She was brought in to see me at once: after examining her carefully, I explained to her owners that she had suffered a serious spinal injury.
I took a series of X-ray pictures, to identify the precise nature of her injuries. The first, survey radiograph seemed normal, but when close-up views were taken of one suspicious area, a small but very significant abnormality was visible. She had fractured one of the bones of her spine. A wedge of bone had broken off the base of one of her vertebrae, the cube-like bones that make up the spinal column. Despite this fracture, she had been lucky, and the alignment of her spine had not been disturbed.
The spinal cord carries the nerve supply to the rear half of the body, including the hind limbs. It travels down in the centre of the backbone, protected inside a narrow tunnel that is formed by the end-to-end positioning of the many small spinal bones, each containing a hole that lines up with the adjacent bones on either side. As you can imagine, if one of those bones is broken and moved out of alignment with the other bones, the spinal cord in the tunnel is usually completely torn in half. This results in complete and permanent paralysis.
In Topsy’s case, one of the bones that makes up the wall of the tunnel had been broken, but it had not moved out of alignment. This meant that although her spinal cord had been damaged in the accident, there was a possibility that it might not have been completely severed. It may have been crushed, bruised and twisted, but it may not have been permanently damaged.
To evaluate the extent of her problem, I then carried out a detailed neurological examination was carried out. This involves systematically testing a tick list of reflexes and nerve function tests. The examination showed that Topsy had some movement in her right back leg, and she miaowed loudly when I pinched the toes of both back legs. This meant that, crucially, she still had sensation in her feet: her spinal cord was able to send messages from her back legs to her brain. This meant that although her spinal cord may have been damaged, it had not been torn in two: there was a chance that she could make a recovery.
When I returned Topsy to her cage, she dragged herself into her litter tray and passed urine on her own. This was an excellent sign, since it meant that her brain was able to send voluntary messages to her bladder. It was another sign of continued functioning of at least part of her spinal cord.
At this stage, there a ninety per cent probability that Topsy would improve with simple rest and time. If we could confine her to a cage for several weeks, there was a good chance that the broken piece of bone in her back would gradually weld back into place, without the need for surgery. We would need to monitor her nerve function very carefully, but with continued luck, Topsy would be walking again within a month.
If there had been no feeling in Topsy’s toes, and if she had not been able to pass urine, the picture would have been much bleaker. She would have had to be referred to a specialist centre for MRI scans and possible complex surgery, and even then, the chance of a full recovery would not have been high.
As it was, Topsy went home in a large cage that will be her home until she is better. One week into her recovery, she is already using both back legs. She is unlikely to have such a serious accident again, but if she does, her owners have made sure of one thing. They have taken out pet insurance for her, so that if she’s less lucky next time, the high costs of specialist referral work will be covered. Hopefully, it won’t be needed: one serious road accident in a lifetime is more than enough for any cat.
Discussion
My 2 months old kitten fell from the first floor its been two days he is not responding to anything
After showing to vet the vet has given medication and injections
He is trying to walk but not happening
Plz help what should i do
Definitely keep in touch with the vet – it may be that the medication will take time to work. However, if there’s no response after a 7-10 days, it may be that the damage is sadly irreversible – in which case, it might be time to consider his quality of life and whether it’s time to humanely end his suffering.
Good luck with him, and I hope he begins to respond!
My cat fell from a height and couldn’t walk. He lost sensation of his lower body , legs,and tail.he wasn’t able to urinate too. I took an x-ray on vets advice and it says that the spine is broken and it impossible to recover, will he ever walk?
It is very unlikely – and the kindest thing is likely to be to put him humanely to sleep
My cat is 2.5 years old . He had an accident maybe he fell from a height . We took him to the vet immediately. His back legs don’t work (has some sensation and movement) but cannot urinate on his own . We have to help him express his bladder manually . He doesn’t have any fracture and his organs are fine (as per vet). Maybe his nerves are damaged . Our vet has suggested neurobin medicine for a month .
Will my cat recover ? How long will it take him to recover ?
It’s almost impossible to say for sure. If there’s no bone damage, I would expect some degree of recovery, especially in such a young cat if he still has some sensation, but how much is really hard to say. The key thing is going to be following the rehabilitation plan from your vet, and remember, it could take a week or two before you see improvement, and then months to reach the max level of function.
Good luck!
My kitten is almost 7 weeks old, two days ago on Friday it was hit by a door while running, I can’t precisely say that the door slightly closed on it while running into the room or not because I just saw her spasming on the floor immediately all over its body and all muscles are contracting, I immediately picked it up trying to comfort it then its down part stopped moving, its back legs and tail aren’t moving since then, its front legs and head are perfectly moving and it moves around and runs on its front limbs and dragging its hind limbs and tail like mermaid
It does do its business on its own (urnine and stool) but on itself (it didn’t practise much on where to poop and urinate, but usually before injury he did in the bathroom, now he poop on himself), I clean it and its mom cleans him too, he has appetite for food but can’t eat much, tbh I didn’t track his diet before the injury to decide whether he eats little than usual or as usual but I recognized that he doesn’t eat much like I gave him boiled eggs, some of the yolk part, he ate some of it but not the the whole chunk, same with boiled potatoes and dry food
I tried to bend his legs a little and I saw that he felt kinda of pain, which means he still has sense in his hind limbs right? Also his tail as well, I saw many cases online recovered by physical therapy, can mine too? What exercise should I follow? I can’t go to vet currently so if I beg your pardon, help kindly
Thank you so much, I wish I can give hope to this little kitten again to walk on its limbs like before, he’s always walking and running in the apartment dragging his hind limbs behind
He needs veterinary care AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – it is very difficult to nurse a spinal injury without professional assessment and treatment, and the prognosis is definitely poor. Good luck!
My cat fell from 3rd floor twice now he stopped pooping n peeing by himself ,he is walking ,running,jumping.but he cant give pressure to poop or pee ,wat to do?
Definitely vet time – vthat does sound like there might be some nerve damage. Hopefully, it’s pain related instead, as that’s more treatable – so good luck!
I have 1 month small kitten yesterday he was bitten by another cat on his spinal cord he got injury in his nerve I went to doctor she sad he has 30% of chances to walk we saw that he have a little sensation in his tail please let me know how he will recover please help me
If he has a 30% chance, he has a 30% chance: there are no certainties with spinal injuries. So be thorough and diligent with his exercises and rehabilitation, and good luck!
On January 1st of this year my 11 yr old cat was paralyzed in his back legs. (we think it was from jumping off cat tree) Fast forward to October and he is walking and is able to poop on his own but will not go in litter box, he goes on a wee wee pad and has to sort of walk as he is pooping with a very wide stance, but he still not able to urinate on his own. I have been expressing his bladder since January and was curious if he has a chance on still healing.
There was a paper on this last week, and that was one of the points the authors raised: in general, no improvement in bladder function is likely beyond 4 weeks after an injury.
My cat was bitten by a dog a couple of months ago and his spinal cord was injured. He is dragging both his back legs. He took steroid (dexamethasone intramuscular injection) for three days and is now getting a vitamin b complex intramuscular injection every other day and it’s been three weeks. In addition, he’s also getting regular massages and physical therapy every day.
