Post Spine Injury- Bathing Question!

[ElleRiggs]

Are you going to call your vet or an emergency vet tonight? This is serious.

The vet we took her to last weekend was reassuring. Said that the constipation is likely due to a multitude of factors (injury, drugs, dehydration), but that each of these is expected as well as the pain/shivering as a result of the strain. He said to push water as much as possible, make her comfortable for tonight, and call my vet first thing in the morning. This was the plan for a verbal check-up for Nala anyway, so more than likely I'll end up taking her in tomorrow for meds. I'm still not happy that she's hurting, but he said the pain we cause by moving her/scaring her would be worse than just waiting until the AM.

 

[Furballsmom]

Poor baby!!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Just adding my *PRAYERS* and best wishes for Nala, ElleRiggs after reading the threads, hoping that the vet visit has yielded some positive results. I have not had experience in this subject, but with a couple of my beloved cats when they were older and not always able to be fastidious, I would run a basin of lukewarm water with mild cruelty-free shampoo, and lower them into it to wash just their hind quarters, then hold them and repeat the process with a rinse or two in the basin, and towel them dry. I don't know if this would be helpful as you say Nala voids frequently, but if you are able to express her bladder manually, it might be. All the best!

 

[Furballsmom]

What happened at the vets? Did she have to have an enema?

 

[nahui]

Hi ElleRiggs , Fetén at first was unable to poop on his own, so we had to stimulate him by positioning his body on my right forearm for stability and gently massaging his belly with the right hand, then with a lukewarm cloth, massage his anus to cause it to contract and push the poop out. It usually took anywhere from a few seconds to 10 minutes to get him to poop this way.

 

[ElleRiggs]

What happened at the vets? Did she have to have an enema?

Unfortunately Nala does have a UTI. Woke up Monday to a lot of blood and a pretty shivery, pained kitty. This was definitely my top fear for her. She has antibiotics and Laxatone on board now. Surprisingly she was not very constipated. The Laxatone has helped with higher volume poop, so that's highly recommended. We noticed this morning that her urine already looks less like nearly pure blood coming out. nahui hit the nail on the head with the sanitary shave and diaper rash cream- it's exactly what the vet recommended!! She has pretty significant urine scald, but the cream has already made a huge difference and we're able to keep her much drier without the fur there.
Honestly I'm a little more concerned about her secondary infection rather than the paralysis at this point. She does have her first PT appointment on Friday. I'm really looking forward to that given she feels up to it (fingers crossed).
My worry today is that she is sneezing a lot and seems to be extra tired. I know antibiotics tend to make you feel cruddy. Vet said yesterday that she didn't have a fever and no nasal/eye discharge so he wasn't too concerned. My kitty before Nala had the sneezes that turned into something fatal so I think that's why I'm worked up about those sniffles.
Nala seems like she is still in a lot of pain tonight- she keeps contracting like she wants to pee, but nothing comes out (she had a very large output this early afternoon). In particular this evening she's not even dribbling. I tried my hand at expressing her bladder (vet did this yesterday), but can't seem to find her bladder even when I press hard into her abdomen. Any advice with that? It might hurt, but maybe if I do it for her she will have less painful contractions.

 

[ElleRiggs]

Just adding my *PRAYERS* and best wishes for Nala, ElleRiggs after reading the threads, hoping that the vet visit has yielded some positive results. I have not had experience in this subject, but with a couple of my beloved cats when they were older and not always able to be fastidious, I would run a basin of lukewarm water with mild cruelty-free shampoo, and lower them into it to wash just their hind quarters, then hold them and repeat the process with a rinse or two in the basin, and towel them dry. I don't know if this would be helpful as you say Nala voids frequently, but if you are able to express her bladder manually, it might be. All the best!

