Cat with Broken Back

SunnyLucy

Hi,

I ended up in the vets last night with my 3 1/2 month old kitten. She'd been missing all afternoon and we spent hours looking for her on the roads and in hedges and fields. Eventually found her late last night under a pile of garden rubble that had been dumped earlier that day. Her tail and both back legs were clearly broken but the poor thing was so happy to be found that she didnt stop purring from the minute we found her and even while the vet was checking her out which caused her some pain. She seemed to have some sensation in at least one of the legs, he wasn't sure about the other and thought the tail might be a lost cause.

She had her x-ray this morning and they discovered her back is broken. Their plan is to keep her as still as possible for the next few days and hope she doesnt sever her spinal cord, but she may still have to be put to sleep at the end of it. I am devastated!! I've only had her for a couple of months but am so attached to her, she's a total sweetheart. I feel so bad that she is in this position and that she was alone for so long and in pain, she's only a baby. I can't even think about losing her without welling up.

Does anyone know what her chance of recovery would be? I am hoping the fact she had some feeling in the leg last night means there is hope for her but I'm afraid to be too positive in case the end result is a negative one. Also, much as I'd hate to lose her I'd hate more for her to be in pain for the next few days only to be put to sleep at the end of it. I've googled it and it seems some cats can "repair" themselves, but how likely would this be in this situation?

Thanks

ohmfg

I have no answer for you but just want to let you know that I'm crossing all fingers for her. The poor babe (and you too).

dazed+confused

Well boardies are known for pulling together in times of crisis. Here, i found this online for you, you'll probably be needing it.

<SNIP>

tk123

dazed+confused wrote: »

Well boardies are known for pulling together in times of crisis. Here, i found this online for you, you'll probably be needing it.

FFS?!?! Reported..:mad::mad:


OP not sure if it's any help but my dog had to get his leg straightened last year and we know other dogs from the park who had bones broken at a very young age and they bounced back no probs. They're very resilient and seem to heal a lot better when they're young like this. I hope she pulls thru - poor baba:(

star-pants

dazed+confused banned. If anyone else has smart comments or other non helpful things to post, keep it to yourself!

grindle

My stepmother's dog woke up with a broken back when he was about ten. Went to have surgery (€2,000-3,000 from what I remember), and his back was fixed, but he woke up blind. Lived for another five years, and we just had to make sure the kitchen presses weren't open, or slapstick - but ultimately cruel - hilarity would ensue.

Not sure how the age of your cat might affect it, what with bones still growing and all, but there's at least one success story. Hope your cat gets well'n'all.

SunnyLucy

Thanks everyone, I know back injuries dont bode well but you never know, fingers crossed. Have to go back to the vet this evening after work and see the x-ray etc, I imagine her face will tell it all more than words ever would, though the fact that she wants to wait a few days instead of putting her to sleep straight away is a little bit of positivity I guess.

I didnt get to see dazed+confused's post thankfully, I imagine it wasn't very nice though judging by the reaction. Cheers for the quick action against it!

Irish-Lass

Have you thought about looking at hydrotherapy for the cat - yes I know its not the norm cats hate water etc - but the cat is still very young and its great as a non weight baring exercise and will help build the muscles up

blondie7

I really hope she makes a full recovery vets can do so much wonderful stuff now for pets. Keep us posted

kildare.17hmr

how did she get hurt, any idea?

Zara23

Hi, sorry to hear about your kitty!
I'm a Veterinary Nurse and I have seen this a few times before. Without an x-ray or seeing the cat myself it difficult to say. I will say that I have seen some utterly impossible looking cases turn around and often it is down to luck and owner compliance.
I take it one or more of the vertebrae are broken and the Vet will either choose to operate or give him strict orders to rest.
If the kitten is stable at the moment that is a great sign but complications can quickly arise.
He will probably prescribe steroids to combat inflammation and wait and see.
Cats are usually pretty good at bouncing back from these injuries in my experience but he will need extra help from you as he is a kitten and if his tail is gone, his balance won't be very good.
I'm praying for your little kitten!

Riskymove

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

how did she get hurt, any idea?

?

