So has the fracture been actually reduced and is the leg splinted at present? Displaced fractures that haven't been re-alingned can be quite painful. While on the one hand I can understand why the vet didn't wish to proceed with expensive surgery on the other I can't help but wonder if by not doing so this is also adding to the problem. For one thing he'd have difficulty standing/balance/pain issues etc. Added to this the reduced mobility owing to the confinement of a cage and possible decrease in appetite. Tough one.

Basically it's actually impossible to predict it's one of those things that's best determined by outcome. However, I think at this stage it's too early to tell.

Hi Camilsa

What a horrible situation for you and can completely empathise as we were in same position last year. Everyone else is right in that you can't give any absolutes at this stage and every cat and owner are different so the outcomes are very variable. I can only tell you about what happend with our cat Baggy and hope it might be of some help to you. Baggy had a broken leg but his pelvis/hips were fine, even so his mobility was seriously impaired and he was splinted the whole length of his leg. Tail was broken at base of spine and eventually this had to be amputated. I also had option of early operation for the leg and decided at that stage not to go with it - this was mostly a financial decision as we wanted to preserve the insurance money to help treat his bladder/bowel issues and we knew early on that this was going to involve time which in the vet world costs a lot of money. Baggy was hospitalised after his accident for about 3 weeks in the end and I'm sure it was at least 10 days before he showed any interest in his litter tray, in between he was mostly catheterised with periods of removing it to see what happened. For a while after the initial signs they still didn't know whether he was peeing voluntarily or not. His poo situation was even worse, no anal tone at all and poops just falling out wherever.

My vet wanted to try a couple of drugs which are supposed to help stimulate the bladder and also to relax the urethra - there are variable problems with the bladder in these injuries from what I've gleaned - you can have a bladder with good tone which is trying to empty but the urethra is not opening to let the pee out so the bladder gets dangerously full or you can have a bladder with no tone which I think means the pee just leaks out when it gets full - I'm sure there are other variations on that theme (I am certainly not professing to be a veterinary expert this is just taken from stuff I was told). Baggy was given Myotonin to try and stimulate his bladder to contract and Hypovase + Diamorphine as a relaxant - sure it was only fairly small doses of each and my vet made up some special capsules with all of these in it. By about the 2 week mark it was looking as though Baggy was going to the tray and peeing although his bladder wasn't completely emptying at this stage. Everyone just tried to be patient and the vet tried not to intervene unless necessary and by week 3 we had it confirmed that Baggy was indeed now peeing on his own and he was able to come home. The poo side of things was still a bit iffy but he was at least trying to go in the tray even if the poo didn't always land where he intended and his anal tone was getting better. He did stay on the drugs for about another month or so gradually cutting out first the diamorphine, then the Hypovase and last the Myotonin until we were sure he was doing everything on his own so I really can't say for first 2 months or so whether a lot of the recovery was drug assisted or whether this would have happened anyway.

During the first two weeks my vet certainly did say that bruising/swelling and the fact it would have been very painful for Baggy to go to the loo made it pretty much impossible to make an accurate assessment for long term prognosis that early. I was originally told that it could be up to 2 months or beyond to get a good idea of how things were heading and even then it could be longer to be sure - problem is that many vets simply don't know beyond about 2 months whether recovery is likely or not as there is little data available due to the majority of cats being put to sleep at this stage or earlier.

One thing my vet said to me right at the outset was that I should set myself a timescale I was comfortable with to see how Baggy got on and we really did take it one day at a time - some days not much happened, some days it seemed to be going backwards and then gradually each day brought better news. Today I am sat watching Baggy bounding happily around the garden - I will add he was only let outside for the first time 2 weeks ago since last July as the fact we didn't operate on the leg meant a much longer recovery period - but it was all worth it.

Talk to your vet and see if they might consider some drug therapy, as I see it if you can afford it (and drugs we used really weren't expensive) and it isn't going to harm your cat then why not give it a shot?

It is definitely early days for you and if your cat is otherwise happy/well enough (well as happy as they can be in a cage with broken bones) then try to buy them a bit of time and see how it goes - it really is a big game of patience though and don't know about you but I'm rubbish at it!

I hope some of that might help and sorry have gone on a bit - always find this isn't a quick topic to talk about!