Thank you, tarasgirl06 ! We had a good vet visit. It wasn't the best news, but we hopefully got what we needed to help with what turned out to be a UTI instead of constipation. Did either of your fur babies ever fight being held into the basin? I've been hunting around for good holding techniques for her, but she is very agitated and makes it seem like I'm hurting her even when I try to move her to take meds or switch the side she's laying on. I watched some Youtube videos about expressing her bladder but they all show themselves expressing kitty's bladder by holding them up. I'm wondering if there's a way I can do this while she's in a position on her side.
Thank you for your thoughts- I really do appreciate them! Hoping she gets some relief soon.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Thanks so much for the update, and how are things now?
Is she hydrated? With all this, would you want to add some goat milk, KMR or unflavored Pedialyte to her diet? The extra nutrients would help as well as extra hydration.
I unfortunately don't know anything about trying to help a cat pee...

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, and ask your vet whether Homeopet feline Nose Relief would be ok.

 

[ElleRiggs]

Oh, and ask your vet whether Homeopet feline Nose Relief would be ok.

Good morning! Still not a lot of urine this AM. In good spirits though and did have a good amount of poo come out before I left for work. If there isn't significant pee-age when I check on her at lunch I'll call the vet. Oddly enough a video I watched (in Russian, mind you) this morning demonstrated bladder expression in kitties laying down really well. I'll give that a whirl.
She's still not drinking water a ton, but eating lots of soft food with water added to it. She didn't eat this morning, but I'm thinking that's due to the poo as well as her feeling well enough to be snooty because she doesn't like veggies in her food.
That Nose Relief cream looks great! Vet said her sneeze could be due to ammonia so maybe that would help keep smell and itches out of her nose. Thanks!!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

ElleRiggs - did the vet not offer up something for your kitty like the antibiotic and soothing ointment, Animax? I feel kind of shocked that 'diaper rash cream' was recommended by the vet! Like Desitin? Most of these types of human diaper rash creams have zinc oxide in them, which --if the zinc levels get too high in the cat-- can cause a lot of issues, and serious ones. It's possible that if she isn't licking herself and ingesting a ton of it, it might go better for her system, but I am not sure what happens when it is absorbed through the skin (if the build-up of zinc via that route has the same effects).

Zinc and Dogs - Zinc Poisoning in Dogs and Cats - Zinc Toxicity
excerpt:

"... Zinc poisoning can lead to destruction of red blood cells, liver damage, kidney failure and heart failure. Clinical signs of zinc poisoning include weakness, pale gums (anemia), vomiting, increased breathing, increased heart rate, discolored urine, jaundiced gums, lack of appetite, and collapse. ..."
​

If you will be repeatedly coating the sore areas on her body with zinc oxide, I don't know how her 11-yr-old senior body will handle that! Especially since she is also on steroids, muscle relaxers, pain meds, and I'm not sure what else, to help with everything? I'm really worried about her 11-yr-old liver and kidneys, etc., being able to process all of this.

Has she had blood work done in the last few days?

 

[ElleRiggs]

ElleRiggs - did the vet not offer up something for your kitty like the antibiotic and soothing ointment, Animax? I feel kind of shocked that 'diaper rash cream' was recommended by the vet! Like Desitin? Most of these types of human diaper rash creams have zinc oxide in them, which --if the zinc levels get too high in the cat-- can cause a lot of issues, and serious ones. It's possible that if she isn't licking herself and ingesting a ton of it, it might go better for her system, but I am not sure what happens when it is absorbed through the skin (if the build-up of zinc via that route has the same effects).

Zinc and Dogs - Zinc Poisoning in Dogs and Cats - Zinc Toxicity
excerpt:

"... Zinc poisoning can lead to destruction of red blood cells, liver damage, kidney failure and heart failure. Clinical signs of zinc poisoning include weakness, pale gums (anemia), vomiting, increased breathing, increased heart rate, discolored urine, jaundiced gums, lack of appetite, and collapse. ..."
​

If you will be repeatedly coating the sore areas on her body with zinc oxide, I don't know how her 11-yr-old senior body will handle that! Especially since she is also on steroids, muscle relaxers, pain meds, and I'm not sure what else, to help with everything? I'm really worried about her 11-yr-old liver and kidneys, etc., being able to process all of this.

Has she had blood work done in the last few days?

