Would anyone like a paralyzed cat?

[tripperfunster]

http://pics.livejournal.com/tripperfunster/pic/0015hh9x/
'Beautiful' was hit by a car (we assume) the day before Halloween. She was missing for two days, which we thought was odd. Normally, she would bound in the house the second we opened the door, but since she's so curious, she would occasionally get locked in the garage, or shed, or wherever, but after checking all those places and finding nothing, we were flummoxed.

Two days later, we found her dragging her little self down our long gravel driveway, mewing the whole time. :(

I took her to the vet, where they did x-rays and stuff, and although her back did not appear to be broken, her hips were, so we were at a bit of a 'wait and see' scenario.

Skip forward five weeks, and one chiropractor visit later, and we have a pretty well healed parapelegic cat. Not that SHE is put off by that at all, of course! She can boogey around pretty well on two legs, and is even PRETTY good at using the cat box (we've been using a cookie sheet with litter on it).

Anyhoo, we've been keeping her in a large dog cage, with a bed, food, water and litter, but that's not really much of a life. I'd just block her in the kitchen and let her live there, but the way our kitchen is made, there is no way to block it off, and we have OMG three sets of stairs in this house! Not good for broken pelvises.

So anyway, I'm not sure what to do. We had been waiting, with the expectation that we would give her some time to recover, and if she didn't get back her mobility, then we would put her to sleep. BUT SHE'S SO VIBRANT AND ACTIVE AND HAPPY that it seems like a crying shame to do that.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Takers?

She is already fixed!

Comments

[sra-danvers.livejournal.com]

So pretty...
Not an easy situation. I put three of my cats to sleep and is a hard situation. The important is the pain issue. It suffer?

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

No, she doesn't seem to be in pain. That would actually make my decision much easier. I would never let an animal suffer.

[sra-danvers.livejournal.com]

Well, then is more difficult. Depend on the movility. Some cats lives in small flats. But if your cat is used to run free, that is the point to think about...

[droxy.livejournal.com]

If the cat is happy, eats, craps, and wants attention there doesnt seem to be an issue.

You can use a snuggly/sling for the cat if you wish, and if it will adapt to that.

I say let the cat roam. The cat will figure out how to be mobile again, even if the back legs are impaired.

You can adapt a litter box to have one side lower.

I dont see any reason to put the cat down.

I am too far away to take her.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

She is actually quite mobile already. it's more that she's not 100% continent. Or, she'll pee in the box, but also pee on herself (because she can't control her legs to get them out of the way) so she needs to be on a cleanable surface, like kitchen flooring, as opposed to carpet, and I can't contain her properly here.

[droxy.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have pretty much tiled 75% of my house. I hate carpeting. Still....I hate to put down a cat just for that. I'm in Dallas, not sure where you are at.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

I'm in Canada.

[droxy.livejournal.com]

damn

[euclase.livejournal.com]

Put an ad in the paper and maybe contact the humane society (or rspca, whichever one you guys have up there) and see if they can get the word out.

I have a house with NO STAIRS, and i would take her in a heartbeat, but... I live a long way away, and I already have three medical cases, lol.

She's really gorgeous. You guys are so loving. <3<3

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's part of the problem. I already have one SUPER old cat who is peeing around the house. We've put up baby gates on some of the bedrooms, because she's been peeing there. We also added an extra litter box upstairs, so she wouldn't have to go all the way downstairs, but it hasn't helped much.

I really can't have ANOTHER cat doing that in the house.

As for the humane society ... they put down HUNDREDS of cats every year. and these are healthy, able bodied cats. In fact, they were so over run that they called our pet store to see if we had any room!

We already do kitten rescue at our store. Believe me, there are more cats than people to take them.

Not to mention that I didn't WANT another cat! (we have two, plus a barn cat), but Beautiful just showed up on our doorstep a few months ago. Courtesy of our stoopid neighbours who don't fix their cats. I fixed her and gave her her first shots, but she was to remain an OUTSIDE cat. And now, she is inside and higher maintanence than our other two.

