Cat w/ broken pelvis-need advise!

bravo916

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Hello all,

I have a 12y/o spayed female that went missing Sunday. We searched high and low for her until finally yesterday evening my husband found her in the field over the fence of our house. She was very weak, dehydrated and obviously injured.

Our vet stabilized her and took x-rays and determined she had a broken hip most likely due to an automobile accident. Fortunately the break was clean but the bone that was broken was a bit dislocated.

My vet has given me 2 options: (1) put her on strict cage rest for several weeks to allow the bone to mend itself which will still permit mobility or (2) find an orthopedic surgeon and have her operated on.

Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the x-ray but I found an image of a cats pelvis online and have tried to mark the areas of the break in red and the yellow line is where the bone is currently resting.


Can anyone offer advise on what I should do? I am very concerned of the stress of surgery on her since she is older. Has anyone been thru this with their cats? If I let it heal itself will there be any other complications other than her walking with a limp? Also, I called the a very well known teaching hospital and they said that they have a month wait list to get in to orthopedics.


I should probably add that she is standing on her own and if allowed will try to walk. At this time there does not appear to be any neurological damage.

Thank you to everyone in advance!!
 

GoldyCat

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Can the vet put her in some kind of brace that would give her a little more mobility without displacing the bone further? I have no idea if such a thing even exists, just thinking about what we might do with a human in this situation---other than bedrest and traction.
 

runawayrisa

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The second day I had my baby Aphrodite she snuck up on the vacuum and freaked out somehow injuring herself against the closet doors and had a fractured hip bone. She had surgery ($$ouch!) and was put on 2 medications which made her so high she didn't really move other than limping to the lb or getting food and water. She recovered perfectly and is doing great! .....but she is also 7.5 months old.... and she was 4 mo at the time so I wouldn't be sure if it would cause too much stress on a 12yo.......
 

kalikat

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Many years ago I accidentally ran over our cat, she was 1-2 yrs at the time, now my mum's cat. At the time I couldn't afford for her to have x-rays but the vet said her pelvis was broken because he could hear & feel grinding. He said that in the days b4 xrays etc that the only treatment option was cage rest for 6 weeks. Which we did. She fully recovered except for throwing her hind leg out slightly as she walks. It didn't stop her from climbing onto our roof. She's now 17 y/o.
The difference with your cat is age & the severity of the brake going by the pic.
 

skimble

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I have not experienced this and am so sorry for all that you must be going through.

Just a thought.....

Can you get the xrays and take them for the orthopedic vet to view? He might be able to give you guidance as to his opinion on your choices.

The month long wait for an appointment should not apply with a broken pelvis or bone. This would be considered an emergency. Can you talk to someone of authority at the orthopedic clinic and explain. If you wait a month it seems that the bone would be healed some and then it could not be repaired with surgery after that long of a wait. Most of the clerical people that schedule the appointments are not qualified to make these decisions as to what is urgent. Or, ask if your current vet will get the xrays to the orthopedic vet and see what he thinks you should do. Wishing a speedy recovery.
 

nance

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I don't have experience with a cats broken pelvis but I just went thru a broken leg with my chihuahua....the vets also told me it won't heal right without surgery.....They don't do surgery in my city and I would have to take her 1.5 hrs away to a large city where she would have to stay for one week or more....let alone costing at LEAST $3000...They could do the surgery at any point ...so I thought I'd wait and see if it was needed....She was to tiny to cast it so splinting it was what we did....Thats a whole other mess I won't get into but in the end her leg was totally healed after 3 weeks....however her feet hardly hit the floor for those 3 weeks...we couldn't kennel her cause she would move to much and the splint would come off ...She was young as well..the older they are the longer it takes to heal...But even with surgery she will need kennel rest for a few weeks I am sure...And since you can't even get her in for one month...I would think kennel rest is what your going to have to do...I've talked to many ppl who have been thru broken bones and ppl have come up with some pretty interesting immobility idea's...from a x large cage with soft bedding and nothing for them to jump on...to home made ideas....Let us know what you decide to do....Good Luck
 
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bravo916

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Thank you all for your well wishes.