He’s definitely improving but I would like to know what else I can do for him so he can improve faster and be able to walk again.
If he’s improving, that’s great!
The most important thing now is going to be a good progressive physical therapy plan. There’s not a lot else that can be done, assuming that he doesn’t need surgical fixation: it’s time, patients, and hope. Good luck!
my cat got hit by a car and broke its spine, paw, and its eye poked out. what do i do?
Seek veterinary attention IMMEDIATELY.
I found a kitten (maybe 8-10 wks old) along a rural road, scooped her up, and immediately took her to a vet clinic. She has some treatable injuries, but the biggest concern is radial nerve paralysis in her right leg. She drags it around; it is entirely flaccid. I cannot detect any deep pain response. We do at-home physical rehab every day to try to keep the muscles from atrophying and contracting. She has now begun, about 50% of the time (after about 1.5 weeks) to drag only the tips of her toes rather than her entire paw. It does not appear to be due to contracture. Might she be regaining some movement from her shoulder or upper leg? I know it’s a long shot, but I swear it looks like improvement. I am waiting at least a month before deciding whether the leg needs to be amputated. (It is a 2-hour round trip to the vet, so I try to do as much at-home care as possible).
It is possible; at that age there’s a lot of redundancy and even some regenerative capacity left, so some degree of improvement over 2-3 weeks is possible. However, if she was going to make a full (or even functional) recovery, I’d be looking for substantially more improvement over the next week or so. Good luck with her!
Just nearly a month ago I have rescued a street cat, a male kitten to be precise, very little one, probably one and a half year of age. I saw he was trying to move to a hiding place and his entire back is inactive, and one of his back leg is visibly injured. Initially I thought he was attacked by a stray dog. I took him to a good, reputed, vastly experienced doctor. The doctor thinks he possibly had an accidental clash with some kind of behicle and he might have broken his leg bone in couple of areas but even though his spine too suffered a hit but luckyly its not broken and the alignment of the entire spine is normal. This assessment was made by the doctor by just observing the kitty physically. No X-ray was done. But under the doctors treatment we see the cat is now moving both of his back legs pretty nicely. He can stretch his back legs, can move both to seat on his own though not in a proper cat-like posture- but we are happy to see these good developments. Sadly he is still unable to walk. I wonder is it becoming a psychological condition for him that he thinks he cannot walk? His tail also has sensation but he cannot move it 100% voluntarily. We kept him in a cage. He does his pees-poops there without our help. We are still worried are we going towards right direction? Will he be cured completely? The doctor gives us hope, but not the assurity. Please tell me, is he going to be all right again?
It definitely sounds like he’s going in the right direction – which is great, really well done!
The difficulty walking is unlikely to be psychological, but might possibly be due to pain; alternatively, there might be some long-lasting nerve damage.
So I would echo your doctor: it looks hopeful, but sadly there are no guarantees.
Our 3 year old cat is nursing six kittens that are around 7 weeks old. She has obviously broken her tail, and has major spinal injury. Her back is severely humped and twisted to the right. Her back legs are very weak, but she can still walk. The first day, she was dragging her back legs, but is now walking and increasing steadiness and speed every day. She has no bowel control whatsoever, and has an abundance of what I think are maggots in her rear. She obviously has no feeling in her back half, so she doesn’t do anything about them. We are buying spray that is safe for her and will kill the worms. Do you think we should put her down, and if not, what is a good recommendation for the spray?
I definitely think if she’s building up maggots, that calling it a day and putting her down is probably in her best interests. The kittens are old enough now to wean, so that won’t be an issue – but it does sound like she is suffering.
My cat suffers with nerve damage to her back legs and lower spine? Is there any medication but not tablets that can help with pain and mobility? Thank you
There are some liquid painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs that can be given in food – I would advise talking to your vet, however, as I cannot legally recommend any prescription medicines.
my kitten got ran over by a 3 wheeler and is now dragging her hind legs. whenever she tries to move, her hind legs fold up and she is leaking poop. we don’t have any Xray facilities available here but after the accident she showed discomfort near her tail area. can you suggest me how i can take care of her ….
OK, this is complicated and needs veterinary care – but sadly, the prognosis if she doesn’t regain some bowel function in 3-5 days is very poor.
As I stay in hostel, I used to feed a kitten here since 2-3 months , yesterday night in my absence she fell down from the third floor.. No one observed that till morning, when it was taken to vet, they directly said there is no chance that it walk again, she is trying to pull herself by her both front legs but she is not getting sense of her back legs please suggest any solution. she is taking her food but not active like before I can’t see her like this. Is there any chance that she walk again like before??
Without knowing precisely what the injuries are it’s very hard to say, but if there is a bony spinal injury and she is as paralysed as you say, the chances of a meaningful recovery are virtually zero. Sadly, I think it might be time to say goodbye.
Somehow (exact cause unknown) my cat lost the ability to use her back legs. She has an x-ray and nothing is broken, and she was sent home with us for strict kennel rest.
It’s been two weeks and she can move her legs, but still can’t put weight on them and she hasn’t moved her tail at all. She can urinate and dedicate and tries to use the litter
Is there hope for recovery? The lack of tail movement worries me.
If she can now move her legs, and couldn’t before, that is significant improvement, which is great news. Spinal injuries like this where there is no bone damage and some improvement in function in the first week or two can have a fairly good prognosis – but they take a LOT of time. Nerves grow very slowly and she might be having to regrow a lot of the spinal nerve roots.
As long as she’s not in pain or distress, and she is improving (albeit very slowly), I’d certainly give her time to see how she does.
Good luck with her!
My cat suffered a spinal fracture (broken spine) 4 days ago and is in a very bad state. She’s in pain and has fever on and off. She has a little sensation in her hind limbs but no control over her urination. I’m feeding her liquids with a syringe. Is there any way out that I can make some kind of support brace for her spine so that it heals? The doctors don’t give any positive sign for her treatment/recovery. I hope to see a reply that helps at the earliest.
Messaging from India
Unfortunately, while the spine might heal with a brace, the spinal cord itself, carrying nerve signals, is much less likely to respond. In general, these sorts of devices in cats are ineffective and often border on the cruel – cats don’t usually adapt well to a life of paraplegia.
I have a cat who got stuck under our house and was unable to move his back and front paws. He is alert, eating, drinking, and vitals normal. I had an x-ray done and the vet doesnt see anything significant besides a very large/full bladder. I have to make a decision tomorrow and I’m having a really difficult time as they do not see the exact cause.
Unfortunately, not all paralysis is due to a really obvious fracture that is visible on an X-ray. Sometimes, soft tissue injuries are just as devastating, but you would need an MRI scanner to identify them.
As a result, we have to look at the cat’s neurological status: complete paralysis of front and back limbs suggests very severe damage to the spinal cord in the neck, or a brain injury. If he is unable to urinate, this often indicates complete failure of the sacral nerves – and deciding the humanely end his suffering is never a wrong decision in these cases, especially if there has been little or no improvement in 24-48 hours.
