This month we’re looking at Uri. Uri is a gorgeous 8 month old neutered white male cat. He’s also a handsome eye-catching teenager with a sense of adventure to go along with his good looks.

He went exploring one day when his Mum and Dad where out. He decided on his own bit of OE, he had traveled before and the grass looked greener on the other side so he ventured across the road.

He forgot to look both ways and backed his speed against the slim chance of a car coming at just that moment. He ran but this time one of his nine lives was on the line, flesh met steel and no guesses here what comes out better off.

The vehicle wins, every time. Uri was quick, very quick but he got hit in his back end.

It was a glancing blow, the most commonly injured area in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in felines. His pelvis is tough. Its shaped like a box, protects all the pelvic organs and it’s strong to provide the base for the power of his back legs. The car caught him on the point of his bum his left ischium [See green arrow on x-ray]. The force of the blow transferred forward and dislocated his right and left sacroiliac joint (his pelvis separated a bit from his spinal vertebrae) [See 3 headed blue arrow on x-ray] His tail did not go unscathed either. There was some compression of his caudal or tail vertebrae [red arrow]…

…..innocuous huh or so it seems, but this is his most critical injury. Uri can survive horrific damage to the bones of his pelvis. As long as the box heals up again and he has a reasonable pelvic space with good pain relief, cage rest and with all his needs met ( bed, litter tray water and food all near at hand) and in 6 weeks he’s on his way again, a bit rocky at first but in time almost like the Uri of old. Road wise we hope!!
But remember that vertebral damage. That means nerve damage. Yes nerves heal but very, very, very slowly.

Micturition (weeing) is a remarkably complex process. Not like defecation (p……) that’s like a continual squeeze pushing down a pipe with a valve on the end. Open the valve and out it comes, close it and it stops. Urination has 2 separate processes; 1 derives from the bladder and relies on stretch receptors in the bladder wall telling us things are getting a bit full. The other is nerves supplying the neck area of the bladder which control stop and start. The nerves for this derive from several interverterbral spaces around the pelvis.

At the moment Uri can’t urinate because he can’t relax his bladder at the neck to allow normal weeing. Left alone pressure will build up to the point where the muscle tension stopping outflow is overcome and urine will dribble out. He will have overflow incontinence.

So………… we have to give Uri some tincture of time, pain relief, relaxant drugs, gentle bladder expression and wait and see. Will keep you posted.

Morals of this story, always, always look both ways before you cross the road, steel beats flesh every day and maybe just maybe put a curfew on your felines at night might reduce the road toll.

And so to next month…. In Wordsworth’s immortal words ‘………my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils’. Spring is here so one of your stories might just have to have a spring theme; green grass, sunnier days, perhaps a newborn.

Take care from all the folk at Barkes Corner Vet Hospital

PS. Uri has gone home today so will keep you posted