Kitten hit by automobile

Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

She is about two or three months old, I believe.
She has begun eating voraciously and is drinking.
She is peeing and pooping.
She is doing some self grooming.
She tries to stand and is baffled by why she can't.

Her rear legs at first seemed like they did not work as well as her
tail,
but lately she has been lifting herself some on rear legs and her tail
seems to have some "substance to it" other than just limp.

Is there anything anyone here would recommend I do that I am not.
I hold her and assist her in standing on the legs she has daily.

I cannot afford expensive veterinary care.
I am in debt from a critical pet situation presently.

I appreciate anything anyone may have to say about this.

I have named her Jewel.

Eve.

"fishdamsel" wrote in message
ups.com...
Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

Poor little Jewell. I have heard of kittens in this condition regaining full
use of their limbs. I hope she does, and I'm really glad you are willing
to take care of her, and did not have her euthanized. Please let us know
about her progress.

On 8 Sep, 18:15, fishdamsel wrote:
Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

She is about two or three months old, I believe.
She has begun eating voraciously and is drinking.
She is peeing and pooping.
She is doing some self grooming.
She tries to stand and is baffled by why she can't.

Her rear legs at first seemed like they did not work as well as her
tail,
but lately she has been lifting herself some on rear legs and her tail
seems to have some "substance to it" other than just limp.

Is there anything anyone here would recommend I do that I am not.
I hold her and assist her in standing on the legs she has daily.

I cannot afford expensive veterinary care.
I am in debt from a critical pet situation presently.

I appreciate anything anyone may have to say about this.

I have named her Jewel.

Eve.

if you can take her to another vet, get a second opinion, it may be
just nerve damage form which she may recover over time, or she may
just learnt o cope with limited movement instead. If she has no major
head injury then that is a good start, if she had I am sure that she
woudl have gone seriously downhill by now but you say she seem ok
within herself.

amputation would only really be necessary if the limb was majorly
damaged and possibly gangrenous and infected, and if keeping it would
then jeopardise the kitty's future health and wellbeing. if the limb
is just a bit limp and weak then why amputate? especially if as the
vet says the nerves may regrow as she may get some limited use back in
it.

definitely try to get a second opinion, best fo luck and thank you for
stopping to help this poor little mite, i bet she would say thanks if
she could

bookie

On Sep 8, 4:41 pm, bookie wrote:
On 8 Sep, 18:15, fishdamsel wrote:





Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

She is about two or three months old, I believe.
She has begun eating voraciously and is drinking.
She is peeing and pooping.
She is doing some self grooming.
She tries to stand and is baffled by why she can't.

Her rear legs at first seemed like they did not work as well as her
tail,
but lately she has been lifting herself some on rear legs and her tail
seems to have some "substance to it" other than just limp.

Is there anything anyone here would recommend I do that I am not.
I hold her and assist her in standing on the legs she has daily.

I cannot afford expensive veterinary care.
I am in debt from a critical pet situation presently.

I appreciate anything anyone may have to say about this.

I have named her Jewel.

Eve.

if you can take her to another vet, get a second opinion, it may be
just nerve damage form which she may recover over time, or she may
just learnt o cope with limited movement instead. If she has no major
head injury then that is a good start, if she had I am sure that she
woudl have gone seriously downhill by now but you say she seem ok
within herself.

amputation would only really be necessary if the limb was majorly
damaged and possibly gangrenous and infected, and if keeping it would
then jeopardise the kitty's future health and wellbeing. if the limb
is just a bit limp and weak then why amputate? especially if as the
vet says the nerves may regrow as she may get some limited use back in
it.

definitely try to get a second opinion, best fo luck and thank you for
stopping to help this poor little mite, i bet she would say thanks if
she could

bookie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Don't waste your money on vets. If she seems happy just let mother
nature take care of everything.

Bless you for taking this little sweetie who needed you so badly in.
Sounds like she is improving quite well considering what she has been
through. You just keep doing what you are doing Eve, this little doll
just may turn into the best friend you could ever hope for.

-bonbon


On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 10:15:51 -0700, fishdamsel
wrote:

Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

She is about two or three months old, I believe.
She has begun eating voraciously and is drinking.
She is peeing and pooping.
She is doing some self grooming.
She tries to stand and is baffled by why she can't.

Her rear legs at first seemed like they did not work as well as her
tail,
but lately she has been lifting herself some on rear legs and her tail
seems to have some "substance to it" other than just limp.

Is there anything anyone here would recommend I do that I am not.
I hold her and assist her in standing on the legs she has daily.

I cannot afford expensive veterinary care.
I am in debt from a critical pet situation presently.

I appreciate anything anyone may have to say about this.

