Injured cat, nerve damage?

JKM

I’m wondering if anyone could shed some light on our current situation for us. Our beloved cat Ollie got hit by a car last Monday. We don’t know when, but we found him at about 3pm (he had been left out at about 9am) and rushed him straight to the vets. The vet done an initial examination and determined that he had use of his left hind leg and was unsure about his right hind leg. He explained the potential injuries that could have occurred and what x-rays etc they would do to determine the extent of his injuries. So we left and spent the next sleepless night wondering what was going to happen.

Since then the news has been good, then bad, then not so sure. We’re just really really confused.



So here’s a run down of his situation as of now;

• His pelvis is broken in four places and there doesn’t appear to be any damage to his spine.
• He has regained use of his right hind leg, so all limbs and tail etc are in working order.
• His chest x-rays came back clear so there doesn’t appear to be any damage to any internal organs.
• He has good anal tone.

The only potential sticking point is lack of bladder control. The problem became an issue at first when the vets noticed, during Tuesday, that he was leaking bloody urine. They did an x-ray which didn’t show any damage to the bladder and no clots etc. They basically informed us that we would have to wait and see. And if he didn’t regain control that it would ‘be the end of the line’ for Ollie. He continued leaking urine for the next few days, but there still seemed to be urine in his litter tray (as if he had used it). After a few days of no improvement (ie still leaking) they decided to insert a catheter (on Thursday) and drained his bladder, as an x-ray had shown his bladder was swollen.

In the mean time we had been visiting him twice a day. On Wednesday we brought some chicken with us and he ate heartily. Apparently that was the first time he’d eaten. He started eating his food on his own shortly after that
Anyway, he still has the catheter in. Because of our frequent visits we have spoken to various different vets, all of whom have given new bits of information the other hadn’t. They were all indicating that is the situation didn’t improve in 7 days we would have to make the decision to euthanize.

We done our own bit of research in the mean time, and spoke to a specialist cat vet over the phone (who was fairly positive) and learned that it is possible to manually express his bladder. Yesterday we met with the vet again and told him that we were willing to do this. When we told him this, his attitude changed and he went on to explain to use that if we were willing to do this that there was a possibility with time that he could regain bladder control. He said there is no way to determine whether the nerve is completely severed or just damaged. If the latter is the case there only needs to be 10% of the nerve intact for it to heal. And with time, rest and confinement he could get better. Now, we are very much aware that this is a big undertaking and a very long-term commitment (especially if bladder control doesn’t return). But to us it seems insane to put him to sleep in the off chance that the nerve is completely severed.

My main questions are; How likely is it that that nerve would be completely severed and no other nerve even so much as damaged? And does it mean anything that he has urinated in his litter tray? Or is that just excess urine leaking?

Sorry for the long post, we are beside ourselves with worry. The feeling of constant dread is overwhelming.

dvet

This is a complicated one. It can happen that one nerve can get damaged and the others don't. The nerves controlling bladder function run quite close to the pelvis so it is very possible that the shards of broken bone there damaged one of them. In your cat's case, it sounds like that is what happened rather than it being a spinal injury (as he has good anal tone and use of his tail).

I would say that you can only wait and see. You could ask your vet for a referral to a neurologist, if he thought that would be of any benefit (sometimes vets are reluctant to mention this at first as it can be too expensive for many owners), but it also depends on whether he thinks there would be any benefit out of it. To be honest it sounds like your vet is fairly thorough, so there may not be much extra that a specialist could do for you.

I doubt there is much that can be done surgically either way, so as you say, time, rest & confinement may be the only chance you have of seeing an improvement. Best of luck, I hope it goes well for you.

JKM

Thanks for the reply dvet,

We didn't get to see him yesterday so were anxious by today to know of any progress. The vet rang us this morning to let us know she had taken out the catheter and the next 48hrs would tell a lot. She did mention that there was urine in the litter tray, but again there was no way to tell if it was voluntary or not. We went in this evening when the nurse was going to be there. When she got Ollie for us we could not believe the difference in him. He was putting weight on his leg walking around, all be it with a limp. She said he was eating loads and in great form. Anyway, here's the (hopefully) good news. We left him roam the room a bit for some exercise and after a while he went into a corner and done a pee. Not much, and it took him a while, but a pee none the less. We called the nurse and after another few minutes he went to the same corner and peed again, this time bigger and more quickly. He was squatting and looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. Do you think this is a good sign? The nurse said it was but didn't seem too impressed by it, so we're not sure.
Thanks.

Ado86

Thats a great sign. Sounds like Ollie is moving in the right direction!!
Best of luck - keep us updated on his progress !

johndoe99

my heart goes out to you, i have an 18 year old cat and would miss her terribly would anything happen to her. Hope it all goes well for you.

JKM

Thanks guys! We are definately more positive tonight than we have been the last week. The niggling feeling of dread is still there but we're hopefull.

We will be the luckiest people in the world if we get Ollie back healthy and happy. He is the best cat in the world, such a character, here's a picture of him;


Cute or what!

I suppose we all think our cats are the best. But even amongst our brood (5 in total) he is most definately our firm favourite (he was our first).

We are currently keeping our other cats indoors (took the flap out the second we got home from the vets last Monday). They have all taken to it surprisingly well (except for Lucy, she's a big moaner). We are in the process of designing an enclosed outdoors area for them as a compromise. We've been debating the indoor/outdoor argument with ages. We are just praying that this isn't the hardest lesson we've ever had to learn.

meoklmrk91

When something like this happens to one of your furry family members, it is just plain awful. You want them home and better and want nothing like this ever to happen again. I've had one of my cats for 10 years she has always been an indoor/outdoor cat and I never had any issues except for for a cut that required some stitches. Then during the summer I adopted a little kitten from my local animal welfare organisation, I kept him inside longer than is recommended by most people and then started letting him out slowly, sadly though one night he didn't come home. I put posters up in the locality and got a call a few days later to tell me someone had found him dead on the road. I felt awful.