Its explained

kildare.17hmr

i wasn't sure if the stuff was dumped on the cat or if it crawled in there after it was hurt

Adventure Pout

I cant imagine the pain that both of you go through at the moment.. I hope your lovely kitty will make it..
But as you said, sometimes it is better to let her go than see her suffer too much.. Anyway, fingers crossed that her back is not too damaged and the vet can do something.. Best of luck...

blondie7

Zara23 wrote: »

Cats are usually pretty good at bouncing back from these injuries in my experience but he will need extra help from you as he is a kitten and if his tail is gone, his balance won't be very good.
I'm praying for your little kitten!

My Cat lost his tail and got stints in his back leg due to an accident with a car engine when he was only 12 weeks old. His balance has never been affected he can do anything the other cats can do:D

SunnyLucy

Hi thanks for all the positive posts.

Well it was thought at one stage that she may have fallen and landed awkwardly but when we found her her coat was covered in soil and also there were tufts of fur missing and the vet reckoned she had gotten trapped and lost them as she tried to pull herself out. So we're guessing the fellow had dumped stuff (soil, sticks, wooden posts etc) on top of her not knowing she was there, and looking at her x-ray last night it would appear something did fall on her back as the broken vertebrae is lower than the rest, as if something had landed on it and shunted it down. Its so unfortunate because if it had been a little further down she would have just lost her tail and would have been relatively ok, there are no breaks in her legs or her pelvis just this one little chip in her back!

The vet could operate on her and try to stabilise the chip, this would cost a couple of thousand to do and she seemed reluctant to do it purely because we (stupidly!) didnt get pet insurance and there is no guarantee that it would be successful and I dont think she wanted to land that cost on us.

Unfortunately its now a long waiting game, to see if the swelling goes down etc and the first good sign we're looking for is to see if she can regain bladder function. They demonstrated that "deep tissue nerve" (?) thing where they squeezed her toes really hard and she cries out as she can feel it (only in one leg, but one is better than none!), apparently these nerves are the last to go and once they go thats it and she's paralyzed. But she definitely cried out louder yesterday than she did the night before so Im hoping thats a good sign.

I know some people may think putting her down would be the kindest thing to do, and I was thinking the same myself, but the vet seems so keen to give her a fighting chance that Im feeling a bit more positive about it. Obviously at the first sign that there is no hope of her getting better or she is in more pain than is necessary then we will put her out of her misery, but for now we're going to do everything we can to help her get better.

SunnyLucy

blondie7 wrote: »

My Cat lost his tail and got stints in his back leg due to an accident with a car engine when he was only 12 weeks old. His balance has never been affected he can do anything the other cats can do:D

Yeah I'm really hoping that her young age will stand to her and help her to recover!
Her sister fell out of the car engine a few weeks ago and ended up getting stitches in her chin. Then they both caught cat flu after getting their injections. And now this! They're much loved pets and well looked after but they just both seem to be very unlucky. We might have to get the priest out to bless them at this rate

Heroditas

SunnyLucy wrote: »

I know some people may think putting her down would be the kindest thing to do, and I was thinking the same myself, but the vet seems so keen to give her a fighting chance that Im feeling a bit more positive about it. Obviously at the first sign that there is no hope of her getting better or she is in more pain than is necessary then we will put her out of her misery, but for now we're going to do everything we can to help her get better.

I'm delighted to hear that the vet is adopting that approach.
It would be all too easy for him to say "ah sure, best to put the cat down"
Fingers crossed for your kitten.

miju

blondie7 wrote: »

His balance has never been affected he can do anything the other cats can do:D

In fact he seems to be even more agile and defy gravity at times the way our other cats cant :p

Hope the news is good for your kitten

random_banter

OP, so sorry to hear about your little kitten. Remember that cats are so resilient, you always hear "miracle" stories about them.

My "miracle" story is that a couple of years ago my aunt's cat was hit by a car- they found her and she had no use of her back legs, her pelvis or hips were broken and the vet said the cat would never walk again.. nevertheless the cat was happy so they decided to see if she could heal and get some form of quality of life in her state.. my aunt took her home and kept her locked up in a quiet place for weeks- the cat was in no pain and could move around using the front legs. After a month or so she started regaining the use of her rear legs.. two years on, perfectly happy and healthy cat!