I have named her Jewel.

Eve.

On 8 Sep, 18:15, fishdamsel wrote:
Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

She is about two or three months old, I believe.
She has begun eating voraciously and is drinking.
She is peeing and pooping.
She is doing some self grooming.
She tries to stand and is baffled by why she can't.

Her rear legs at first seemed like they did not work as well as her
tail,
but lately she has been lifting herself some on rear legs and her tail
seems to have some "substance to it" other than just limp.

Is there anything anyone here would recommend I do that I am not.
I hold her and assist her in standing on the legs she has daily.

I cannot afford expensive veterinary care.
I am in debt from a critical pet situation presently.

I appreciate anything anyone may have to say about this.

I have named her Jewel.

Eve.

Thank you for not crossing the road & walking the way. So many would!

Money will meet ends, because it has to- You just find a way... The
advise regarding a second opinion with a vet that comes recommended by
someone who already has a cat goes a long way too. At least you know
what your choices are, & work from there.....

I understand exactly what you mean about recovery from a first
critical pet situation as well! It's not easy. Having said that, for
the kindness you showed, you will reap a bountiful harvest....
Best Wishes & keep in touch.
Sheelagh "o"

On 8 Sep, 10:15, fishdamsel wrote:
Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.


All I can say is that last year I saw a young cat that had been hit by
a car and was dragging her back legs. Luckily for her, (I just said
"Her" I didn't get that close) her plight was also spotted by this
amazing guy who had been doing feral rescue back in South Africa and
organised getting her to a vet safely (I don't know how the story
ended as I haven't seen him since) and he told me that he's seen cats
recover from dragging their back legs after a car strike, he said they
slowly get the feeling back and start to use the damaged legs again,
he thinks perhaps the impact shocks their nerves for a time and they
may also have bruising.

I assume the vet X-rayed Jewel to make sure that she hadn't broken her
spine and it sounds like she is doing fine.

Ultimately if she has no feeling in the leg (and yes nerves do recover
so give it some time) it may become neccesary to amputate the affected
leg if it causes problems (a friend of mine had a cat who for some
reason developed a completely paralysed and useless back leg and had
it amputated because with no feeling the cat was dragging it and would
potentially have got infected sores where the leg was dragging on the
ground because the cat couldn't lift it out of the way nor would have
done because it didn't hurt)

But cats do perfectly well on three legs this three legged cat my
friend had was an utter terror with the local rodent population and
climbed trees without a pause indeed she told me that after the
surgery he seemed almost relieved to be rid of the problem

So if you trust the vet and Jewel seems to be fine then perhaps just
keep an eye on things

And like everyone else...Thank you for helping her out she will repay
you in love

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

"Lesley" wrote

All I can say is that last year I saw a young cat that had been hit by
a car and was dragging her back legs. Luckily for her, (I just said
"Her" I didn't get that close) her plight was also spotted by this
amazing guy who had been doing feral rescue back in South Africa and
organised getting her to a vet safely (I don't know how the story
ended as I haven't seen him since) and he told me that he's seen cats
recover from dragging their back legs after a car strike, he said they
slowly get the feeling back and start to use the damaged legs again,
he thinks perhaps the impact shocks their nerves for a time and they
may also have bruising.


Yes, this is one of the stories I was thinking about. Also, I have seen
both cats and dogs on Animal Planet's Animal Rescue who had been
hit, were checked thoroughly by the vet, determined to have nerve
damage alone, and were walking again some weeks or months later.
(For those of you who keep trying to get out of spending a buck at
the vet, this does NOT mean you don't have to get your animal vet
attention when they cannot walk or have been hit by a car. It means
that if the vet determines there are no broken bones or other structural
problems, and thinks it must be nerve damage, the situation may improve
in time by just leaving it alone.)

On Sep 9, 2:18 pm, Lesley wrote:
On 8 Sep, 10:15, fishdamsel wrote:

Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

All I can say is that last year I saw a young cat that had been hit by
a car and was dragging her back legs. Luckily for her, (I just said
"Her" I didn't get that close) her plight was also spotted by this
amazing guy who had been doing feral rescue back in South Africa and
organised getting her to a vet safely (I don't know how the story
ended as I haven't seen him since) and he told me that he's seen cats
recover from dragging their back legs after a car strike, he said they
slowly get the feeling back and start to use the damaged legs again,
he thinks perhaps the impact shocks their nerves for a time and they
may also have bruising.

I assume the vet X-rayed Jewel to make sure that she hadn't broken her
spine and it sounds like she is doing fine.