[r-grayjoy.livejournal.com]

Oh, she's such a gorgeous kitty! And I agree -- if she's active and happy, there's no reason to put her to sleep. If I didn't already have a puppy in my apartment, and if my mom didn't already have a herd of cats, I'm sure one of us would love her. :( I really hope you find a workable arrangement.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I hope so too!

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

aww, poor kitty.
it sounds like she isn't in pain though so personally I wouldn't have her put down if I were you.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Easy for you to say. I already have more pets than I can handle, and my house is not set up to have her run loose. I could keep her caged, but that's not much of a life, is it?

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

I wish I could take her in but I'm violently allergic to cats.

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Poor thing. If I weren't eons away, I might be tempted. But, since it sounds like she's adapting, maybe it isn't necessary to put her to sleep?

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

If she was 100% litter box savvy, then I would have no prob. Sadly, because her mobility is screwy, she ends up peeing on herself, or dragging poop out of the litter box sometimes.

That may improve, in time, but right now she is kept in a cage, and I don't think that's a very good life to live. If I could isolate her in the kitchen it would be better, but the way our house is set up, it can't work. (not to mention it would lock our two other cats OUT of the kitchen, where they eat and drink)

[antisocial-nerd.livejournal.com]

I'll meet her. I can maybe take her. Is she all done up or does she have any other medical problems? She IS gorgeous. How old is she?? But yes, can we arrange a date? We can e-mail this. Next week I'll FINALLY be stopping by your store with that kennel too.

[antisocial-nerd.livejournal.com]

How much does she miss the litterbox? Because my entire place is carpet...

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

yeah .. I don't think carpet would work.

She often pees on herself, because she can't move her legs out of the way, and even ends up dragging poop out sometimes too.

Seriously, if I could contain her on just linoleum, I wouldn't have a problem keeping her. She's a hilarious cat, a real spaz, always on the prowl.

thanks for the offer, though!

[antisocial-nerd.livejournal.com]

Alrightyroo :( I'm sure you'll find a great home for her.

[xenafox.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with all the comments above - I do not think she has to be put down. It looks like you have interest but if not, put up some ads, and maybe even use sites like Petfiner (I'm not sure if that's just for US or what but I'm sure there is something like it for Canada if not). I'm sure the story will bring tears to someone's eyes and they'll take her x3 Heck, if we lived in an apartment that could take cats and weren't so far, I'd want her.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

It may come to something like Petfinder, but I'm honestly leery about giving her to a complete stranger. She is going to be more work than a regular cat, and as a pet store owner, I see how FUCKING STOOPID so many people are.

I'll work something out.

[synn.livejournal.com]

If I weren't so far away and in an apartment not big enough for a third cat, I'd take her.

Aren't there little slings with wheels on them that paralyzed dogs can use to roll around? I'm wondering if you could create one of those for her hindquarters that ... well, I have it in my head, but basically, her back end would be suspended in the rigging, and lower, between the wheels, you cold put a tray with a bit of litter... ? sort of a mobile litter box? Maybe that's a ridiculous idea, I don't know.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

She can get around okay. It's more the not 100% litter box thing that I'm concerned with. I can't contain her on vinyl flooring, and that won't work with carpet.

[jin-fenghuang.livejournal.com]

*hugs* that is a hard decision.

Have you put up an ad? Maybe there are kind people in the neighbourhood.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

ha! This cat CAME from my neighbours. We live in farm country, where people DROWN unwanted kittens. No, really, it happens all the time. :(

[jin-fenghuang.livejournal.com]

brb *need to hug my kitten*

*hugs*


Sad to say it is even worse here. People still treat animals like objects. They sell kittens really young, because they are more cute. I had to bottle feed mine. Luna was really lucky; she would not have made it with someone who has no idea that kittens cannot go to the litterbox at that age.

[djin7.livejournal.com]

I had a cat who had major pelvic and spinal injuries as a kitten. We aren't sure how it happened, possible car, but her pelvic bone had shattered on one side, had detached from her spine, and had blown out her right hipbone.