O no! I didn't know that about zinc oxide. I read the label to look at other chemicals (yes, I did get Desitin) and it's in large print on the front of the tube that it has zinc oxide as the primary ingredient. I'm so glad I didn't put any on her last night or this morning. Her last application was noon yesterday. It did help with the rash almost immediately but with those potential side effects we're stopping that NOW.
Thank you for that info!! I dont want anything on board that doesn't need to be there. I'll make sure to give her a really thorough once over at lunch time. She officially is able to clean herself all the way to her bottom, so that's why I didn't put any cream on (can't find the cone of shame). I know they shouldn't be licking any kind of creams really. I'm so thankful I didn't. Thank you, PushPurrCatPaws

 

[ElleRiggs]

Also, they haven't once done any blood work on her. They didn't make it sound like she needed it, but I might mention it.
The PT clinic we're going to on Friday is actually a full service vet, surgery, rehab, homeopathic clinic (awesome) so honestly I might quiz them about everything. From meds to UTI, blood work, creams, cleaning etc as just a second opinion. They have an incredible reputation. I love my vet and he's very smart, but it can't hurt, right?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

When my last kitty got pancreatitis during her last year of life (age 14-15 yrs old), her poor bottom got so inflamed and sore from the awful diarrhea that can happen with that ('pudding-like poo', that is hay-colored and very stinky), our feline specialist vet we used gave us a tube of the Animax ointment for her poor bottom and within a day, that area was vastly improved and the pain & discomfort was lessened for her. It was so helpful to us. It is something you definitely might ask the vet about (all vets are different, just like all cats are -- so make sure the ingredents aren't anything your own cat is allergic to, like certain antibiotics).



edit:

Also, they haven't once done any blood work on her. They didn't make it sound like she needed it, but I might mention it.
...

My shocked face:

 

[Furballsmom]

Wow, go kitty!! ...being able to do the twist n turn, that's fantastic!!

 

[ElleRiggs]

Wow, go kitty!! ...being able to do the twist n turn, that's fantastic!!

We've been *thrilled* with her flexability and leg movement. I would love to see her with regular leg function, but when she sits like a human with her legs straight out it's really cute. As with all pets, when I try to snag a picture she notices and rolls into belly rub pose. But she can stick her legs straight in the air and lick her tookus now- such amazing progress!!

 

[ElleRiggs]

When my last kitty got pancreatitis during her last year of life (age 14-15 yrs old), her poor bottom got so inflamed and sore from the awful diarrhea that can happen with that ('pudding-like poo', that is hay-colored and very stinky), our feline specialist vet we used gave us a tube of the Animax ointment for her poor bottom and within a day, that area was vastly improved and the pain & discomfort was lessened for her. It was so helpful to us. It is something you definitely might ask the vet about (all vets are different, just like all cats are -- so make sure the ingredents aren't anything your own cat is allergic to, like certain antibiotics).



edit:


My shocked face:

Oh poor kitty- pancreatitis isn't uncommon in older kitties. I'm sorry she had to go through that! Sounds like that Animax is the bomb, though, so I'll ask about it for sure!
We'll just cone her and slather it.
I'm kicking myself for not thinking "hey let's get some labs." Bad mama. Maybe on Friday I could mention getting her levels checked!

 

[Furballsmom]

Not to worry, you're SO not a bad cat mom!!

I think that because the initial injury was the result of a frightened reaction from the vacuum cleaner (am I remembering that correctly?), that was the uppermost thought.

 

[nahui]

I don't know if this might help with finding the bladder, but just feel for something that is about the size of an egg and feels just like a water-filled balloon. Don't squeeze, just feel around first. In my experience with Fetén, the bladder moves around and is not always in the same place. I can imagine that with a kitty on the side it is more difficult to find.

 

[ElleRiggs]

She's been pretty great about letting me feel around in her belly, nahui . I don't know if maybe I'm not pressing hard enough? I looked at some diagrams and articles. I don't know if maybe it's not very full but the bladder looks like it's pretty big in the pictures I've seen. I'll definitely keep feeling for that egg shape! I read the same thing- that the bladder likes to shift. We'll see. She's dribbling some at least so not too worried about blockage? I can't praise the sanitary shave enough. World of difference and so much easier to clean with a warm cloth.