Hello Everyone. A few of my neighbors and I take care of the society stray cats(i.e. feeding them and all). One of the 2/3 month old kittens got hit by a vehicle around 4days back and is dragging her hind legs since then. The left hind leg she is putting some pressure on to stand up but the right one she is completely dragging. She eats and drinks fine. Her poop needs to be removed manually and urine dribbles on its own. The day it came to my notice that her abdomen seems swollen up and also she is passing slightly blood tinged urine. I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow. But usually how does this end? I do not want her to suffer. And as I am a single working woman I can’t even stay at home and look after her. Also in India we don’t have easily available 24/7 vet hospitals that admit the poor babies. So what do I even do?
If she needs help to defecate, and has uncontrolled urination, this is really bad news – it suggests a significant spinal injury. The probability for full recovery after 4 days without definitive treatment is sadly very low – and euthanasia might well be the best option for her, unfortunately.
Great read!!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog.
Hi, I found a kitten on the road dragging on its hind legs. It looked like it had a spinal injury. I took her to a vet closeby whose initial diagnosis was nerve damage and possible fracture of spinal chord. I got the X-ray done and found that her L4 & L5 were not fractured but displaced. She was able to pass urine and stools on day 3 after i got her home. Until now, I have done 3 physiotherapy sessions involving acupuncture for her, also done a couple of exercises that the Dr showed a few times everyday at home and her recovery is very good. She is able to use both her legs for more than 5 minutes now. The Physiotherapist is also hopeful in the coming week, she would regain more strength and we can then plan to return her to the same place 🙂 A little bit of TLC with proper medications and physio, this kitten will live a healthy life 😊
That’s fantastic – well done with all the work you’ve done with her!
Yesterday morning at 6 o’clock our cat was brutally attacked by dogs, she survived but both the back legs are not moving 😞 Her Spinal cord has broken kindly suggest home treatment and as well as lesser therapy.
Thanks!
Sameer
You can’t treat this at home – she need veterinary attention NOW if she is to have a decent chance of survival or quality of life.
my cat got run over by a car. She can still walk but has a lump on her thighs. its been about 4 days now and sometimes i see her struggling to walk. how can i treat her and would it be possible to treat her at home.
You might be able to give her physio and home treatment, but she will need a veterinary assessment and diagnosis first, as well as medication. Next steps will depend on what the vet finds – good luck!
My kitten was bitten by a dog and he caught her in his mouth. Now she can’t move her lower legs, tail and back side. Can she will be cured 😢😢
Maybe, but it’s impossible to say without full veterinary examination with imaging – at least X-ray and probably MRI too. Good luck!
My 3 month old kitten was squished in a door by some kids when I wasn’t around around and he has
Started dragging his hind legs, I took him to the vet for further check up because I was worried he did an X ray but there was nothing wrong with the spine and he concluded that it was nerve damage but my kitten was responding to pain in his hind legs and can poop on his own but I have to stimulate him to pee, he eats food as normal and is very energetic and playful as usual but his tail and hind legs don’t seem to be working, can he recover? should I try acupuncture or laser therapy for him?
It depends exactly what kind of damage there is. It might be worthwhile talking to your vet about MRI or CT scanning, as X-rays aren’t great for picking up soft tissue injuries, that could be causing spinal problems. There are medications that can help reduce the swelling, helping the nerves to start working again, so you could have a chat with your vets about that too. Good luck with him!
I am reading though this since I rescued a month old cat from the street and it was dragging its hind legs. Took her to a vet and he said it may or may not be alright again but the cat is very active and eats and poops/pees regularly though it may not have full control on this part. It has been a month now and its going good except for the paralysed hind.
I am adding a comment here because I see you so dedicated that you are responding to every inquiry/comment put by the public, really glad that there are so helpful people like you David.
If the cat is active and able to get around, and has a good quality of life, that’s great! It might be worth considering amputation of the paralysed leg, so she isn’t dragging it everywhere with her: cats cope really well on three legs, and a paralysed leg often gets injured or even bitten off, as they can’t feel it.
my cat was hit by a car and his spine was broken. he can eat and pee but cant poo, the vet needs to do it manually. its been 5 days since and now his urinary bladder is getting bigger so the vet needs to do cystocentesis. How will i care for him when i bring him home already.
Unfortunately, it does suggest that there is serious neurological damage: if the bladder is filling up that means he doesn’t have urinary control, just overflow incontinence. Sadly, if it’s 5 days, the prognosis is very poor, and it might be worth considering whether it is kinder to end his suffering rather than prolonging it.
Hi
My 4 months old cat has been hitten to the road by a dog( the dog took my cat with his mouth and hitted hard to the road) yesterday…Its both back
legs are not working..! Can my kitten walk again?
What really happened explain to my cat ?
Explain plzzz
What’s happened is that there is damage to the spinal cord and/or the nerves to their hind legs. Sadly, this is often very serious, and frequently incurable. However, you need a full neurological examination, and probably X-rays and scans from your vet to be sure of what is going on and how likely they are to recover.
My 5 month old kitten fell from a height and fractured it’s spine and shoulder bone. We took x-rays and the vet said that she is too young to have surgery. Idk if that’s true or not but she’s not passing urine even though I tried to do it manually. She is breathing really hard rn. Can she survive this ..
That’s really sad, I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, the chances of a good recovery if she’s unable to pass urine are very poor – and the hard breathing might well be due to pain. It might be that the kindest thing to do is to let her go.
Hi,
I found my 2 month old kitten outside of our house the next day after it ran away last night (I was sick so nobody bothered to find him and get it back home) and when I found him he was dragging his back legs. Like he only moved his front legs to walk to me. When I tried to touch the legs it meowed. I couldn’t take him to a vet cause I have no money. It’s been like 3 days and he doesn’t move his tail at all I doubt it can feel it. But he moves his back legs a little. And he can’t poop or pee. His stomach has gotten bigger. He eats good. When I put pressure on his tummy he releases pee. Like when u squeezes a bottle of water.
Old give me some advice.
Find a charity who can help, or a charity or even a local farmer who can put him out of his suffering: this suggests an irreparable spinal injury that is a massive animal welfare problem.
Hello,
My kitten fell from a top floor to the basement of our apartment, and lay where she fell for some time before we found her. She had bleeding from her mouth, but that was due to an open wound she got from the impact. She couldn’t move her lower back, but her hind legs were twitching/trembling, similar to but not as much as her front legs, which were moving just fine. I called a mobile vet who took her for XRay, which shows that she has a spinal fracture. The vet tells me that euthanasia would be a kind course of action for her, because surgery is really expensive, and not a guarantee of recovery.
However, reading through the story of Topsy, seems like she is going through the same thing, because when I found her, she had pooped and peed. What I don’t know is whether she did that voluntarily, or it just happened due to nerve injury. There was blood in a different spot from where she pooped, so I’m guessing she tried to move from where she fell, trying to get a place to poop, but couldn’t go far due to her fractured spine.
What would you advise?
With spinal fractures, the nerve damage isn’t always instantaneous – it’s quite common for an animal to have some nerve function immediately after an accident, only for that to fade away over the next 24-36 hours as the damaged tissues swell and the injured nerves die back. Sadly, my experience is that relatively few cats with a complete spinal fracture (as opposed to a crack) do well, and if your vet is advising euthanasia on humane grounds, I think I would go along with that. It’s horrible, but it might be the kindest thing. Good luck.