Let us know how you are getting on xxxx

Hi baggynwilkiesmum and others who were so kind to reply!

I am happy to say that Blue is still around. I simply could not put him down so soon! I had to keep fighting for him even though it is costly. I kept comparing his accident to a human, its the equivalent of a person being hit by a bulldozer. We don't give a person a few days before we call it quits so I simply could not for Blue (but I realize for some they don't have the option to keep to trying). Baggynwilkiesmum your story sounds similar to ours so far and am hopeful it has the same outcome! I was truly thinking I was going to be told by my vet to put Blue to sleep on Friday. She was so wonderful and said she could not give up on him either. She said there were a lot of positive 'signs' with his movement/sensations so she also thought we should give him some more time to heal before making any decisions. She was so kind and has kept Blue for the last 3 days and also gave me a break financially knowing how much we have already paid.
In their care he has been getting meds for pain and today we started him on 2 different bladder meds plus they were force feeding him, today he ate on his own. His anal tone is week but there. Today, for the first time since his accident last Sunday, a small poop came out. They are not sure if it just came out or he pushed it. He had a catheter in since last Wednesday but today he ripped it out 2 times so we decided not to put it back in, clearly he does not want it in either We still need to remove his tail (and possibly put a screw in his hip) but were simply waiting. At this point the vets are saying they are 'cautiously optimistic'. Apparently its the bowels that have them more concerned. They said I could express the bladder or that it could possibly be healed in a few months with the help of meds and expressing. So I have simply have to wait at this point. I meet with the vet tomorrow to see if she wants me to take him home now or if she wants to observe him for a few days more. I am hopeful but also trying not to get myself too excited as this could be as far as him comes. Like you said, one day at a time but I am horrible at the waiting game too. Its consumes me but that's what we do when we love. Thank you again! Your story gives me hope that Bluey will get better. I will keep you posted. Thank you again to you all for your stories and encouragement.

Glad to her you've found a more proactive vet who's willing to give him a chance. Interesting about the catheter in that if he was experience little or no sensation then it wouldn't have bothered him at all! I would also take the bowel movement as a positive!

Fingers crossed and all the best for a favourable outcome here. Like your vet i'm also cautiously optimistic!

i have just read the entire thread and am slightly teary as a result best of luck to bluey and all cats that have or are suffering and to their owners/slaves for eing there for them.

I have just read through from the begining too. I am also blurry eyed, as was saddened to read that Tigerlilly didn't make it. I used to petsit for a cat that suffered a similar injury with the results of being incontinent, and after some time the owners also took the painful decision to let her go.

But it is great that it doesn't always have to be this way, and that there are good chances of making a full recovery for some, and so was really pleased to read that Baggy was one of those success stories, and really hope that same applies to Blue.

I will be keeping everything crossed for Blue.

Are we talking in thousands here?

Really sorry for your loss Johallas.

Hi merlin12 - yes we are talking thousands - to get to where we are with baggy has cost best part of 5 thousand pounds and that was without an operation on his leg - realise now that my 4 thousand pound insurance cover isn't quite enough if things really go wrong! But have to say was worth every penny when I look at baggy now - even so still bit ouch on the wallet!

Hi Baggynwilkiesmum-

I wanted to give you an update and see if you recall this being a similar time line for Baggy compared to Blue. From the time of Baggy's accident how many weeks was it until he could pee on his own, I think it was 3 you said? Blue came home from the vets last Monday and a vet tech was coming 2 times a day to manually express his bladder. He was really uncomfortable doing this, understandably so since he was hit and has bruising etc. The vet took him back in their office yesterday to put back in the catheter. She was concerned with his bladder being large all the time that it would not work properly (apparently the bladder being expanded all the time does not make all the communication to the brain work well). Today however she reported he has pushed it out 2 times all on his own (which is good in one respect because it means he has control of his urethra). He goes to the litter box and postures like he ready to go but only drops come out. He has managed to do a few poops on his own too. We can see him really trying to push but its a lot of effort. We are switching his meds tomorrow to one he will hopefully respond better (to keep his bladder smaller). I am just wondering if you recall how many weeks it took for Baggy to actually be able to urinate on his own. We are at 16 days since his accident. Maybe Baggy did it much sooner? The vets seem to think its just a time thing, more time to heal internally but no one really knows for certain.

Thanks in advance!