Expressing a Cat - Please Help: Advice on Expressing a Cat
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Posted By: Dawna Allison
Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Our cat Lilly was hit by a car on December 15 and her tail had to be amputated. She also had a back injury. Since then she has regained her mobility very well but she is incontinent. She is a bit of a spitfire and resists expressing. Even the veterinary assistant had a bit of trouble with her. My husband and I try but can't seem to get her to do anything but dribble a little. Can someone explain the technique to me in detail or give me ideas that worked for them? She goes into her box and scratches, so I know she wants to go...it's heartbreaking.
We love her so much and want to give her the best care we can.
Posted By: CarolC
Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Is there any chance she is pregnant, or is she fixed? Can you say for sure she is not constipated? Does she tense her back legs when you try, or appear to be having muscle spasms? Any chance she might have a urinary tract infection?
Posted By: Dawna Allison
Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
To answer a few questions that Carol had.
Lilly is not overweight and is spade. She just came from the Vet and does not currently have infection. Her feces drops out pretty regularly so we think all is fine there. Her bladder is a little tough for me to feel but based on illustrations I have seen, I think I do feel it.
When we try to express her she faces us, we support her in an upright pose, we use our right hand to express the bladder and our left on the base of her back. Currently we are expressing her over a pad on the floor. She does seem to tense up and doesn't seem to want to "let go."
Our vet says she does have some control and generally holds it until it overflows if not expressed. Lilly is a willful and dominant cat but also very people oriented (much like a dog in many ways)...we rescued her from a very bad situation 5 years ago and only recently, when she was hit by the car, did we realize the abuse she suffered before we had her was as bad as it was. In her x-ray nearly every one of her vertebrae showed calcification.
The vet said it was rather amazing her mobility was as good as is was. So to make a long story short she is an incredible survivor with a strong will.
Thanks to all of you for all your help. If you can think of anything else that would help us with this strong-willed girl we would be eternally grateful. I'll keep you posted on our progress. I am very thankful to have found this message board! Dawna
Express Method Head Over Tail
Posted By: CarolC
Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Dawna, I know of three methods to express, and the one you use is similar to one I use with my 7 lb female dog.
I put a pad on the floor, then kneel down on all fours over her so my head is over her tail and her head is peaking out behind me under my bottom. This helps keep her from walking off left or right.
I put my left hand on the base of her back and my right hand under her abdomen with the palm on her tummy and the thumb on one side of her bladder and fingers on the other side. I check the size and location of the bladder.
If it is not too full I can feel its firm roundess and dimensions. If it is quite full, all I feel is what seems like an abdomen that is big and tight as a drum (which is normal for her by 4 AM even tho I express her at 11 PM).
I position my hand toward the ribs end of the bladder and try a test squeeze. If you are too far toward her tail you may actually push the urine the wrong way, up toward the kidneys, and you'll know it the instant you feel it happen, and if so, stop and move your hand farther toward the ribs.
If you are having trouble getting her started or are getting only a small dribble, you might try working your fingers farther up into the abdominal cavity toward her spine so you're squeezing more in the area of the ceiling of the bladder. You may have to move a quarter-inch this way and that patiently until you hit the spot.
NOTE: I've discovered something that may be my dog only, or may be a small-animal trait. It works better to use the thumb and two fingers (middle and ring). If I use three fingers, it seems the index finger is on some sort of pressure point (or something--I don't know exactly what the deal is) that inhibits urination, so that I am giving her mixed signals, squeezing to cause urination yet hitting this pressure point or whatever it is forcing her to be unable to. This would actually be cruel if it were intentional. Therefore, when I position my hand, I then consciously raise my index finger off of her and squeeze with the thumb and middle two. While squeezing in on the sides, you are also pushing back toward the tail. You can do this by keeping you left hand on the base of her spine or I sometimes lower my chest over her and brace her aginst me that way as I sort of smoosh the shrinking bladder up into her pelvis. Very often, my dog tenses up and straightens her back legs just as we are ready to begin, and it does no good to try to express her at that second. I wait a few seconds until she relaxes and try again. Also, sometimes she really wants to walk away from me, and I may let her walk/scoot out from under me before we're done, or even before we've started, because I don't want to upset her or make it an ordeal.
I often feel the 80-20 rule applies when I am expressing her. With only 20 percent of the effort required to do the job completely, I can express 80 percent of her urine. However, it takes the other 80 percent of effort to express that last 20 percent of urine. Usually I switch to another method for this, which I'll put in another message.