My kitten fell down from upstairs and now she cant walk well or stand by herself or balance her self but she try moviing and get out of the box what would she have, the doctor didnt tell us anything
OK, definitely time to talk to your vet again – is there spinal injury, or did she hit her head, or what?
Hello, my 4-month-old kitten was attacked by a dog ( it actually carried it in its mouth to some distance). we rescued it, and now it’s not able to move its lower body. It can feel its legs and tail. The doctor says that there is a spinal injury and the recovery rate is too low however doctor did give medicine to see if it recovers but the kitten can’t pee or poop on its own and the doctor dint say anything about what can be done. I’m not sure if I should consult some other doctor. please let me know what I can do.
If the cat can’t urinate or defecate, that means there is very severe – probably catastrophic – spinal damage. It might be kinder to consider a humane euthanasia, sadly, to end his suffering.
Hello, today my cat was hit by a car and her hind leg has a fracture. She ran away due to pain and she bleeded out from the rectum. The doctor is performing the surgery after 5 days and he said there might be internal injuries. My cat is not eating now. What should I do ?? Is there a problem if she has bleeded out of the rectum ?? Will she be fine ?
Bleeding from the rectum is unusual and suggests serious internal injuries – I hope she does OK but you must prepare yourself of the possibility that she won’t be able to pull through. Good luck.
Hello, My pet cat who was a ve4y weak stray cat a few days ago got hit by a car today morning and since we do not have vet around my area I had to take her about7km away. So after it took around 1.30minutes to reach and as soon as we reached she got checked. The doctor said she has internal bleeding and was already sick and was lacking blood in her body, the doctor gave her painkiller injections, glucode and other injections but since our cat wasn’t responding it was difficult for her to survive. I am asked to bring her abdominal and limbs xray tommorow to know what bones were broken and treat her accordingly. I dont have money for xray now it costs about Rs 3000, I came home and she’s having bed rest but I am not sure why she isn’t as warm as she should be and kinda cold.
What should I do?
That sounds really bad news – like she might be going into shock and her body shutting down. If she’s still with you, contact the vet ASAP, but sadly, she might be losing her fight.
my kiiti last 3. day injure backegs to bon not work last 3 day not eat and not work legs please suggest medicin
Seek urgent veterinary attention – this is not a query that can be dealt with over the internet; there are no medications that can fix spinal injuries on their own. Your cat needs veterinary examination, assessment and treatment, possibly including surgery.
My 9 year old Maine Coon cat was injured from being thrown from a 3rd story balcony,over 2 fences and a rooftop. Amazingly she didn’t break anything during this traumatic ordeal but she is unable to use her hind legs after 2-1/2 months. She has jerky movements and when I squeeze her back paws, she pulls them away from me. One of her vets says it could take months for her to use her hind legs or possibly never. She is very loving purrs almost always, loves to eat and drink but is incontinent. Any suggestions?
The degree and speed of recovery is very variable – it might be worth talking to your vets about physiotherapy exercises you can do to help build muscle and re-establish proprioception (spatial awareness in the limb)?
Hi, so I have a cat that was hit by a car two days ago. He’s my 2 year old favorite kitten. Took him to the vet and found out he has a broken back leg and tail. She said he could live a very perfect normal life getting them amputated off, but the issue is the nerve damage, they don’t know if it messed up his bowel. Because when they checked his temperature with a thermometer he had no reaction to his rectum..I don’t know what to do!!! Should I put him down or what?
There’s no way to know. However, in many cases some nerve function will return in the first 48-72 hours after injury. If there hasn’t been any improvement by then, the prognosis for return of function is poorer, although not hopeless. I think this is something you need to have a long chat to your vet about – good luck.
Hi. I found a kitten on road its meowing a little but it isn’t moving at all like its dying what do I do because I’m scared its dying
Call a vet for it ASAP, don’t leave the poor thing to suffer.
Hi I rescued an injured 8-10 week old kitten, likely spinal, after his last owner accidentally slammed a door on him. When I saw him, his was dragging his back legs and had a bit of a bloated abdomen.
I took him to emergency vet after I found out/took him which was 2 days after injury. On the X-ray they did not identify any breaks or spine misalignment and confirmed he still has feeling and reflex in his back legs. They did see inflammation near the trauma area and prescribed him pain meds but said kitten’s are too young for anti inflammatories. They suggested HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy as an option but I want to meet with a neurologist first. They didn’t seem worried about the bloating which I’m not so sure about.
It’s now been three days later. His mood and energy are very high and he does not appear to be in pain. He’s really active and wanting to pull himself around and explore.
He can poop on his own but I can’t really tell with his urination whether he can’t control the flow or just chooses to pee at times right where he is at. Idk if he had used a litter box before. I did notice today that he dragged himself under the couch and ended up peeing there.
He is still dragging his back legs but I have seen him move them weakly while sitting, especially after I massage his toes.
Going to the neurologist today but curious to hear others’ thoughts.
Did the kitten make a recovery what was there diagnosis?? My kitten was slammed in the door by accident this morning we believe and she is struggling. Sleeping. And can’t move her hind legs. Press on them she feels it however. Try’s to meow but not much sound comes out.
Hope the neuro visit went well! A bloated abdomen might well be due to altered defecation and secondary constipation, although of course there are other possibilities. The big question of course is how much function he’ll manage to regain… good luck!
Hello,
my dear kitten Miso was attacked by a street dog. He picked her up with his jaws around her tummy area and gave her a nice shake. We rescued her, she had a couple of non deep puncture wounds on each side, and dragged her back legs. We rushed her to the vet who prescribed an analgesic syrup for 3 days and antiobiotics for 5 days. It is the 6th day now, she is doing much better, with one of her legs almost working, and the other not so much but I have noticed her stretch both legs. She passes urine and poops with no difficulty. The doc has prescribed ‘neuroquik’ liquid and to continue with her augmentin suspension tonic for 5 more days (one of her wounds has a little pus discharge).
What I would like to know is if she will make a full recovery? She is becoming more active, but has lost weight especially around her lower back region. It is so heartbreaking to see her unable to jump and play like she used to. What should I do to help her recover sooner? We have not done any xrays or scans, as the covid scene is bad in our country and resources are limited at this point. the vet even mentioned not wanting to put her through that trauma. I just want to know if my baby will be ok 🙁 and if so, how long do you think it will take? she has greatly improved in the 5-6 days since the attack. She is 3 months old.
It’s difficult to know. If there’s muscle loss already, that suggests that there is some permanent damage. However… it may well improve a little with time as the swelling goes down.
Good luck!
Hello. So i rescied a cat last yr. She does have felv. But last tues. She tried to jump on something but slipped n fell on her back side. At the time she still ate n nothing seemed wrong. Then next day when i would touch her she would make this noise like she was uncomfortable. So i took her to the ee. They ran blood work n chest xray which showed fine except elevated wbc. They gave me antibiotics. So she stopped eating so i hand feed her daily. She was dragging her feet. But still alert and affectionate. Took to my vet last sat. Dr said when she pinched toes there was no response. So they gave a nsaid but that did nothing. Took back to my vet mon. Did xray of spine and it showed and i dont have the report in front of me but when she hit the disc by tail bone i guess konda disclocated and went back in and caused a contusion on spine. So the dr gave tramadol n prednisone for pain n inflammation. She does have feeling in one leg but not another. She waa alert by tryung to walk on hands and swatting at the person doing xray byt now on tramadol she is resting more and i start prednisone tomorrow. Im still hand feeding but she needs to start eating on her own. Any input?