Ultimately if she has no feeling in the leg (and yes nerves do recover
so give it some time) it may become neccesary to amputate the affected
leg if it causes problems (a friend of mine had a cat who for some
reason developed a completely paralysed and useless back leg and had
it amputated because with no feeling the cat was dragging it and would
potentially have got infected sores where the leg was dragging on the
ground because the cat couldn't lift it out of the way nor would have
done because it didn't hurt)

But cats do perfectly well on three legs this three legged cat my
friend had was an utter terror with the local rodent population and
climbed trees without a pause indeed she told me that after the
surgery he seemed almost relieved to be rid of the problem

So if you trust the vet and Jewel seems to be fine then perhaps just
keep an eye on things

And like everyone else...Thank you for helping her out she will repay
you in love

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs


Jewel seems to be coming along well.
I lay her on a soft mat today surrounded by "walling".
Somehow she got over the the "walls" and I found her a distance
from there on my lanai. She got there somehow!
She has the will and seems healthy in every respect other than the
shoulder and leg I mentioned before.

I am going to watch her closely and will see how things progress.

If anything looks worrisome, I will take her to a vet I trust but owe
money to
because he was kind enough to let me make payments when my cat Miss
Kitty
was fighting for her life and he was willing to do everything possible
to help her
make it. She still was not able to recover, but we did everything
humanly possible.
Maybe he will take a look at Jewel if I can pay for the exam in spite
of what I still
owe (It was more than a $2000 course of treatment, but I have it down
to about five hundred now).

Thank you all for your responses. They have been really helpful.

Eve

On 9 Sep, 20:48, fishdamsel wrote:
On Sep 9, 2:18 pm, Lesley wrote:





On 8 Sep, 10:15, fishdamsel wrote:

Three days ago, I rescued a kitten that was in a busy road and hit and
unable to move.

I took her to a vet who told me that she has no broken bones,
appears to have no internal bleeding,
but appears to have nerve damage from her right shoulder all the way
down her right leg.
He initally recommended "putting her to sleep".
Then he recommended amputation.
Then he stated sometimes nerves regenerate and to give it six weeks.

All I can say is that last year I saw a young cat that had been hit by
a car and was dragging her back legs. Luckily for her, (I just said
"Her" I didn't get that close) her plight was also spotted by this
amazing guy who had been doing feral rescue back in South Africa and
organised getting her to a vet safely (I don't know how the story
ended as I haven't seen him since) and he told me that he's seen cats
recover from dragging their back legs after a car strike, he said they
slowly get the feeling back and start to use the damaged legs again,
he thinks perhaps the impact shocks their nerves for a time and they
may also have bruising.

I assume the vet X-rayed Jewel to make sure that she hadn't broken her
spine and it sounds like she is doing fine.

Ultimately if she has no feeling in the leg (and yes nerves do recover
so give it some time) it may become neccesary to amputate the affected
leg if it causes problems (a friend of mine had a cat who for some
reason developed a completely paralysed and useless back leg and had
it amputated because with no feeling the cat was dragging it and would
potentially have got infected sores where the leg was dragging on the
ground because the cat couldn't lift it out of the way nor would have
done because it didn't hurt)

But cats do perfectly well on three legs this three legged cat my
friend had was an utter terror with the local rodent population and
climbed trees without a pause indeed she told me that after the
surgery he seemed almost relieved to be rid of the problem

So if you trust the vet and Jewel seems to be fine then perhaps just
keep an eye on things

And like everyone else...Thank you for helping her out she will repay
you in love

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Jewel seems to be coming along well.
I lay her on a soft mat today surrounded by "walling".
Somehow she got over the the "walls" and I found her a distance
from there on my lanai. She got there somehow!
She has the will and seems healthy in every respect other than the
shoulder and leg I mentioned before.

I am going to watch her closely and will see how things progress.

If anything looks worrisome, I will take her to a vet I trust but owe
money to
because he was kind enough to let me make payments when my cat Miss
Kitty
was fighting for her life and he was willing to do everything possible
to help her
make it. She still was not able to recover, but we did everything
humanly possible.
Maybe he will take a look at Jewel if I can pay for the exam in spite
of what I still
owe (It was more than a $2000 course of treatment, but I have it down
to about five hundred now).

Thank you all for your responses. They have been really helpful.

Eve- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

great, glad to hear she is doing well and that is a fighter, seems as
though she has chosen you to look after her.
just a thought but have you considered getting pet insurance for this
one (assuming that you will keep her of course, or that she decides to
keep you for that matter)? I don't know how much it is in the US but
it will not be that much each month as she is young still and it may
be well worth it she has any other problems later in life, or she has
not learnt the lesson not to tangle with cars again.

hug, purrs and kisses to jewel from jessie, terri, mr Mcgregor and
myself
bookie