Miss Marjorie Mittens the bed wetter (help!)

Sorry this is long.

So! Until Monday night I was not a cat owner, my family and I returned home from dinner to find a very sweet cat following us up to our front door. We went from "Hell no we do not need a cat" to her in our heated garage with food, water, litter and toys in just under an hour. My fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]e named her Marjorie, and I have to say he was right she looks like a Marjorie. We have had cats in the past so we know basic cat care.

She is obviously a pet cat, as she knows all the sounds a house cat would know (scrapping dishes, food falling in a bowl, etc) and she is very affectionate and as soon as you pick her up she starts to purr. She eats and drinks normally.

While she was playing in our Garage we noticed her tail was not working, it just hung there limply and actually scared her when it flung up and hit her on the side. I checked her out as best I could and she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to be in any pain and there were no kinks, lumps or bumps in the area, but the base of her tail is flatter that I am used to seeing.

She poops normally in her boxes (she has two) but I hadn't seen her pee, this concerned me. Well I am sitting in our recliner watching a movie; Marjorie is sprawled out in my lap, when suddenly she starts licking the recliner. Later I realized she had gone pee. I wasn't sure at first because she didn't get up or move at all just went. I had already made a vet appointment for later that day to make sure she was alright run tests, look into vaccines and the like. I figured I would just bring it up then.

Jump to the vets office (after a horrific car ride) he checks her out, she comes back clean on the tests we ran. After I explain the pee issue the vet tries to express her bladder and says she is physically able to pee so it is doubtful it is blockage, and that we will have to wait and see if it remains an issue. I express concern about the tail and ask if it will need to be removed, he says it is defiantly a wait and see because we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really know what has happened. But after a pressure test (as best as I can explain it) in which she ignored the vet he says it is doubtful she will regain use of it.

On the car ride home she was very upset and went pee in the box I had her is (it looked like quite a bit). Then she was hanging around the house (we were watching like hawks) and seemed ok. Then she gets up out of the chair she napping in part of the evening and I check it. Low and behold pee, just a little bit but pee nonetheless. So she spends the night in our garage. I check in the morning and there is pee in the garage litter box as well as poo. I see this as a good sign. Clean it out for her then let her in while I get ready for work and she walks over to her indoor litter box, does her business and walks away, My mother and I notice when she steps in the box her tail hangs over the edge and out of her way. After she walks away I go to look in and there is nothing in it, I worry then notice she did go poo, it just followed her across the kitchen floor.

So I give her lovings and leave her in the garage and have my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]e check on her when he gets up, he says there is poo in the box and a wet spot on the towel she likes to sleep on.
Long story short this is my cat now, I am attached and have placed found cat signs and posts online, no one is claiming her. I think (just my opinion) she got hurt and has potty issues and got dumped.

So here are my questions (I know about time right!):

I have done lots of online research and there are many posts about tail injuries and leaking kitties, but very little information on if removing the tail helps them regain control. Anyone have an experience?

Should I worry if she only gets pee out when she sleeps? If her bladder is full can it cause her problems? She seems to drink a fair amount of water but nothing crazy.

Should I have the vet show me how to express her bladder, and then have it expressed before she comes in the house? I want her but I also donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want my house to smell like cat pee.

If she did pee in the box (even though it was only once) and her injury is recent enough is there a fair chance she will regain bladder control?

It is doubtful I will give her to a shelter, as I am pretty sure they will just put her down. She can be an out door/garage cat, and seems comfortable outside (except when it is raining and cold) but I would love it if she could come inside.

Thanks in advance for any help, I am looking for ways to keep everyone happy, including Miss Marjorie.

Welcome to TCS & thank you for taking in Marjorie!

I honestly would have another vet look at her for a 2nd opinion. If she has no use of her tail, she is far more likely to get injured by having a 'dead tail' - the vet here always recommends removing a useless tail ASAP to prevent further injury.

That said - if she perhaps suffered some sort of spinal damage that could explain the leaking urine. Does it only seem to happen when she's sleeping, or has she been awake?

Did the vet ever test her urine to see if she had a UTI (urinary tract infection)? That would be another thing I would want to rule out if she was my kitty, as UTIs are painful & the longer they are left the go the more severe they get.