I am trying to schedule several consults with orthopedic specialists to see what their opinion is on the best course of action for her.

Right now she is in a dog crate that has just enough room for her lb, very comfy bed, food and water. I plan to keep her imobile until we can figure out what to do.

Its kind of frustrating because my vet seems to be pretty clueless as to what to do--its scary because I trust him with the lives of all of my pets and for me to sense a weakness makes me wonder if I should stay with him.

For 12 she is a very healthy cat and her bloodwork came back excellent so I am confident she has many fruitful years ahead of her.

The hurry-up-and-wait portion is just killing me though....
 
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bravo916

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Originally Posted by mews2much

Are you in california?
Uc Davis would be a goo place to talk to.
I ahve talked to them about problems before.
Thank you so much. Yes I called UC Davis and they told me that they had a month waitlist to get into orthopedics. The lady on the phone was very firm and did not seem to think that a broken pelvis was an "emergency"

I just got off of the phone with a vet in Lodi (a little over an hour away) who cousults to ortho-specialist and she thinks its best to put her on strict cage rest for a week. During that time we need to be making sure she can go potty and look for signs of imrovement like increased movement. If she doesnt appear to be doing both then surgery is most likely our only option.

My girl is quite the fighter so I am confident that she will emerge victoriously regardless of what road we need to travel.
 

mews2much

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I live less the 45 minutes from Lodi.
I hope she feels better.
Uc Davis is always like that.
Took me over a month to find out if they could help Yoshi.
To bad they couldnt.
 
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bravo916

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Originally Posted by mews2much

I live less the 45 minutes from Lodi.
I hope she feels better.
Uc Davis is always like that.
Took me over a month to find out if they could help Yoshi.
To bad they couldnt.
Oh I am so sorry about Yoshi
 
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bravo916

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Originally Posted by mews2much

Thanks I lost him Jan 11 2008.
How many cats do you have?
I am so sorry--it is so hard to lose them.

I have 2 rescues
Both appeared as tiny feral kittens and 12 and 10 years later havent left
My older girl--the one with the broken hip is a Siamese mix and the other is tabby.

We also have 3 dogs so our house is quite the menagerie
 

mews2much

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Thats nice.
I just fond out today my old cat has maybe 5 months to live.
Her crf is worse.
She is half siamese and is almost 17.
My youngest is a sphynx I just got Dec 10th from North Carolina.
My Meeko is 8.5 and had surgery last week.
My Sasha is a Russian Blue mix and is 2.5.
Oreo Cookie Monster is 1.5 and has fcks.
I asked for her because she has problems.
Do you have pics of your cats?
 
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bravo916

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Oh man--I am so sorry. Your fur kids are so lucky to have someone that is willing to love and care for them like you are.

My mom also has a 17yr old Siamese mix. She's doing pretty well for her age but requires IV fluids every 2 days or so because of her kidneys.

Here are some pictures of my girls:

Dyllne (pronounced Dylan)


and Taylor


As you can tell, one eats to live and the other lives to eat
 

auntie crazy

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Wow, what a stressful situation! I admire your confidence - that will really help you.

Sending many .

Please keep us up to date as you can!
 
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bravo916

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I have excellent news to report.

My girl is urinating and defecating normally! I never thought I would be this happy to say it.

Its weird talking about her business but these were the main signs to look for in indicating if her prognosis would be good. Per the specialist this could take 7+ days to happen, if at all, and I am happy to say she is doing it regularly!!

I have made the decision that if the ortho-specialists think this surgery will be the most beneficial to her then I will do it. In just 3 days she has gone from deaths doorstep to functioning almost normally (albeit, with a limp).

As long as she is willing to fight I will do all that is possible for her.


Thank you again for all of your well wishes and positive energy--it is helping!!
 
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