broken tail

sandy2u1

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my cat has a broken tail and is unable to urinate. if anyone has any advice for me...plz post
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by sandy2u1

my cat has a broken tail and is unable to urinate. if anyone has any advice for me...plz post
if your cat can't urinate s/he needs to see the vet. if necessary, they can catheterize him/her.
 
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sandy2u1

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Im sorry i wasnt very clear. I did take my cat to the vet. The vet said it is a wait and see deal. He said give him a week and if there is no improvement we will have to put him to sleep. He acted like there was no other options. Im hoping thats not true. My cat is in every other way healthy. He is eating and drinking water.
 
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sandy2u1

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i took him to his regular vet...do you think he needs to see another one?
 
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sandy2u1

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the cats bladder is very full and leaking out
 

caroleen

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My opinion....
Get your records....
Second opinion A.S.A.P.
With or without records I'd see someone else....
I'd do so tonight if you can....
It is that vital......
I can't see that being your only option but urine leaking out into a cats system can kill him.
 

cloud_shade

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Did the vet show you how to express your cat's bladder? It is a wait-and-see situation to see if he regains enough sensation to control his bladder himself--I've heard of others who have expressed their cat's bladder a few times a day for a while and sometimes the cat was able to regain sensation. If your vet didn't demonstrate how to do this, please call them or find another vet for a second opinion.
 

blast-off-girl

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This is very odd. I would definitely seek another opinion. Several other people have had cats with broken tails on this board but I don't remember a vet wanting to euthanize a cat because of this condition. In the worst case scenario, can't the doctor just amputate the tail? There was a cat in my vet who had his tail amputated after it got caught in a car's tail pipe. It was a very nasty accident (I'll spare you guys the details) but the cat was perfectly okay after the amputation.
 

caroleen

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My kitten had it done in the field. I have no clue how it happened. She only had to have antibiotics and lots of love. This just didn't sound right to me. I did not get the correlation between the two at all???
 
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sandy2u1

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I dont really completely understand it either, but apparantly when he broke his tail, it did some nerve damage to the bladder. I guess that means that his bladder nerves run into his tail. His vet said if they were gonna heal...that would start being evident by today. Unfortunatly, Whiskers is still not using his litter box. His bladder is very full, and leaks constantly.
 

caroleen

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I got to looking.....
I'll be honest I was thinking more along the lines of the further end of the cats tail.....
Like it getting clipped in a door or something and not closer to the body which could indeed create nerve damage similar to a problem with a humans spinal cord....
I found this site...
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...ken_tails.html
That gave me a little more enlightenment as to why your cats bladder is not functioning properly and some options.....
This was another site that explained the nerve damage you can get from a broken tail...
http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catortho.html

I hope I helped?
 

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When did your cat have its accident? Sometimes vets state a time limit that is a bit on the low side, but in that time, their bladder does need expressing, and if you can't do it at home, then letting them go might be the kinder option. You need to see a vet asap though, as otherwise, the urine can back up and cause kidney failure. IT sounds like there has been some nerve damage around the area, which can result in urination and defecation issues - is he pooing OK?
 

tamgirl99

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sandy2u1 - I sent you a pm!

My kitty had a very similar problem as a result of a spinal cord injury but did eventually recover full function of her bladder and 98% function of her tail. It was terrible for about a month and took a full six months for her to completely recover, but never the less I'm SO glad I waited it out. This was 5 years ago and my baby is as happy and healthy as can be now.

I hope yours recovers soon as well!
 
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sandy2u1

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That information is very helpful. It makes me think that perhaps my vet is wanting to jump in to fast with putting the cat to sleep. That site said it could take up to 6 mos for those nerves to make a full recovery. The site also helped me come up with some questions that i can ask my vet. I am for sure getting a second opinion. Thanks!
 
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sandy2u1

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wow...so it took a month for you to see any improvent with your cats bladder function at all?
 
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sandy2u1

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no he cant poo either..that just sort of falls out on its own.
 

tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by sandy2u1

wow...so it took a month for you to see any improvent with your cats bladder function at all?
Yes. It was tough trying to decide what to do at that time. My cat was no longer in any pain after about a week so I was basically making a decision as to whether or not I could live with a cat with incompetence for the rest of her life. I decided to give it 1-2 months before making a decision as I knew in that time she would either start to improve or decline. I'm glad I waited it out because she's perfectly fine now.


My cat didn't have problems that I can recall with bowel movements, but it wouldn't surprise me that your's has this problem since these areas are all so close together.
 
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