My baby boy (age 5) got hit by a car 4 weeks ago. He has a broken pelvis, which is healing, but he had a major tail pull, ie his tail is broken and so are the nerves for him to be able to poo or wee. We spent some time expressing him manually for his wee, but then he stopped us, because when his bladder is full he has a 'reflex reaction' which means his wee fully comes out.
Now, this was fine while he couldn't walk, and layed on the incontinence pads outside the cage he was in (with vet bed ) but we have been letting him out recently. I really don't want him to be kept in a cage, although we are thinking we will have to do this overnight. When he is out, he has spots of wee all over, he can't help it. And he knows he wants to poo because he scratches the litter tray, but it appears later on the floor.
My question is, how do we deal with this? Long term I mean. (The vets suggested putttng him down, out of the question)
The stair and landing are carpets (It's rented) so that's one issue, and the upstairs room he used to sleep is is carpeted too. And I can't shut him in there at night because of my female tortie (his sister) likes to be independant. She won't like being shut in.
So now I am cleaning all his wee as he walks about (he will scratch if there is even a hint of it) and the absorbant pads we put down get the same treatment. And I pick up his poo, especially if it's in his cage because he cries.
So, if anyone has experience of this, or has advice I would appreciate it. He's my boy and I will NOT let him be put down. Sorry for the long post, but if you have made it to here you will understand what I am going through.

Probably not what you are going to want to hear but you are most likely going to have to contain him somehow, or else cover the carpets in lino??

You could section off a part of a room to devote to him and build a large fitted pen.

otherwise, appeal to you landlords human side and offer to have the whole place professionally cleaned upon your leaving.

Sorry you find yourself in such a difficult situation and all credit to you for sticking by your boy

II
Thanks Muse. I am thinking of getting him a large cage to sleep in overnight, currently he is in aborrowed one in the lounge on top of the chair he normally sleeps on, however currently we are not letting him go upstairs (where he normally sleeps) I am thinking of him sleeping up there in a cage, if he will let me pick him up (Recently that has been a big NO). But the wee drips are the main issue. They occur wherever he goes. (Whenever we leave we will steam clean the carpets, so the landlord isn't the ultimate issue) I put 'puppy training' pasds down, but as soon as there is a hint of wee, even if I put a fleece on top he scratches it up.
And after 4 vets telling me it will be better to put him down, let them come to my house when my velvety black 'Puppy cat' (follows me evrywhere and even goes for walks with me) sits with 'Mommy' on the settee. No brainer.

Get the poor thing put down, Your house must stink.

What an unhelpful response.

The house need not smell, cleaning small drops (and any traces of poo) with neat fabric conditioner is good and diluted biological washing liquid kills smells as well as cleaning, cheaper than spray cleaners for pets.

Oh Poblet, how sad, I hope he will have some recovery of the nerves with time, 4 weeks is not long.

Would something like the puppy pen be an option or would he try to jump out?

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/category.asp?dept_id=303

Is the vet advising this is a permanent thing? If so then I do wonder if your correct in your refusal to out him down. He is obviously suffering - is it fair to keep him alive like this for years? If it's a temporary thing then I can understand it but long term I think it's very unfair of you, I suspect your reasons would be entirely selfish.

As hard a it is and as callous as it sounds I am with Bazaar on this one, if your cats quality of life is going to be extremely poor for another 10 to 15 years then it is no life for him at all

Sorry if this is permanent I have to agree too, sometimes PTS is not the worst option it is the last loving thing we can do for our animals.

seriously ...

I had a cat who had spinal spondylosis, he became incontinent due to the nerve damage and we had to replace all carpets with something washable..my boy was 14 when he was diagnosed so a lot older than your cat but eventually 3 years later the nerve damage won and his legs stopped working so he was pts but we had tried every treatment we could first...and ours was a gradual thing as his spine fused the problem got worse,
he wouldnt drip but he would just not know when he was going.
You need a good talk with your vet to see if this problem may solve itself as your cat heals, maybe theres some medication that can help.

helping him to express his wee does help, it will also stop a build of nasty bacteria (which my boy got when he became blocked)
but....my home did not stink, there are liquid cleaners you can buy especially for urine,

sorry im not much help but i really do wish you luck xxx

Have you considered a cat nappy? They do exist.

http://www.dog-nappy.co.uk/?gclid=CM...FcaWtAod_CsAVw

I'm never sure about things like that if a condition is permanent is it for the cat or the person. Seems undignified for any animal for anything more than a short time.