Sounds like your vet is taking a positive approach too.

I know its a different injury.. but if any creature on this planet can come back from something like that it's a kitty.

morgana

Fingers crossed she just ditches one of her 9 lives and recovers soon.

EvesBlogg

let us know what the outcome is...poor thing

CL32

Hope everything goes well for you.

Keep us posted.

SunnyLucy

Some positive news: she got to come home yesterday and is on cage rest for the next 3-4 weeks which she HATES. She has regained all toilet function and has a little movement in the upper part of her back legs, she tries to stand on them but can't...yet. Not seeing much improvement in her tail but judging by previous posts not having a tail is not the biggest deal in the world.

The vet has warned us that she may go so far with her improvement and then come to a complete stop at which time putting her down might be the only option, but equally she could get fully better, so we just wait and see now.

Great improvement in the space of a week though so fingers crossed she keeps improving!

Thanks for all the comments, will keep ye updated!

Statistician

I'm pleased to hear the cat is recovering.

Our cat got knocked down and had a broken back. He couldn't move his back legs at all. When we brought him into the vet, I saw a tiny twitch in one of his back paws. Over the next few weeks he started getting more and more movement in his back legs.

Positives for us:
- He wasn't in pain.
- His positive attitude!
- His bowel movements were okay, and didn't seem to be incontinent

It took two years for him to recover. He still walks funny, so he'll never be completely recovered. He appears to enjoy his life. At one stage we had to fashion little cat boots for him because he was dragging his legs after him, injuring himself. Another time I remember during the night he dragged himself across the floor to the back door. Used his front paws to pull the clothes drier vent tube out of his cat flap and was half out of the cat flap before we heard him.

Surprisingly, the 'attitude' of the cat makes a big difference. If it's a positive animal then your chances increase dramatically.

Amberjack

Hi SunnyLucy

Just wondering how your cat is getting on, hopfully it's good news

SunnyLucy

Amberjack wrote: »

Hi SunnyLucy

Just wondering how your cat is getting on, hopfully it's good news

Hi Amberjack,

She is doing really well, she's able to sit up properly now, and is making good attempts at walking too, one leg is worse than the other but hopefully it will eventually catch up. She still has no movement in her tail but the vet thinks it will eventually come back. Heading back to the vet later this week to be shown how to do some physio type exercises with her to help her recovery and she will be able to spend more time out of her cage thankfully cos she's going stir crazy in there. So all good news thankfully!

barbiegirl

That's brilliant news

BrokecatOwner

Hi SunnyLucy,

My cat's in a similar situation, he is a little under one years old and was hit by a car on saturday, pelvis broke in three different places.... it looks like it will be cage rest for a few weeks, vet seems, at least at the moment, to feel this is the best option.... poor thing, he's a real little character so I don't think he is going to like it one bit.

Glad to hear your kitten is doing much better.

SunnyLucy

Hi guys,

Sorry for not responding sooner. She is fine, doing really well, both back legs are a bit bent looking, as is her lower back, but she can walk no problem, she can climb small heights too. Unfortunately her tail never regained feeling/movement so we got it taken off as it was just a nuisance to her, dragging on the ground getting dirty and wet and there was a fear she would catch it somewhere and not realise and end up doing more damage to herself. I suppose it was all down to our vet's positive attitude of giving her a chance before making any rash decisions to put her down. She is happy out, a lovely little cat, and its great to see, we're thrilled to still have her.

Thanks for all your well wishes!x

Tails142

Hey OP, glad to read your story.

My poor 6 month old kitten came back to us this weekend after a week on the run, the poor guy must have been hit by something as he has a broken hip and what the vet has called a tail pull injury, so unfortunately he has to have his tail removed.

Hopfully he will make a full recovery and wont be too put out without his tail

oldfart

Aw thats so sweet, glad you gave her a chance! she is like a little manx cat now with no tail! hope she continues to improve - sure you will love her even more.. good luck

twirlagig

Just came across your story here a few minutes ago - glad she's doing well. She's lucky to have you

Sar_Bear

When I read you're OP my heart broke for you & your kitten, but I'm so happy for you that she recovered :')