Give it time, and make sure you follow the rehabilitation plan really carefully. A spinal contusion may well respond to steroids and painkillers, but try not to let her overdo it! Cage rest may actually be valuable in some cases, but follow the rehab guidelines!
Hi. My cat is 10 years old, in a perfect form for her age. She fell off the 5th floor yesterday, we took her to the vet in the morning. The vet told us there is a spine fracture, its not fully broken, it moved out of its place. My cat is able to feel the pain in her legs, and she crawls with her two front legs which are working. She is also able to stand in a sitting form even though her legs are not fully working yet. The vet told us its serious but there’s also a chance for recovery. She already started eating the next day, and also moved one of her legs. She’s taking a medication. She fell off the 5th floor again a few years ago, but it wasn’t that bad, we didn’t take her to the vet, she recovered after 1 month. She’s a strong cat. The only thing we’re struggling with now is the urine, but its only been 1 day, we’ll give her time. What do you think? If she really was paralyzed how can she feel the pain and move her leg a bit? It’s a big progress and its only been 24hours. Euthanasia was an option from the vet, but the vet also said the fact that she survived it, she might even be able to recover, because cats heal differently. I want to give her more time, and I fully believe she’ll recover. Do you think so? She’s a very brave cat. Do you think there is a chance for recovery?
What is wrong with you, first pls confirm your location, cats do get better after spinal injury, it takes time, sometimes months but it heals, I’ve been taking care of a cat with spinal injury and she got better after 2 months.
ABOUT urine my doctor prescribed [medication names redacted as required by UK law].
And she got better.
At first she was just dragging on her two legs.
Now she can stand on her 4 legs and can walk 80% like before.
Hi BB, our cat suffered the same predicament 2 days ago. She can pass urine on her own and can move slightly one of her back legs. Please if you can share some advice and how you nurse the cat back to recovery. We currenty can’t have access to specialist to do MRI because of current lockdown here in my country. So any help would be much appreciated to help my cat survive.
It’s true that cats CAN recover. They don’t always though. I’ve seen cats who have suffered horribly because their owners have kept trying and trying, hoping for a miracle that never came.
The other thing to consider is what is their quality of life like? Is even 80% mobility enough for that cat to have a good life? What about if they only regain 50%? or 20%? That’s incredibly variable between cats – there’s no one-size fits all. It depends on the nature and severity of the original injury, the cat’s personality, and a great deal of luck.
I’ll never condemn someone for thinking about their cat first (quality of life) rather than themselves (quantity). Your cat made what sounds like a great recovery – and that’s brilliant! But not all do.
is it possible to diagnose nerve damage or deterioration of nerves without a scan, xray etc? just by looking at and feeling the cat?
It’s possible to tell how badly affected which nerves are, yes. However – it’s not usually possible to know what the underlying cause is, without which it’s very hard to tell how much of a recovery is possible, or how fast.
If she regains control of her bladder, then there is a chance. The big question is whether the swelling from the injured spine causes spreading spinal depression, causing more permanent damage. This is the big risk at this stage – because the damaged nerves might be able to transmit pain now, but they could get worse. Alternatively, the more delicate nerves that control movement and other sensations may have been irreparably severed. The big quesrion is how she does over the first 4-5 days, which will give you a better idea of what sort of recovery is possible. Good luck.
My cat is 2yrs old and he got with an car accident and injured right side of leg and is in pain ..i cant take vet as its sunday and we dnt get any medicine here its rural area ..what to do ?
Try to contact a local animal charity. Your cat clearly needs treatment, but do NOT try to give any human medicines especially painkillers – most are dangerous or lethal to cats. Good luck!
We’ve been told our cat is at the 5th stage of spinal injury and she won’t be able to urinate on her own. We’ve been suggested to have a surgery that will just reduce some pain, but the rest will stay the same. Do you consider euthanasia as the best choice?
please look on youtube for videos expressing cats… alternatively you can ask a rescue specialising in disabled cats to take her on if you think you can’t cope.. she COULD live a happy and full life despite her problems.
It is possible in some cases yes – but not certain.
It depends on your cat’s individual quality of life. Some cats cope fine with having their bladders expressed regularly, but for many, I think euthanasia is better. There’s no one-size-fits-all rule: it all depends on the individual cat and how they cope with the situation.
Good luck with her!
My kitten (3 months old) fell and fractured her spine and is pooping on her own but is not peeing on her own … She is needed to be sedated to pee… But when bladder is full full she is peeing but not in kitty litter just wherever she is… She can move her back legs right more than left but not her tail …. She is eating and drinking and wanting to play… She is on anti inflammatory, pain meds and also medication to loosen her uterus muscles to help her pee , can you please help me
You need to get medical help, cage rest, and medicines.
Xray taken
This sounds like a very serious injury; “overflow incontinence” which you’re describing is not a good sign for neurological function. I think you need to go back to the vet and talk about quality of life, because if she doesn’t regain urinary function, this is very dangerous.
Hi my kitten (2 months old) hind legs and tail are not working. He fell from a cat tree and now he can’t move his hind legs at all. We saw 2 vets already, they took X-ray and it shows nothing was broken. We haven’t done MRI though. Per the vet, he has some muscle movement (very little), able to feel, and I also noticed he can pee and poo on his own. Is it possible for him to recover? The vet recommended 4 weeks cage rest…
If there is some muscle movement, and he has sensation, and control of bladder and bowels, there’s a good chance that he will make a fair to good recovery. Of course, it depends what’s going on inside the spinal canal, and for that, you’d need an MRI to be more certain.
My cat just hit by small vehicle which cause him to paralyzed. I thought he was dead that time cause there was blood came out from his nose but I noticed that he’s still breathing so I placed him to his bed cause I don’t know what to do. He’s breathing and he’s trying to move a bit. Looks like he’s fine to me but he just can’t move neither closed his eyes.
Pls get immediate help, you need pain killers first.
That costs very low.
Take her to a veterinarian govt hospital or ask a shelter to provide help.
I can’t really afford to get him a vet. We’re just poor :(. It’s so hard for me to lose him💔💔
did you find a rescue or charity to HELP him!!!?
So so sorry to hear that…
My best advice is to try and find a local charity who can if necessary end his suffering humanely.
Hello,
I found a cat with a paralyzed front leg in front of my house, she was very hungry and was super scared. I took her in (she wasnt very fast so we could catch her with some food) and she has been with me for a week now. I took her to the vet and they took xrays which revealed that nothing was broken. The vet recommended lots of rest and gave some pain medicine.
The cat is doing better socially, sleeps most of the day, eats like a maniac and poops normal, and she even likes to play like a kitten of her age (~2 months). however i don’t see any improvement when it comes to the use of her front leg.
What options do i have?
I think definitely go back to the vet and talk about more workup. It may be that there is soft tissue damage that won’t show up on the X-ray, or nerve damage from an injury to the brachial plexus, and until you know what the cause is, it’s impossible to say what the right treatment is!