We had a cat with a tail injury similar to that one, and, although she did not have bladder problems, it does get better slowly. Not perfectly better, but manageable. (Sorry, I know that doesn't help with the "right now" part of it, but I think she just can't feel her bladder right now. It could get better.)

white Cat Lover:
Thanks for the speedy response.

The only leaking I have seen was when she is sleeping, the only pee I have been around for while she was awake was in the box on the way back from the vet.

I am pretty sure the vet was saying things in a such way that would encourage me to keep her. And I didn't express in my prior post money is an issue. I know it's a issue for everyone, and I know if she is my cat I need to take financial responsibility for her but she just kind of ended up with us. I really cannot afford the $400-800 to have to tail removed right now but I am more than willing to save up for it (I already work two jobs). I did call the vet to get an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it removed (and if they would allow payments) and a friend of mine put in a call to her at home vet for advise. And I will be calling around to other vets to see who will work with me.

If the pee issue continues over the next day or so I will call the vet to get her urine tested, or I will call to see if they tested it when he had her pee (I wasn't there).

Kluchetta:
Thanks, I am trying to be patient, more than anything I want this crazy kitty to be happy and comfortable.

Bless you for taking her in....and sorry for the problems she is having.

I agree, it's time for a 2nd opinion. The fact that she can go at times is a good sign. When my dog was spayed (hatchet job at the SPCA) she came home with some temporary incontinence but it did heal with time. She may have some spinal cord swelling (sounds like it may have been a tail jerk injury) that would respond to steroids as well.

I hope you find some answers. She sounds absolutely delightful!

I got home from work and let Marjorie in the house, she sent straight for the litter box inside and tried to go but nothing came out, she feels full (as best can tell firm belly) but cant pee. I am worried, I am calling the vet first thing is there anything I can do to help her? Also she really wants out, i am thinking maybe she could go better outside? I worry she won't come back as she is new to our home. She got out the other day was gone all day and came back that night.

What do I do?

please don't let her out - if she feels like she has to pee and is trying to go in the box, then letting her outside won't help at all. There is obviously some kind of neurological damage and/or inflammation involved with whatever injury has caused the problem with her tail. That would explain why she can pee when she's asleep.

Poor thing needs to see a vet - ideally another one. I don't know if steroids would help.

Can you apply for Care Credit? Or can you make an appeal to the vet to make payments over time? That's what most of us do when finances are tight. We sold a bunch of stuff to pay for one of our kitties that needed extended care.

Since she IS going, I'm not sure how much of a problem it could be. I do know that if she doesn't get any pee out, the urine backs up into her system and becomes toxic. When males block, it takes somewhere between 24-48 hours to kill them. But that's if there's no pee coming out at all.

In the meantime, because affording a lot of a good enzyme cleaner is likely going to be a problem for you (an enzyme cleaner is the ONLY way to clean up cat pee to the satisfaction of the cat's nose), let me go find the link for the home-made alternative that appears to work.

Found it: follow these instructions for cleaning up her pee: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=13

for you and your baby.

And yes.... I would ask the vet about learning how to express her bladder.

...and also yes - she probably got dumped because of her injury and the leaking bladder, and someone, just like you, couldn't afford to pay for her surgery - but, unlike you, wasn't willing to figure out a solution.

So she seems to be doing alright, she was walking across the living room and poo'ed, as it fell she turned and looked at her behind totally confused, she still hasn't gone pee. She is still playing and lovey, in fact she took a nice nap in my lap (she didn't pee on me).

I moved some stuff around and saw she had a good size pee in her box from last night or today some time. I am calling another vet in the morning to see if I can get in before work.

And as I write this I was informed that she has gone pee in her box. A little bit but pee is pee at this point. So I don't know where to go from here. I will keep an eye on her and call the vet in the morning.

OH I almost forgot I have her on Urinary Health Wet food, not sure the difference it makes but here's hoping. Also I haven't taken away her food or water as I worry she would get dehydrated or hungry is that we right thing?

Yes, keeping her fed and hydrated is the right thing. for being so wonderful!

Vibes for her, and for you, for being able to find a way to afford for her care.