Spinal Injury

[Sue Watkins]

Hi everyone, this is my first ever post. Just over a week ago we noticed that our 8 month old kitten suddenly couldn't walk & can only move by pulling himself forward with his front legs. He can move his legs but not walk & he can't wee by himself but can poo. He's had bloods done & x-rays but nothing showed up. Has anybody else come across this? We think he might have hurt himself whilst playing in the house with his brother.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello, and welcome!!
Is there nerve damage?
I'm not a vet or a therapist, but can you very gently massage him, move his back legs back and forth, just a little at first and see how he reacts, move his tail.
How is he urinating?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you had xrays done, if he had injured his spine, I would think that would have showed up. What did the Vet speculate? Anything at all? I know there are certain illness that can have symptoms of lameness, for instance Calcivirus and Coronavirus, but they are accompanied by other symptoms too. Is he having any other issues? Did the Vet put him on any medications, anti-inflammatories, anything? I would think doing "physical therapy" like Furballsmom suggested certainly couldn't hurt since you said he IS capable of moving his legs.

 

[Sue Watkins]

Hi both, thanks for your responses. He can't wee on his own - he has a catheter in again as we couldn't express him. He had a 4 day course of steroids & having had the catheter put back in yesterday is on some antibiotics. His bladder us empying ok with the catheter although it's a lot more pink than the first time he had it put in. My daughter has been moving his legs around a bit. He's eating & drinking mainly ok & we still gets some purrs off him. The vet just mentioned a spinal injury but without an MRI (costing £1600 at least) he couldn't say what the exact problem was. He's such a sweet kitten. He didn't have he best start in life as his mum didn't have enough milk for her 2 kittens so we hand fed him. At the beginning of September he also hurt his eye, had a hole in his cornea. Then he's just had abdominal surgery for undecended testicles. He'd had his stitches out the day before all this happened.

 

[Furballsmom]

Gracious sakes, poor baby and poor you!!
Keep us updated, hopefully that pink color decreases.
.

 

[Sue Watkins]

Thank you for your kind thoughts & wishes. Yes, will keep you updated even if it ends sadly.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hang in there, you're doing everything for this little sweetie

 

[Sue Watkins]

We'll try. Going to look into accupuncture. There's a lady about half an hour away that does it but I don't know cost or whether she'd still need an MRI to be done to find out exactly what it is. They are just far too expensive. I'll give her a ring soon.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Sue Watkins]

Hi all, just an update on our kitten, Saroo. His catheter came out on Sunday morning so we an an anxious day & night hoping his bladder wouldn't get too full & trying to express him. We managed to get a little out by toileting him like a baby. We took him the following morning as we had an appointment with a vet who does accupuncture. She said it was positive that he did have some movement in his tail & was curling his feet. He was very sensitive on his little penis when they tried to put a catheter back in so they had to sedate him. On the plus side at least he could feel it. He also has a water infection now. He's been giving some muscle relaxants to try & get his bladder to relax. He was quite hyper when he came back!

 

[Furballsmom]

.

 

[Sue Watkins]

Thank you.

 

[Sue Watkins]

Hi again. We had to take Saroo to the emergency vet late onon Tuesday night as his catheter had become bent & we couldn't express him. His bladder etc were in a bad way. We decided it was time to put him to sleep so we took him yesterday evening. He was a huge part of our lives & has left a huge hole in our hearts. We'll try & concentrate on looking after his brother now.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my heavens I'm so so sorry to hear this!!
RIP sweetheart, your struggles and pain are over, and you are in a place of sunshine, warmth, playtime, soft grass and all that a cat could wish for.

 

[Sue Watkins]

Thank you.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so sorry

 

[Sue Watkins]

Thank you. Hugs are always good. There's been a lot of them going on between me, my hubby & daughter who was so distraught yesterday. She works with cats & didn't know whether she could face going in today but she did.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, it's always devastating when we lose one of our little furry friends . I'm not sure which is worse...when they are so young, or when they are older and have become so much a part of the family. Either way, it still takes away a piece of your heart . Hugs to ALL of you

 

[Sue Watkins]

Yes it's horrible at any point. We had our previous cat, Kia put to sleep last October & that was stressful but she was about 15. We just had such a close bond with Saroo, seeing him being born & then hand rearing him. On the positive side, his brother seems ok & is eating well.

 

[Furballsmom]

his brother seems ok & is eating well