My cat was let out one night and came back home limping. I thought he has broken a bone so I took him to the vet to get xrays. She said there were no broken bones and it was most likely a sprain. I knew it was worse than that because he was having body convulsions and spasms like he was having a seizure. So I got a second opinion and took him to the ER. They concluded that it was most likely a spinal injury of some sort. They gave me a weeks worth of anti-inflammatory meds and he was healing okay. After he was finished with his prescribed meds, he has become less mobile and very weak. I don’t know what to do at this point 🙁 Any advice?
Definitely time to get it seen again – if he deteriorated after the medication wore off, then clearly there’s still a problem. Potentially, he might need a longer course; alternatively, after a week, it is likely that the X-rays would be more revealing as the bone will have started to heal. But with spinal injuries, any deterioration needs checking pretty fast!
My cat was caught by a dog, and now her both back legs are not working. What should I do
Get her to a vet NOW – more delay means a lower chance of recovery, as well as being seriously cruel to leave her suffering and untreated.
My 10 week old cat was under a truck and was ran over. He ran under the porch where I thought he would surely die but he didn’t. He moves really slow but I noticed that in the very center of his back it was really lumpy but his anus is flared out and he craps and pisses on himself. Can he survive without being taken to a vet?
what the hell is wrong with some of you people posting on here?! you think asking a question is a substitute for going to a vet!?
He might survive, but he will continue to suffer horribly and unnecessarily. See a vet AS SOON AS YOU CAN – not doing so is absolutely cruel.
My cat jumped has a back injury- probably jumped from some tall place outside and is dragging back legs. I took her to vet who injected her and informed me that shhould be able to get in in couple of hours. However, it is 24 hrs and she is still in csame condition- I have noticed that she has sensation in the legs and is moving them a bit when she is laying on a bed- but is to able to stand and walk without dragging herself.
My one more worry is she is refusing to eat since 24 hrs . Please let me know what should I do now. Thank you
Definitely go back to the vet – if she hasn’t improved as expected, that suggests that there’s serious spinal injury and she’s probably in severe pain. Go back to the vet NOW.
My cat (male, 3 y.o) got into serious accidents (getting hit by car/motorbike). His left eyes popped out, his lower jaw broken, his right front legs broken. And there is blood on the floor, mouth, nose.
Right now the left eye surgery is going well and it will go blind later. Maybe the next step is surgery for his lower jaw. We still don’t know because of my cat still listless, heavy breathing, no appetite, and listless. On the 2nd day they vet informed me, he has a fever. So They can’t perform an X-ray till now because of my cat’s condition.
I am afraid that the jaw fracture and the leg fracture will get worse the more we delay the surgery. But at the same time, his condition isn’t good (He can’t eat food by himself). I am wondering when we doing an X-Ray do we have to wait for the cat condition to be good or there are other aspects? Uncertainty about my cat fracture condition (is it severe or not) makes me anxious.
Is a case like this ever happen before? I can’t seem to find one on the internet.
Note :
– Maybe he will get mandibular surgery for his lower jaw fracture.
– When I found him right after the accidents, My cat is able to stand but he needs to lift his right front leg (I think his metacarpal bone or around there is broken)
– My vet still not able to perform an X-Ray so we don’t really know if the fracture is severe or not.
Oh no, that sounds horrible.
It depends what is fractured where, and how badly. From what you’ve said, there’s quite a lot of damage to the skull, and my worry would be that the brain, nerves and other structures in the head might be injured. However, until he’s stable enough for an X-ray, you won’t know exactly what’s going on. The heavy breathing could be due to pain, or internal injuries, or even a brain injury. The listlessness also could be due to those conditions, but also blood loss or simply because of the jaw damage that he cannot eat. It might be worth talking to the vets about a feeding tube to get nutrition into him while you wait for him to stabilise.
Until you and your vet know what damage has been done, there’s no way to know what the best treatment, or the likely outcome, is at this stage. Good luck!
So on monday I found my cat in the front yard lying down. When I got her inside the house I put her on the floor and she inmediatly dropped. I rushed her to the vet. They told me she had pneumothorax and also there was something wrong with her back legs, since she was not standing up. The ultrasound showed no damaged organs, except for the pneumothorax and her blood tested ok. They drained her multiple times and she stayed there until today. They drained each time less air which is a good thing, but her legs were still not moving much. Thats when we did an Xray. According to my vet, there was nothing that indicated a serious issue in her bones, but still almost no movement. We took her home today and she only moved once, and she yelled really loudly and dropped again. I could really use your help. I want to know if there is any way that her not moving her legs is due to shock or maybe some brusing, something she will recover from with time.
This does sound very serious – and if it’s been several days now without improvement, that does suggest something quite serious – either damage to the spinal cord (which doesn’t show up on an X-ray) or potentially the nerves or blood vessels to the back legs. Ideally, you want to know what is the cause – because the treatment for some conditions can worsen others. It might be worth talking to your vets about referral to a neurologist to get an MRI scan. It is possible that there’s some painful focus that means it hurts too much to move, and if so it may improve with time – but I’d be expecting some change 4-5 days in if that was the case. Good luck with her!
My cat fell from the 2nd floor of the building and i took her to the vet 3 of her legs are working she won’t eat much she did urinate on her own the docter said to visit after 2 days they gave medication she drags herself her stomach feels a bit bloated but I’m worried one of her leg has lost sensation and if there is any sort of internal injury will she be able to walk or survive?
It really depends what the injury is, and how severe it is. However – it does sound like she’s suffering now if she’s only able to drag herself on her stomach. It might be that the time has come to say goodbye, sadly.
My kitten has had a massive blow on the neck or head as he was slammed by the door he cant stand nor sit just moves his hands and legs… and cries plz help me out.
Seek veterinary advice IMMEDIATELY – he has serious neurological damage and needs URGENT veterinary care.
Hello.So I was away and I supouse someone beat up my cat and now she is injured badly.Her front legs move,and her last two legs don’t,they seem to be completely paralyzed.Her spine is broken and she can barely pee.I don’t have money to go to vet and require any operation cause I barely support myself but I don’t know what to do.I am aorund her the whole time and feed her through the tube.I don’t know what to do,I am afraid I will have to put her to sleep if she is not able to piss.
You need to either surrender her to a charity or someone who can get her the care she needs, or arrange for someone to humanely end her suffering. It’s not fair to keep a cat in these conditions – in fact, it’s actively cruel. I’d urge you to do the right thing for her, awful though it seems.
We found a cat near home injured seems like accident to the neck part. It couldn’t stand or sit, it was on its back, wobbling side to side its spinning but can’t stay on its all four paws, but the legs seem to be working but it couldn’t lift its head at all through neck support as the neck isn’t cooperating at all. It bled a little at injury spot from an ear part, but nothing after we saw her and took it vet. We took it to vet, but he gave an injection and told us to keep it warn, and have to wait to see what happens. Earlier at time of injury it couldn’t bat eyelids, or open mouth. After a day its eyelids closed partially and slowly opens and closes. We took it another vet, gave a couple of injection and told us wait and hope. We are slowly feeding milk but very little is going inside as its not swallowing properly. I suspect some spinal damage in the neck area. I wanted to ask will there be so much pain for the cat? Or is the recovery possible from this stage? Or are we just waiting for it passaway? I asked the vet if he considers euthanasia for as i couldn’t watch it writh until he have an injection. He denied saying it might recover not mentioning what are the chances.