Express Method Standing at Right Angles
Posted By: CarolC
Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
You can put a pad on the bathroom counter and express a small animal if you're careful about the edge. I stand with my legs against the counter so there's no space for her feet to slip off, and put her on the counter with her head to my right and her tail to my left. I hold her in a standing position by cupping my left hand over her spine near her tail and grasping the hollows of her sides with my fingers. Then I lean over her slightly and place my right hand around under her abdomen (bend your knees to save your back) with my palm on her tummy and my thumb on one side of her abdomen (her left side) and fingers on the other (her right). In this position, my right forearm and elbow are keeping her snug against my body, blocking her from trying to turn around. Then I test squeeze several places till some urine is expressed, and proceed to empty her bladder as best we can. If you've expressed all you can at one go, it seems to help to wait half a minute for the newly expressed bladder to resume its round shape, now smaller than before, then try again. You'll be able to feel it better once it is smaller, sort of like one of those rubber squeeze bulbs on the end of a blood pressure monitor. Using the counter works well because my dog is less inclined to want to walk away. I put the pad only under her rear because it slips around under her front feet on the slick countertop. I read about someone who expresses directly into the sink, if that meets your standards of bathroom cleanliness. When using a pad, after she has wet in one spot, I fold the pad there and turn it around to use a dry area for the next go at expressing. This reassures her she is not going to accidentally sit or step back into a wet spot. Animals find such things just as distasteful as we do.
Re: Express Method
Posted By: Jennifer
Date: Thursday, 29 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
I used the same method as most I think, I'd hold Smokes by his "armpits" with his lower body dangling or "Standing" on his hind leg though he couldn't stand and I'd trace my finger to the bottom of his rib cage and then using my thumb and index finger gently squeeze the bulb shape there and gently run my fingers down towards his bottom while squeezing and he'd urinate, I did this on the grass with him close to the ground "standing up" and eventually when he was okay with it over the toilet.
Messages In This Thread
Re: Express Method
Posted By: Dawna Allison
Date: Friday, 30 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Thanks Carol for your detailed information!!! Good news, we are beginning to have better luck thanks to the information and encouragement on this message board. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks again!
Re: Please Help: Advice on Expressing a Cat
Posted By: Bendy Kitty
Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Expressing was difficult for mom to learn, so she can certainly sympathize.
Legume, who was incontinent (spinal break), hated being expressed!!!
Mimosa is not incontinent, but she doesn't have the co-ordination to get in and out of a litter box (brain dmage) so mom expresses her twice a day.
She HATES it, squirms yells etc.
The bladder is a slippery thing, what mom was taught to do was to start squeezing right below the ribcage, and slowly move your hand down. Mom does this standing over the cat, holding her in one hand and using the other hand to squeeze. You can feel a little balloon in there kinda slipping around, that is the bladder. Try to trap it agaisnt the pelivs and squeeze and keep squeezing.
Expressing bowels is still hard for mom, she eventually learned how to feel fecal material in the large intestine and push it along, but it took a LOT more practice.
I would recommend having a trainign session with your vet - having them show you, watch you try it & coach you on technique.
good luck with Lilly, thanks for giving her a chance!
bendy
Expressing Cat Question for Bendy
Posted By: CarolC
Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
Since both of my incontinent pets have been dogs, I have a question about cats. Where do you express your cat? Over the sink, onto a pad, standing in the litter box, outside, or somewhere else? I'm thinking a kitty might be most comfortable in the nice, clean litter box, but if she's really struggling you'd have litter everywhere. Also, you can grasp the scruff to completely immobilize a struggling kitty if necessary (like the vet does when giving a shot), and I wonder if Dawna and her husband know how to do this, but if you do, can you still express the cat? I only ask because she says her kitty is a spitfire. ;)
Messages
Re: Expressing Cat Question for Bendy
Posted By: bendy kitty
Date: Thursday, 29 January 2004, at 7:00 p.m.
We express Mimosa over a litter box.
She isn't really incontinent, and sometimes she realizes she is in a litter box and goes on her own...but most of the time she has to be expressed. We express her because it is easier to keep her clean that way - if she goes on her own she gets mess all over herself because she is so poorly co=ordinated.
Mom doesn't put Mimosa's feet in the litter - that WOULD be a huge mess!!!
Usually mom holds MImosa with one hand on Mimosa' chest to support her weight. Mimosa does not respond well to being scruffed, she screaches and flails....not all cats scruff well.
I think that scruffing a cat might make it difficult to express them, but because of how you'd be holding the cat but it is worth a try.
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