My cat has a broken spine

I got my cat from the spca about a month ago. He was neuterd and already declawed in his front paws. He's really skinny and doesn't eat alot. First we noticed that he walked a little bull legged, eating his kitty litter and he was licking everything (cement, the tile floor, windows.. etc). We thought he was lacking something like minerals and thats why he was eating litter and licking things... $300 blood tests later... nothing.


Even in the month since we got him he is having significantly more trouble walking and jumping. We took him in for an x-ray (because of the walking). They found that he has a fractured spine between the last and second last vertibrea. The vet gave us some prednesone to give him for the next 2 weeks, then thats it, he said you can't really do anything after that.

We inquired about an mri and he said that it wouldnt really tell us much of anything else that we didnt already know.. therefore not really worth it. We are ok with having him with a fractured spine as long as hes not in pain.. And the fact that he's getting worse is very worrysome. He's started to pee and poop outside his litterbox now. He still goes to the litterbox room downstairs but just goes outside of it instead of in it for the last few days. We don't know what to do with him as far as the litterbox and if the mri is a good idea, his worsening walking condition and where we should go from here. Any advice or comments are appreciated.

I'm not a Vet or Dr. or anything of that nature, but I can't see how having a fractured spine is good for the cat. Can you take him back to the SPCA where you got him and ask if they will help determine his treatment? Perhaps something like a body cast until it heals might be somewhat of a solution.

Did you ask the Vet how his spine might have become fractured? I'm sure his odd behaviour has alot to do with his discomfort. Please handle him with great care...and I hope he's a strictly indoor cat.

Best of luck to you. Give you cat lots of love.

I don't think a body cast would help a fracture, and that would just stress him out. Poor kitty...I hope he heals well.

Did the vet mention keeping him confined? I can't imagine going up and down stairs is good for him, perhaps put a litter tray nearby so he doens't have to travel far. You might also need a very low sided tray that's easy to get into.

I'd get a second opinion if your current vet isn't giving enough information on how to best care for your cat.

Beside agreeing with what has already been said, I'm sending out lots of prayers to him . I would absolutely get a second opinion on this. There has to be something that can be done for this poor little guy! The pain has to be terrible.

Get a second opinion. Your kitty has many issues that could stem from his injury.

Poor baby, give him lots of love and attention....handle with extreme care. Find a more proactive vet.

God bless you for taking this little one in.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I have not had a cat with a broken spine before, however, I did have a cat who had 4 collapsed disks in his back. This cat had trouble walking and eventually had to be put down because he became almost completely parilysed in the back end.
My vet at the time (who was absolutely wonderful) told me to keep him confined in a small cage (only room for a litterpan and food, and a space to ly down) for 6 weeks, then confined to a bedroom for another 4. It worked well on this little guy, and I would think with a broken spine, that some kind of confinement would be necessary.
The litterpan issue is slightly worrysome, but there are some simple reasons as to why that is happening. I could be because his back is very painful, and it hurts to crawl into the litterpan. You might want to get a low sided one, like someone before mentioned. Another reason, however less likely, is that the broken spine has caused a slight paralysis and it is making it hard to control his bladder/bowel movements.

I know the vet said it wouldn't help, and I'm not a vet myself, but if money is not an issue, it might be worthwhile to get an MRI, this will show if there is anything impeding the spinal canal due to the fracture.

I would definately get a second opinion, i think the poor thing should be confined so that he can heal properly.

I am sending lots of good vibes. It always hard when our furbabies are injuried.

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. We've switched his litter box to a 3" high box that you would get with a flat of beer and he has already been using swheat litter, and he still has the same problems. He is approx. 2yrs. old, just a baby. We give him wet food everyday alongside his normal dry food. So far he eats Fancy feast, wet and dry as a preference. Most of all he likes his temptations kitty treats. No apparent front paw pain. The pooping seems to come on its own, but he still makes the effort to go downstairs. We just moved another box upstairs, well see how that goes

I would go and talk to the spca you got the kitty from. They might be able to get another opinion for you, or may cover some of the vet cost for treatment.

The treatment for injuries like this can run into the thousands. You need to let the SPCA know of your situation and whether you are prepared financially to take on this sort of responsibility. I'm sure they were unaware of the problem when they adopted the cat to you.

If it's a bone fracture, the area of the break needs to be immobilised in order for it to heal. Is there a way a vet could use pins to reattach the bone? Again--this ain't cheap.

My heart goes out to this poor boy. I imagine he must be in some level of pain due to this? Or at least discomfort...

The vet said that there wasn't anything else he could personally do. The next step he mentioned was being referred to a nearby city for an mri\\diagnostics. I assume he would have mentioned that they could use pins as that would be money in his pocket?

The spca has said thet they can try to help with any vet bills, but my concern is less about money and more about the cats health and what can help him recover.

I've tuned myself in to him over the time we've been together. I can tell that he is in pain. Today his walking has been terrible, having to sit every few steps. I want to try a joint and bone formula for him that has glucosomine etc. Not sure if that will help. He still likes to play and eat treats. As I'm typing we are training him to go in the litter box in our porch, bypassing the stairs he needed to take before.

Sorry for the long post... I appreaciate everyone's input and will keep you updated.

best wished with this issue..sending you all the positive vibes i have left

Bless you for doing all you can for this poor kitty...

Bless you - where are you located, and are there any vet schools near you? Or could the SPCA refer you to a specialist? Bless you for your efforts, and I hope a good resolution can be found.

I found my Bella as a kitten. She was dragging her back feet and could not walk on them. She got around by dragging with her front feet. I went to a stupid vet (didn't know they were stupid at the time) and they took an xray and said everything is fine on it. They said it was nerological and that it wasn't likely to get better. She didn't act like she was in any pain, and still managed to use the litter box. I begged the vet to give her something, just so we could say that we tried and he gave me some Predinsone.

I confined her to a crate for about 3 months, per the vets orders and let her out for very supervised play time. Over a course of months on the Pred she slowly startded walking. It was VERY gradual. At first she started putting her back feet under her, but still was not able to walk. About 1 yr later she was walking and running just like a normal cat. She never showed any signs of pain though.

A couple years later she needed an xray from something unrelated, and I took her to a diff vet (my current vet) and the xray showed where her vertebrae had been broken but had healed. The vet asked me "Did you know that she had a broken vertebrea at one point? But it's healed just fine now." I explained the whole story to him.

I hope you can figure something out for your kitty, is he on any meds? I would ask the vet for something like Predinsone and a light painkiller for him.

Good luck