Vey gave a couple of syrups for vitamin.
It hurts seeing an animal like that but in the corona condition proper care is no avail as we can’t roam freely.
In this situation, I’m afraid the prognosis sounds really poor – and yes, in general we would think that this cat was suffering, from paralysis and probably severe pain from the local tissue damage. Sadly, I think euthanasia is probably the only fair thing to do.
We have an eight year old paralyzed cat. He was found in our yard lying in a puddle of water when he was around three weeks of age. He had been attacked by dogs roaming the neighborhood. His siblings and mother perished. He has no movement of his back legs, but is able to get around the house with his front legs. He learned to pull himself up a ramp covered in carpet onto a chair, couch etc.
Initially, we were advised to put the cat down. Surgical intervention was not an option. We decided to have a wait and see approach. We learned to express his bladder, which is done several times a day. He takes medication to facilitate a bowel movement. He eats special food to help prevent crystals forming and causing a blockage. We purchase special wipes to keep him as bacteria free as possible. He gets frequent baths. He takes a supplement for joint health and is taking fish oil.
The biggest problem we have had is with urinary tract infections. This is common in a paralyzed cat because it is almost impossible to completely empty the bladder. He has been hospitalized three times in eight years to treat a blockage. This is expensive, but has had great success. Each time he has had to stay a week and comes home with antibiotics.
This cat is a lot of work, and it is a huge commitment to have a cat with a spinal cord injury. You have to provide daily care, so there is a time commitment and it is expensive for supplies, vet visits, and trips to a specialist when needed.
Our cat has a wonderful quality of life. He is able to get around the house with his strong front legs. He is able to play with other cats. He is fearless around our dog and other cats and will vocalize when hungry. He is a noisy cat and will do anything for attention. He has captured the hearts of our vet and the entire staff. They gave have been on this journey with us from day one. We are grateful for all the time we have had with him. Anyone that has a cat who has had a spinal cord injury knows the heartbreak and worry involved. But know that there is also hope. And great joy. Not all cat owners are able to take care of a paralyzed pet. But with a supportive vet and staff and the willingness to learn as you go along, it is possible to provide a quality life for your cat.
Our cat had been hit by car and rushed to vet. He was been monitored 2days in vet clinic. He had trouble to poo and urinate as well as standing up. Xray was taken under sedation after 2 days monitoring. Vet suggested pelvic injury and nerve injury. Is surgery still possible to recover?
It depends on the exact injury – many cats make a good recovery from pelvis fractures, but you’ll need to talk to your vet about the details!
My cat was bitten by a dog (I think so but there was no bite marks) we had taken it to the vet, he couldn’t move his hind legs and urinate on his own but after 3 days he started urinating himself and moving his hind legs after 4-5 days of the accident, it’s been 11 days since the incident happened
the vet said it’s a minor problem and there was no need to scan but I’m really worried after looking up in the internet about it. At present my cat can move all his legs but still can’t get up, he can pass stools and urinate by himself. Is recovery possible for my cat.
If he has bladder and bowel control, and some use of his legs, then there’s a good chance, with rest and suitable physio and care, that he will make a fairly good recovery. It might be a long road though – good luck!
Our cat was hit by a car apparently, and when we found him we rushed him to the vet hospital. They did x-rays and an MRI and said he has a disc injury but it is inoperable. They advised us to express his bladder and keep him on steroids for two weeks and said he has a 50-50 chance of regaining feeling in his hind legs. The odd thing is that when we brought him to the vet, he would respond to the vet touching his legs. But the next day, no feeling. Could this just be from swelling and possibly get better?
Sadly, it’s unlikely. Loss of sensation usually means a condition called spreading spinal depression. While this is due to swelling, in many cases it causes more severe injury and is rarely fully reversible. I think if it hasn’t improved within 24-48 hours despite treatment, it’s time to think about his quality of life and what’s best for him.
My cat has been hit by a car and had a fractured pelvic which the vet said he didn’t need to operate on but she has damage to her tail which is now paralysed and will have to be amputated in the future. I’m taking her to the vets daily for her bladder to be manually emptied which is traumatic for both of us :-(. My question is, is she’s trying to use her litter tray is this a good sign that she will eventually be able to go to the rookery on her own?
It’s possible, but sadly there’s no way to know for sure. Hopefully, it’s a sign that sensation is returning, though.
3days ago my cat can road Accident, Hit by car or something Hit by Head lass of blood,but he live.he looking and hearing, but can’t moveing and sanding , can’t talk,he dirnks water milk And cord ,but not eating , only one eye looks other eye damaged what can I do, I want my cat hes not moving plz tell me something sir
Get veterinary attention for him NOW. It is cruel to leave a cat in that situation without treatment; a local practice or a charity will be able to help; and even if he is too badly injured they will be able to put him out of his suffering.
Hi! I have a 5-month old kitty who sneaked out and was bitten by a dog. We went to the vet and xray was done but here in our area there’s no vet clinic that does pins and plates. The doctor said that there’s dorsal displacement of T13 and they can no longer do something about it. It pains us to see our kitty unable to move his hind legs and he cannot feel if he needs to poo or pee. What can we do about this? This would really mean so much.
I’m so sorry to hear that – it’s a horrible situation to be in. If the spinal cord has been crushed by a displaced vertebra, it is very unlikely that function will be recovered, Surgical intervention, probably within 12 hours, is needed to have a good – or even realistic – chance of recovery. Unfortunately, if this isn’t an option, the only humane and kind option is likely to be to put him to sleep and end his suffering.
I had lost my cat for two months. Then I recognized him on the internet. Unfortunately, he was hit by a car and he was taken to a vet. The doctor told my hospital spin was damaged. He can sense his back legs a little bit cannot walk with them. One of them is broken. The big problem is that he cannot urinate on his own. This happened 3 days ago and he has no progress. Is there any chance he gets better?
It’s not impossible, but it is very unlikely. We have to think about his quality of life – if he cannot urinate, then this suggests severe spinal damage, and sadly is unlikely to improve a lot. A referral to a specialist spinal surgeon and an MRI scan might be able to give you more information, but sadly, he probably is not going to recover.
Thank you very much!
We have a 12 week old kitten. We found her hiding on the grass a couple of days ago. Her back leg seemed to give way when she tried walking, but didn’t seem in pain. We caged her and she’s had lots of rest. She has a slight bump on her back now but is walking slowly with both legs. She’s able to urinate on her own and is eating and drinking well. She’s affectionate and not tying to hide, therefore I’m sure she’s not in any continuous pain. My question is, could the bump on her back be do to bruising and swelling?will she walk properly again. Where I found her was right beside a high wall, so I’m thinking she may have fallen and landed awkwardly. Thanks for any insight.
Hello I have kitten that is about 12 weeks and she got attacked by my dog , I yelled at my dog to let her go and he did , but when he let her go she couldn’t use her back legs she drags them , she pooled when he let her go , I brought her in the house she’s eating fine and she hasn’t seem in pain , but my mom said she was gonna shoot her but she seems fine and isn’t in pain , idk what to do , does she have a chance to live , will she be fine without seeing a vet , should I let my kitten heal ?
