My cat has a spinal injury. Will she walk again despite the x-ray?

If Amy has prolapsed discs in the areas where she has collapsed spaces on x-ray then she might improve with time, but surgery is much more successful. Sometimes an x-ray can show collapsed intervertebral spaces but there is not spinal cord compression in these areas, which is why a CT scan is a much better way to diagnosed a prolapsed disc and spinal cord compression. There are other neurologic diseases that could cause similar signs as well. The results of Amy's neurologic exam might also help determine her prognosis so you may want to ask your veterinarian what they think the chances of recovery are without surgery. You should be sure to keep a close eye on her urination and defecation as well since sometimes animals with paralysis will have difficulty voiding.

Hi there and thanks for posting. Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear Kitty was lost for a few days. That had to be very stressful. Also, I am sorry to hear she came back with a few medical issues. It is hard to say what exactly is going on with Kitty without examining Kitty first, but from your description it seems like Kitty may have injured her pelvis, spine, or rear limbs that may be causing her to not urinate properly or defecate as it may be painful for her or she has some neurological deficits disabling her to have control of her bladder. She could also have a urinary tract infection causing the straining to urinate as well. I would recommend visiting a veterinarian clinic soon so she can get some x-rays and a neurological exam in addition to a regular physical exam. They may take a urine sample to check for an infection. I hope this helps and best of luck to you and Kitty.

Sounds like Garth is still experiencing quite a bit of pain. While there may not be any clear fractures, other injuries involving soft tissue structures such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles can be equally painful. There are also injuries to nerves that can result in pretty severe pain. Lastly, dislocations can also occur (particularly in the hip) that are extremely painful. However, that should have showed up clearly on the x-ray assuming they shot all the way up to hip joint. I would continue to give him his medication as prescribed and make sure he is rested and confined. However, if matters are not any better by the time the prescribed course of meds is complete, he will need to be brought back in to the veterinarian for reassessment.

Hello, its difficult to assess if he will recover from this injury as there are no x-rays to evaluate. If his does have a fractured back, and currently is unable to move legs then his prognosis for recovery may not be great without surgery. Buprenorphine is great pain medication for cats. Sorry to hear about Little bit, I hope he recovers well!!

I'm sorry to hear that, do you have the xrays by any chance? can she walk at all or she physically isn't able to stand up? are all 4 limbs affected? i'm afraid i would really need these information in order to help.

Poor cat! If there is no deep pain present in the back legs then chances are kidding you won't regain function unfortunately. We use the pain is an indicator whether the pet will walk again. However if deep pain is present (kitty moves twitches or flinches when you pinch the back toes), then there is a chance that Katie can regain function of the limbs. However you won't know the extent of the injury without an x-ray. And without an x-ray he won't really know what treatment kitty needs. I unfortunately don't see a good solution here without proper diagnostics. Kittie may be a lost cause at this point without proper medical care for such a traumatic injury like this which undoubtedly involves the spinal cord and/or pelvis. I would highly consider Humane euthanasia for this kittie because the outcome looks bleak.

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Poor kitty. Without doing an exam there is no way to completely determine if surgery is an option. That said, even if surgery is an option, that is not surgery that most general practitioner or shelter veterinarians would be able to do or have the appropriate equipment for. If surgery was an option, typically MRI is first needed to assess the spinal cord, then surgery would be performed by a board certified surgeon. The cat would then need extensive physical therapy and even if everything goes perfectly, there is no guarantee of return to function. In most cases this scenario would cost many thousands of dollars. Many owners and shelters cannot afford that level of care, so alternatives such as cage rest and pain management may be tried or euthanasia may be needed in some cases. I'm sure it is not a case of the shelter vet being unwilling to help this cat, but that the resources are not available. In the case of limb fractures, often amputation is a quicker and more cost effective option to save an animals life than orthopedic repair. Many fractures require pins or plates and screws which needs an orthopedic surgeon and would cost thousands to repair and has a much longer recovery time (requiring foster homes willing to do physical therapy). Even with owned pets, many owners cannot afford a $5000 fracture repair or do the follow up care, but amputation can save their life. The majority of dogs and cats do well with 3 legs. Thank you for your interest in helping these pets. It sounds like the shelter vet is doing a good job for these animals.