She was given to me by the owner (who could not afford the emergency vet care). Afterwards, I nursed her back to health where she could walk again, and we thought it was going to be ok. We ended up spending copious amounts of money on her in regular vet and maintenance, even though she recovered enough to walk fine, again. I estimate her total vet and care bills over a 12 year span to be over $15,000.

The problems were this:

#Extreme bouts of arthritis, even at a young age - pain experienced during hard weather, and increased chance of injury. She kept acting like a normal cat, but was skittish and volatile, and ran and hid a lot. This means she would jump up on things to hide, then jump down again, and reinjure herself once again.

#Inability to clean herself. This is a real problem you have to consider. My cat was a long haired cat, and due to her back/pelvic/hip problems that worsened as she aged, she was unable to keep herself clean. This means visits to the groomers multiple times per year to remove the knots that developed, and later to remove the filth from her rear-end regularly. This injury made it impossible to [groom or clean her] at home because of her discomfort and overall trauma - we had to pay to get her drugged so they could do the baths and grooming while she slept.

In any event, eventually her back legs were becoming useless and we had to get her put down, she was clearly in pain most of the time, and unable to clean herself at all, anymore. :(

I can't say if it would have been a better thing to have her put down at the original injury instead of fighting it, but honestly, I don't really know how much she suffered all those years, and if I had to do it all over again, even though she *seemed* ok, she probably never was, I'd have revisited my choices.

:/

*not useful*

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

No, this is very helpful. And really, part of the reason that I'm very careful about the prospect of giving her away.

She will be more work than most people realize. I know that. I am an extremely responsible pet owner, and I am also honest with myself as to my ability to shoulder the work involved.

Beautiful is short haired, (thank God, as my two other housecats are Persian and Ragdoll).

I'm quite sure that these injuries will shorten her life, and possibly be the cause of future medical issues.

At this point, we will be taking it day by day. <3

[(Anonymous)]

You don't know me - I'm an occasional watcher of your journal and a fan of your art.

I don't mean to seem harsh with you and I really don't want to come across sounding like I am lecturing you, but this is precisely the reason why you should not let your cats outside without supervision. Your cat was in an accident and now it seems you suddenly have too many pets and don't want to deal with the inconvenience of having an incontinent and needy animal. Animals are not disposable - you cannot simply give them away or put them down when something happens to make them less desirable. If you really have too many pets in your house, please please think about not taking any more in until yours pass away naturally or you find a way to be able to accommodate them better. Again, I don't want to sound like I'm criticizing you but I am an avid animal lover and it pains me to hear about things like this.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

It's quite the opposite, actually. I do have a lot of pets, and I am very much a 'pets are for life' person.

I live in the country, and sadly, our neighbours have a bunch of cats that they do not fix. (or feed properly) When they wander over to our house, I fix them, give them their first shots and if they decide to hang around, I feed them.

This was not a cat that I purchased nor asked for. I have two indoor cats that do not go outside. (both were unwanted cats that I rescued) This was a cat who was an outside cat, and that was pretty much the limit of what I was take responsibility for.

I also own a pet store that rescues and re-homes over a hundred cats per year.(and fixes them so they don't contribute to the over population problem)

Not to mention the numerous rabbits, tortoises and birds that people have dumped behind our store, too lazy or stupid to even CALL AHEAD or arrange to find homes for them.

I don't mind the lecture though, it is one that I give other people on a regular basis.

[jin-fenghuang.livejournal.com]

You do realize that certain cats get mentally ill/depressed when they are coped up inside?

Ours started to lick herself clean of fur. That is way healthier, really. /sarcasm

[heeroluva.livejournal.com]

I totally would, but I'm betting you don't live anywhere near me, my house has about as many stairs as yours, and I don't think my dogs would get along with a cat. :(

If she doesn't seem in pain and you don't mind the fact that she has a disability I don't really see a reason to put her down. Though I do think if you ultimately have to keep her confined and can't find anyone to take her that it might be less cruel just to put her to sleep. I wish you the best of luck in whatever happens.