Kitten with fecal inconvenience?

[Cjr2994]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here. So backstory, I'm a vet tech but this issue has me and my vets I work for stumped. I work with a local rescue and this week I was at the shelter doing intake. I found this 8 week old female kitten in a cage with a few other kittens and she was just hanging out in the litter box, playing with a friend. I noticed she didn't have a tail and that she had litter caked all over her anus and vulva. I brought her to my clinic and we cleaned her up. She has a UTI and some urine scalding from the caking around her vulva. She's now on Clavamox and she goes into her litter box and squats to pee but nothing comes out. Then she will pee on the ground or in her sleep but my vet says that's classic UTI symptoms and hopefully will clear up with the clavamox. The other issue is she doesn't seem to be able to control her bowels or realize when she's pooping. She does it while she's walking and playing. The stool is formed so it's just little nuggets. She has anal tone, it's not just flaccid all the time. My vet says it's possible that she could have some spinal issues/her spine may be too short but not sure since she has no issues with running around or jumping. I'm wondering if you guys had any idea what it could be? She's happy otherwise. She loves to run and play and eats well.

[CarolC]

I wonder if she might have Manx Syndrome. Depending on how much tail she has, she may be a rumpy manx or a stumpy manx. She may be mildly affected or more clearly affected. She is still adoptable if the adopter will educate themselves and be prepared for any special needs. Here is a video of a kitten with Manx Syndrome from the Downey CA animal shelter who was adopted:

https://purrfectlove.net/2015/06/what-is-manx-syndrome/

Here is the adoption:

http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/bebe-k ... scue-video

[Cjr2994]

Thank you so much for the reply! She doesn't have any tail at all, not even a stump. She produced nice, formed stool and it comes out on its own but I don't think she realizes its happening. We will have to wait to clear up her UTI before we can be sure what's causing the urinary incontenience. I've been reading about Manx syndrome, sounds a lot like her. But she doesn't have an abnormal gait and she seems to have anal tone. Are there different variations?

[critters]

Yes, like other spinal cord problems there can be a variety of "looks" to the situation. This baby sounds like Manx Syndrome to me, too, but she may well improve as she grows up. She sounds pretty high functioning to me.