible. You want as much fluid intake as you can get. I have several fountains because the cats seem to drink more wit them.
I'm glad she is shaved.
I do not think emptying her bladder when she is sleeping is a good thing because then she is lying in the pee, and as you said you don't know if she's really emptying.
It hasn't been very long since the surgery, or the injury, nerves take a long time to heal. It is great that she has some function on her own.
I would recommend expressing her bladder before you go to bed and, as suggested, helping her in the litterbox to make sure her bladder is empty.
part of the problem is the infeciton, it makes them pee frequently but small amounts. Does the vet have her on any pain meds or anything for inflammation? That can make it a lot easier for her to pee. I assume she is on antibiotics.
the skin, ah, the great battle. sound slike you are doing a great job of keeping her clean. I use a lot of puppy pads when they are leaking. it saves on laundry (which i already have too much of) and helps to keep the urine away from them. If you can get artificial fleece that is very good at wicking the moisture to whatever is under it and providing a soft dry barrier.
I'm not familiar with the skin cream you are using, there are many good skin creams. aslong as it isn't the white paste used for diaper rash that is made with zinc oxide (it is poisonous to cats). Antibiotics can help the skin heal, too.
My spina bifida boy wears diapers adn periodically gets very irritated. it can happen very fast. I once took him to teh vet because his little sheath had swelled up and looked like a grape! poor boy! What helps this, is a cream called silver sulfadizine. it is prescription in teh usa, i'm not sure what country you are in. it is not the same as the silver oitnments i see sold as a "natural treatment" please don't use those, they can poison the liver.
cats are clever when it comes to cones! When I had to keep cherry from licking her legs I ended up getting a newborn size sundress and putting that on her. I had to use some vetwrap to wrap it snug behind her arms or she woudl wiggle out of it. It hung down and covered her legs so she couldn't wash, but it wasn't pressing on her skin.
expressing the bladder is the key to keeping her clean. Are there other vets in your area who you could call and see if any of them have experience with incontinent animals and bladder expression? you never know, one might. Sometimes you have to look at your vet and say "i've talked to all tehse people who have incontinent animals and they all insist this is key." I've had incontinet cats from injury or birth defects since 2002, so I have a little experience. i work very closely with my vets, and I talk to a lot of other people who have incontinent animals. You can express gently so you aren't pressing on other areas that may be sore from her injury. after two months I would hope most of the swelling and bruising has resolved. there are videos that explain bladder expression if you look at the top of this forum.it can be frustrating at first, bladders are like slippery water balloons and kitties are wiggly, so the first dozen or so, or maybe more times it will be frustrating. then one day, hey it works! suddently it's like your fingers know what to feel for.
if your vet does laser therapy that can also be useful in getting skin to heal. I have a cat who is allergic to everything, it makes him itch. Sometimes it gets awful and his fur falls out and his skin is horribly irritated. no amount of allergy meds or baths or creams seem to help. We did cold laser treatment on him, it takes several treatments, is totally painless, each treatment just takes about 10 minutes. wow. the difference was amazing, it healed up, so you might want to ask if they do that.
thanks for posting!
http://www.alittletlc.com
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Hi BendyMom thank you so much for replying. I am based in the UK and stumbled across this amazing forum, It has such fantastic help & advice available.
Amber is only 3 years old so far to young to put to sleep. The vets gave us/her prescription food but she will not eat it, we have tried many, many brands with the kitties but found they like Gourmet perle sachets and Gourmet gold pate food so they have that. They also have 4-5 different dry food brands that we leave out during the day dotted around the house in case they get peckish. We have water bowls and a cat mate fountain and she is now starting to drink more from them. I have found amber has never been one to drink much water the other 3 cats drink well but not so much amber. All cat trees, cat leather chairs, baskets, caves etc etc have puppy pads on and then some we have a few square sheet things that urine absorb through onto the bottom layer so she is not laying on urine while she sleeps (note to self need to get more to put on all stuff lol). We have noticed that the suda crem is not working so we are going to try Cavilon barrier cream see if that works.
so much for all your fab knowledge and sharing it with me as at times it does seem as if it a lonely journey caring for amber especially the very early morning cleans & late night cleaning routine. my husband is a rock & I would never cope without his invaluable help.
All the best to you & your lovely kitties xxx
Amber is only 3 years old so far to young to put to sleep. The vets gave us/her prescription food but she will not eat it, we have tried many, many brands with the kitties but found they like Gourmet perle sachets and Gourmet gold pate food so they have that. They also have 4-5 different dry food brands that we leave out during the day dotted around the house in case they get peckish. We have water bowls and a cat mate fountain and she is now starting to drink more from them. I have found amber has never been one to drink much water the other 3 cats drink well but not so much amber. All cat trees, cat leather chairs, baskets, caves etc etc have puppy pads on and then some we have a few square sheet things that urine absorb through onto the bottom layer so she is not laying on urine while she sleeps (note to self need to get more to put on all stuff lol). We have noticed that the suda crem is not working so we are going to try Cavilon barrier cream see if that works.