Get her to a vet NOW. If she cannot use her back legs she is suffering; if she had received immediate veterinary treatment she might possibly have recovered. By not getting her treatment you have prolonged her suffering and probably made it impossible for her to be made well.
It is possible, and kittens of her age do often seem to make better recoveries than adults – because they’re lighter, and they heal faster. However, I would very strongly advise you to get her checked out by your vet as soon as possible for four reasons:
1) Cats are notoriously bad for hiding even severe pain. She might be suffering badly and yet not showing you signs.
2) Spinal injuries can appear to improve and then dramatically worsen later – especially if there’s a non-displaced vertebral fracture which could come loose.
3) There may be other injuries that aren’t immediately obvious, for example, fractures of the pelvis, that might cause problems later.
4) Failing to seek veterinary attention after what sounds like a fairly serious accident is strictly a breach of the Animal Welfare Act.
I hope she does really well, but please do get her checked out!
My cat got injured by a car her hind limbs are not working and tail is bleeding with
Shivering there is no any vet available please guide me what should i do?
This sounds like a very serious injury – I’m afraid your cat definitely needs to be seen by a vet, there’s very little you can do. Unfortunately, this sort of injury is often fatal. If there aren’t any vets available, then an animal charity would be your best option, as they may be able to nurse her and help her stabilise or, if necessary, humanely end her suffering.
Thank you so much for the advice 🙂
I rescued a cat 1 week ago he was attacked by another cat and is badly injured he is not able to walk and is dragging himself,,,at first I thought of treating him at home but since last 3-4 days he has started urinating very frequently and his lower abodomen is swollen up,,,the doctor said it’s post paralytic case and will ultimately lead to mutli organ failure and then he’ll die but his rear legs have movement,,,will he survive and will he ever be able to walk again?
We can’t advise you on specific details of your pet’s health over the internet, unfortunately, especially in such a severe case. It is possible for paralysed animals to regain some function, but it is very, very rare without surgical intervention. In most cases, the movement in the hindlimbs is just due to reflexes (a condition called “hyperreflexia of upper motor neurone lesions”). The swelling of the abdomen suggests that he is unable to empty his bladder or bowels fully, which is very dangerous. I would VERY STRONGLY advise you to go back and talk to your veterinarian again if you think the situation might have changed, or if that swelling and urination is still present.
My Cat got 2 of her vertebrae smashed due to a dog bite since it was 3 weeks old and when i performed an x ray to her it showed that she got 2 of her vertebrae smashed ,although she uses her 2 rear legs perfectly same for her tail but when she tries to walk on her back feet she tries to get her back straight but her back falls again , My question is there any way her back get fixed or those 2 smashed bones are done ??
Hello sir,
Your post has given me hope. My cat had a high fall. She couldn’t move her lower back when we found her(1 hour after the fall). When we pinched her hind limbs there was movement in both her legs! Also, her front legs are working and she can drag herself to places. After seeing the X-RAY report, the vet said… It would be hard for her to use her hind limbs again but later on when he saw her hind limbs movement, the vet said there is hope! Please, let me know what I can do at my end to give the best of treatment to my cat and is it the same case as tht of yours. I can forward you the X-ray if you could check it, I’d be forever grateful. Thank you so much for writing & sharing this!!!!
It might be possible, it will depend on the exact nature of the fracture. I think this needs attention from a qualified local veterinarian!
My cat yesterday got picked on by my other house cat which was a fight and after that she couldn’t walk and was dragging her back legs and the right foot seems more dead than the left took her to the vet they r guessing spinal cord injury she is eating as long as I serve her.but just can’t get around on her own is on Prednisone for a few days I’m worried and my question is will she walk again they never mentioned that I’m trying to find info on this as much as I can.
Yes she should be fine. We have a small female kitten which is about three months old. A older male cat jumped her and she could not move her back legs at all. We brought her in and keep her in a quiet room and made sure she was feed. And make sure you keep her clean, . It’s been about six days and she is now moving her back legs some. So yes your cat can get better, just make sure you keep her clean, feed and water. If you see she is not doing better, you need to seek medical information. But I do believe by what you have said, your cat could be fine.
My cat was almost put down after many injuries but our vets referred us to acupuncture and physiotherapy and hydrotherapy . She couldnt even move at all vet said thrombosis and said will never walk again but had second opinion said paralysed but need scans we had her checked thoroughly and was given pain killers one vet told me to consider giving her golden paste i did that and she started moving again slowly after weekly acupuncture she improved each week .day 3 .eating food. Week 2 dragging her self. Week 3 weeing with out expression and enemas. Week 4 able to clean her self more and then stopped draging her self and physio therapy began they told me to hold her up so she isnt in the dragging position while shes eating and to do bycicle movements with her legs at the back and use food as a distraction . She then started to walk instead of drag but a bit wobbly . That golden paste seemed to help her alot
When she had lazer treatment with phsyio it.cost 45 per session i didnt like lazer i could feel ill and weak from it and my cat went one step backwards instead of fowards no improvement at all from this
Acupuncture cost 75 per session but found some where further and cheap for 45 per session eventually the one who charges 75 had more experience and he made her better Weekley the woman who is doing it cheaper her improvement she did are much slower been two months and in that time she learned to jump up on bed and move her tail more didnt notice much else
Hi Charlene, poor girl! There is a large possibility that she will walk – the medication will help and is there is inflammation around the spinal cord it may take some time to subside. You can also gently move her legs and massage them as a bit of helpful physiotherapy.
Hello,
I found a stray cat at the street. It was apperantly hit by a car or something.
It is 7-8 moyts old I think.
It was not moving and back legs were in horible condition.
I took her to veterinary clinic, stayed one night. Next day they said they can’t do anything and I took it to a larger animal hospital. There they examined by x-ray and MR.
They said there is a crack in one of the bones of her spine.
They made a surgery and put a platinum pin or so.
One month later they tokk the platinum off.
The cat can’t use her back legs.
Her front legs are normal she can drag herself.
She urinates herself.
I make exercises to back legs , when I do this she streches her lehs .
Back legs are like a stick she can’t bend them. I can bend slowly.
Can you describe mu how to make exercises. I try some moves but ı don’t really know how to do it.
İs there any supplemental drugs or foods to help her recover.
I need any kind of recommendation
Have a nice day,..
Hi Kaya, we strongly suggest you revisit your vet with her. They are best placed to give recommendations as they know her and the medical history.
my 2 in half month kitten was run over by a motorcycle on June 24th. I just saw that he couldn’t walk anymore, he was just pulling his legs and his tail wasn’t moving anymore. the next day I rush to him to the vet. The vet doc said he is very trauma and back and intestines damage then he was given antibacteria and pain reliever. from until now he can’t walk for 6 days but he can poop and urinate but he still can’t control his urination. is it possible for my kitten to walk again?
My cat got same topsy anythink to help my cat
Sadly, this is usually non-recoverable, but with urgent treatment there is sometimes a chance. The longer it’s left, the worse the chances. Good luck
It’s possible, but it will depend how much damage has been done. To know for sure, you will need X-rays and maybe CT and MRI scans.