I since found a four week old kitten at the side of the road, I fed her replacement milk and took her to the vet for a badly infected eye. I even brought her to school with me for the first couple of weeks to feed her. She is about four months now and she is exclusively an indoor cat. I am too afraid to leave her outside after what happened to my other little kitten.

I hope that Ollie gets better and you guys find a suitable solution to the indoor/outdoor thing. I know that they love being outdoors but sometimes I'm not sure if it's worth them being in danger.

Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S. He is absolutely adorable!

JKM

They are all firmly indoor cats from here on in. They're all under 2 years old anyway so hopefully will adjust ok. The peace of mind for us is amazing and they all seem happy enough so far. We've been coming up with all sorts of elaborate mazes and games to keep them occupied and active.

We have a four month old rescue as well (and another rescue a year old). It took us 2 days to catch the newest little guy Mylo. He was the kitten of a stray who has been coming to us for a while for food. He turned up in our back yard at aabout 8 weeks old. We looked at CCTV later that day and saw him following her into the yard. Honestly it's like she brought him to us knowing we would look after him. Well worth the effort though, he's a great little character. It's so satisfying to see them healthy, safe and happy. He has never wanted to go out ever since he followed the other rescue, Ruby, out and got lost for hours. That was another dreadful day, unitl we eventually found him, coaxed him out and got him home.

Cats are great though aren't they!! The best companions in the world IMO. No better feeling than when they come scrathing at the bedroom door to be let in and nose their way under duvet for a cuddle. Hopefully Ollie will be back soon doing just that.

By the way we are getting the stray spayed in the new year so no more poor kittens have to brave the big bad world on their own.

meoklmrk91

My little one is called Milo too, different spelling though:), getting the stray spayed is the best thing you could possibly do. Cats have such a hard time here, no point in bringing anymore little ones into the world until there are enough homes for them. I really don't believe in the idea of simply outdoor pets, especially when it comes to cats and dogs, they do so much better when they are allowed indoors at least some of the time.

Here is a pictures of Milo when I first got her at four weeks,



And here she is now,

JKM

Well that's a coincidence.. both 4 months old, both rescues and both have the same name. We were debating wheter to go with 'i' or 'y' for a while. Those pictures brought a massive smile to my face. Thank you. That was badly needed after the last week!

Fair play to you for nursing her back to health. What a lucky little girl to have found you!

Here's our Mylo the first night:



And a few weeks later:







I have a few of him causing chaos in our christmas tree, i'll try put them up.

meoklmrk91

Look at that mischievous little face, he's a handsome little devil!. Your right it is a coincidence, the two Mylo's/Milo's:D. Glad I could help in some small way.

My Christmas tree is ruined, Milo and my pup Cooper have a tag team going on, she climbs the tree and knocks baubles, tinsel and whatever else she can get her paws on to the floor and then he tears them to bits. Can't help but laugh at the two of them though.

dvet

JKM wrote: »

Thanks for the reply dvet,

We didn't get to see him yesterday so were anxious by today to know of any progress. The vet rang us this morning to let us know she had taken out the catheter and the next 48hrs would tell a lot. She did mention that there was urine in the litter tray, but again there was no way to tell if it was voluntary or not. We went in this evening when the nurse was going to be there. When she got Ollie for us we could not believe the difference in him. He was putting weight on his leg walking around, all be it with a limp. She said he was eating loads and in great form. Anyway, here's the (hopefully) good news. We left him roam the room a bit for some exercise and after a while he went into a corner and done a pee. Not much, and it took him a while, but a pee none the less. We called the nurse and after another few minutes he went to the same corner and peed again, this time bigger and more quickly. He was squatting and looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. Do you think this is a good sign? The nurse said it was but didn't seem too impressed by it, so we're not sure.
Thanks.

That's great that his leg seems better, and that he's in such good form! I think it's definitely a good sign that he seems to be able to voluntarily urinate, but I suppose the fact that he is still dripping urine in between times is why your vet and vet nurse are still cautious. Hopefully things will come right for him, it sounds like all your cats are lucky to have such concerned owners!

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

JKM

Hi everyone,

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, we had to work a wedding all day. But we have great news. Yesterday morning we got a text from our vet to let us know that Ollie was doing great and that we could collect him in the morning if we wanted. So, bright and early we went to town, got a cage (to keep him confined) and went to collect him.
He is now happily (as he can be anyway with a broken pelvis) curled up in his own bed.
We have to monitor him closely now. Keep an eye on how much he is urinating etc. He has to stay confined for approximately 4 weeks to let his pelvis heal. He has an appointment Friday at the vets to monitor his progress. The vet said we're not out of the woods yet but it's looking positive. To quote him; 'Ollie is a remarkable cat'. But we knew that already!!
We are just over the moon to have him back. We can finally enjoy Christmas a bit.
Thanks everyone for your concern.

meoklmrk91

Great to hear the good news, at least he is at home now which will probably be a comfort to him in itself.

Amberjack

Hey JKM,

Just wondering how your little lad has been doing? I've been following is progress and curious to know. I have a black and White fella myself and he's a loveable as anything, a real mischievous little monkey.
Hope your guy is doing well.

Amberjack