Thanks mazey. We will be getting him a large cage, we have one on loan from the vet. And thanks for the tip on cleaning products, I have been using a spray cleaner. (With reference to another poster, the house does NOT stink)


This is the crux of the matter, the vets were advising this in the early days and 'quality of life' was the main issue. There are many cat owners who would not be able to cope, and the decision of PTS would be the right one for them. However, the vets recently have seen our determination to look after him and are pleased. He is happy, well loved, is eating fine and well looked after. He is not in pain. His tail is broken and it's unlikely that it will mend, the vet has been talking about having it amputated for safety and hygiene reasons. (This indicates the vet IS looking at long term) He can poo and wee, but is not aware he is doing it and the prognosis on this is not good in terms of getting the nerve function back. So yes, there may be a dignity issue but he is not in pain.


You have been a lot of help. Thank you.

And thanks for this, my partner and I were joking about whether there is such a thing. I will certainly investigate this possibility.

Belive me, molliepops, we have asked ourselves this same question over and over, and I have cried loads over the possibilities. He is currently basking in the sunshine in the back garden. We decided we would let him decide, if he is in any pain or looks like he is suffering then we will have to consider the options. As for the person, it is a big commitment to care for a cat in this condition, cost, cleaning, daily washes of vet bed etc and changing absorbent pads, time etc and it is something we are prepared to do, and not a decision to be taken lightly. But for me, he is alive and at one time I didn't think he would even make it home from the vets. So I reckon it's for both of us.

Me too. If there's one thing a cat should be able to do for themselves, it's groom and clean.

He grooms and cleans quite happily, and often.

I've had incontinent dogs before and had to make heart wrenching decisions at the end of the end you have to just look at them and forget your own feelings IMO. Good luck and hope it isn't permanent and gets better quickly.

And be clean - which he can't do with the in continence.

a Large pen would work ....we had an elderly cat which didnt have your problem but would get confused and go all over the house......

we luckily had a old pen which we put in a room and we let her out everyday for an hour or two around her food time and would put her back after (they tend to use the toilet more often after food).......

another tip is training bed abosorbant pads for children that wet the bed....they are quite large and probably a couple would cover a decent size under the pen....

I would go by your instincts and i think you will know (as the owner) when your cat is happy or not and when the right time is and the best thing for your cat.......it obviously isnt at the moment and its refreshing your giving your cat every chance for a good life

Thanks. Sorry you've been through this type of thing. x

I don't know about all situations, but in THIS case he can. The only thing he can't do is decide when and where the poo or wee will come out (although he scratches the litter tray when he knows he wants to poo, so we watch out). When he does 'go' he's like any other cat, scratches to try to cover it and is perfectly able to clean himself. One of his often seen positions is with his back leg sticking up in the air while he cleans.

Thanks Mariesam, this is the kind of advice I was after. I think after yours and other replies we will get a pen or large cage. He is in a cage borrowed from the vet at the moment, and yes we use puppy training absorbent pads to line it, with a 'vet bed' on top (comfy rug which has a lining which lets the liquid out, but not back up again so he is not lying in it)

I do have some of the 'bed wetting' ones too, I put these on the mat in the lounge and under his litter tray when we let him out, but sometimes when his wee is coming out and he is walking is when the drips occur. Luckily downstairs is mainly wooden flooring so easy to clean, and when he sits with me it's on a leather settee.

This is, however, temporay as it isn't practical to leave him in the lounge (The cage is on the armchair and we have to lift it down for him to get out whilst his pelvis is still healing) He is used to sleeping upstairs on a Futon (which we always put covers on for him to sleep on anyway), and right now there is a pad underneath it - the thought being to make his situation as normal as possible - but of course he will try to scratch it up if he 'goes' on it (and the same with the floor and landing, all carpeted).