so much for all your fab knowledge and sharing it with me as at times it does seem as if it a lonely journey caring for amber especially the very early morning cleans & late night cleaning routine. my husband is a rock & I would never cope without his invaluable help. All the best to you & your lovely kitties xxx
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
ambie wrote:Hi I have a gorgeous cat called Amber who had an injury 4 months ago. We are not certain how it happened but they said she was attacked and fell from a great height. She had surgery for hernia due to the fall from a great height, then once she went back they noticed a problem with her tail. We paid alot money for the surgery & vet said they could do no more for her as she is incontinent & tail damaged best to put her to sleep. We got second opinion from another vet who said hospital rest was needed so she was taken in for 10 days to be cared for bladder emptied and rest. The vet was positive she would regain control of bladder and tail function for which she has not. We had pre tail op chat and he advised us to put her to sleep, we refused and went ahead with op to remove tail (done Mon 17th Oct 2016) she is still in hospital tail fine but she is a little sore around bottom area so they wanted to keep her in. When she is at home she goes to the litter box and pee small amounts. She wears a cone and has done for some time but she manages to get to her bottom area to lick somehow!Are you sure? Pee itself can cause urine scald. I want to bring her home and was hoping someone could give me some advice/step by step on how they stop skin irritation because amber seems to suffer with this as she does dribble a few days once home from vets, and also she has some puddles during the night when she is fully rested. also she suffers from urine infections. If she's getting (keeping) that many UTIs, it sounds to me like she needs to be expressed. Expressing would also limit what leaks. we were told be the vet that she is emptying her own bladder so we do not need to express her. If we can somehow manage to stop urine infections & skin irritation from leaking bladder on her legs we will be so happy & so will amber as we wash her twice a day and as and when in the day. we use water to remove urine, then previdine antiseptic wash,Personally, this seems like an awful lot of washing. I wouldn't use soap/shampoo much at all because it's so drying, and paper towels wouldn't get her very dry, which might then "chap" her skin. Could you use a blow dryer? rinse of with clean water, paper towel dry then sudocrem. A good skin protector spray is Cavilon. I don't know that cream, but if it has zinc in it you will have to use diapers or something to keep her away from it because zinc is toxic to critters.this is what was advised by vet but its not enough as her skin is still irritated hence having to stay in hospital to clear up skin irritation. Sorry for long post but getting so upset now as i am just not doing something right. We have spent 2,000 in 4 months on vet bills. I just want amber to be able to go bk to being such a happy cat with minimal washing & medication as possible. Any advice is so much appreciated especially on cleaning routine/products used to stop irritation.
Is she taking any pee meds? In my experience, phenoxybenzamine (PBZ) is terrific for relaxing a spastic bladder, while bethanechol can tighten up a floppy bladder (and this may be what your baby has since she's leaky).Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
i hate it when they turn their noses up at the food that is best for them.
ok, find some vitamin C powder, soemtimes it is sold for small animal pets, and give her extra vitamin C. This will help acidify her urine, as much as possible stay away from fish. I have a Cat It flower fountain, so it has like 5 streams of water coming off the flower. they love it. sometimes adding a little water to dry food (i call it making cereal) is appealing, woth a try at least. you could present her with a small bowl of floating kibble and see how she responds. I'm glad you found us too! We're here to help.
can you upload a pict, we'd love to see her!
ok, find some vitamin C powder, soemtimes it is sold for small animal pets, and give her extra vitamin C. This will help acidify her urine, as much as possible stay away from fish. I have a Cat It flower fountain, so it has like 5 streams of water coming off the flower. they love it. sometimes adding a little water to dry food (i call it making cereal) is appealing, woth a try at least. you could present her with a small bowl of floating kibble and see how she responds. I'm glad you found us too! We're here to help.
can you upload a pict, we'd love to see her!
http://www.alittletlc.com
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Thank you everyone for replying to my post. everyone has been so kind and helpful.
I would love to share a pic as she is such a character but I have no idea how to put a pic to my profile or on a reply sorry.
I would love to share a pic as she is such a character but I have no idea how to put a pic to my profile or on a reply sorry.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
- Amber and her sister Ellie asleep.
- Attachments
-
- This is Amber sitting on the sun deck of their cat house outside.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
She is beautiful!!
How are things going?
How are things going?
http://www.alittletlc.com
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Good Morning Bendymom, she certainly is beautiful to us. She had her tail removed a week today, and has been home a few days now & seems ok within herself. She is still peeing and pooing anywhere at the moment but she does go into the litter trays but rarely does anything. She finished antibiotics yesterday for another urine infection & we have just bought some Hills special food for her to try, just waiting for it to be delivered to the store then we will try her on that, fingers crossed it will help to reduce infections. (so the product states!) Hopefully in another 2 weeks she should be aloud outside as it has been nearly 5 months now since accident & I am sure she would love to go out for couple hours during the day.
Thank you for all your great advice & support.
Our hope is for amber to make a full recovery and be able to use the litter tray to go to the toilet & not have to be washed twice a day bless er she does hate it soooo much being picked up and washed.
Have a lovely day x
Thank you for all your great advice & support.
Our hope is for amber to make a full recovery and be able to use the litter tray to go to the toilet & not have to be washed twice a day bless er she does hate it soooo much being picked up and washed.
Have a lovely day x
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
What a cutie! Have you tried expressing her? They usually have to learn how it works, but most of them eventually get used to it. Some will even help with the process, but just tolerating it is OK with me.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Hi Critters, we asked the vet about learning how to express her & they said No, no need as she empties herself now during the day. At the beginning I was taking her to the vets daily so they could express her as they said we would do more harm with her internal injuries, but over the course of a couple months the vet said one day she was empty, went bk few more days and she was empty so they said she is emptying herself now so no need to bring her in for expressing. I also mentioned it again last week with regard to making infections and suggested we learn how to express her to make sure she is emptying properly & they said no she does not need to as she is emptying herself during the course of the day on her own. I get the feeling they did not want us to express her? maybe due to the nature of her internal injuries I just don't know.
Re: Urine infection & skin irritation
Many (most?) vets also think that we can't learn to express. The vet we used when I got Buddy, my first expressed boy, was that way. They forget that THEY weren't born knowing how to express, either!!