So I think a pen in that room is the answer, with animal fleeces/throws (I have washed loads recently, found in a cupboard for this purpose) on the floor and landing with the absorbent pads underneath. (I don't want to shut him in the room as his sister sleeps in there too and she needs to roam, she goes downstairs in the night to eat)
Thanks for all the advice, really appreciate it.
Last edited by Poblet : 05-10-2013 at 17:22

how is your kitty doing? is the incontinence improving as hes healing?

Bless you, thank you for asking. I often wonder about other threads posted, about the outcome. Often we don't get to find out because the OP has, presumably, resolved the situation but, like you, I like to know.
As it happems I was going to post anyway to show that replies and advice on here really does work (ignoring the negative stuff)
We took him back for a check up, he is still not able to decide when or where he wees, and drips, but tries to poo in the litter tray with about 50% success. Ironically, the vet we saw was the very first one who suggested we might have to have him put down. He hadn't seen him since.He said that he was pleased how well Brian was doing, and how well we had looked after him, as many people would not be able to do that for various reasons.
I asked him straight out, "Seeing him now, would you suggest we put him down?
Immediate answer 'No'.
So, Thanks to suggestions from people here, we have bought a cage, actually a big one fit for a big dog, I have re-arranged the upstairs room where he normally sleeps to fit it in (We got it today) and have washed so many rugs and throws you wouldn't believe (Thanks Masie) The rugs etc all have absorbant pads underneath and on the laminate floors I mop several times a day and clean fully at night.
Soooo, his big new cage bed? Lovely lovely comfy bed? Nearly the size of a human single bed?
Ignore. Want to sleep on the back of the settee.

At least he is alive and still with us.

Animals are amazing they adapt so well to situations which us humans just wouldnt cope with, im so glad Brian is doing ok...and that you are too, i know how stressful it is to look after a cat with incontinence but i also know how quickly its becomes routine,
I'm glad the vet doesn't think he should be pts, if he's attempting to use the litter tray then he must have some feeling,..i'll keep my fingers (and everything else crossed) for him..and you.

Typical cat not wanting to use the lovely new bed, i brought a bed big enough for all 3 of mine to sleep in and last night i found all 3 asleep on the floor next to the bed

Aah how lovely that he's doing ok. Also love the fact he's called Brian - my cat is called Steve!

Poblet:

Well done you, for being such a dedicated kitty mom and not putting the poor thing down when the going gets tough.

We adopted a 4 yr old from the RSPCA 4 years ago. He had been in a traffic accident and they had had to plate his pelvis. He was on cage rest when I saw him online with a big plastic collar round his neck. I fell in love. He also had nerve damage to his back leg a was not able to feel how he put it on the ground, the RSPCA advised he may have to have it amputated, but after 3 weeks with us it went right.
He was a healthy kitty till February this year when we noticed he was in pain and sneezing, somehow he had got cat flu. After many trips to the vet when he had even been sneezing blood, he was diagnosed as FIV+. We were amazed as the RSPCA had checked for this and told us he was clear of it, he had also been a house cat, so couldn't have caught it whilst we had him.
From February to August this year he has been terribly ill. Fevers, going off his food, he had to be hospitalised twice in spite of us trying to force feed him with food and liquid through a syringe. Then he started itching and scratching himself, so often when we tried to pick him up he cried in pain. The last thing was when he developed Ataxia, and he was wobbling and falling all over the place, we even had to put him in his litter tray and lift him out again.

We cried enough tears to sink a ship, but we never considered having him put down. Finally, the vet suggested steroids. We started him on two a day, and after a week the itching had stopped, the pain had eased and he was walking around.
We still watch him like a hawk, but the steroids are keeping him stable, so far so good.
You have done a great job, well done. These animals are too preciouos to put down at the drop of a hat.

It all depends on the quality of life. If the cat is going to get better then it does not need to die. However, if the quality of life is always going to be poor, then it is an option.

I know a cat lover who has said this before.