Quote Originally Posted by Moesha View Post
If she can't relieve herself, is it possible for you to continue to express her manually? I'm not really familiar with the procedure, but have heard of other animals that need assistance with things like this. Perhaps it has been in one of Critters' handicapped threads. I only asked because you said you were learning to do this yourself. Is it something that can be done long term or not? I'm really hoping she improves. I'm glad that she seems to be in good spirits though.
I haven't finished the rest of the thread yet, but you're exactly right!! I know people who've done it for YEARS, although I didn't have to do it very long with Buddy because he eventually recovered enough to do it himself!!

edit: OK, I'm caught up now. You need to get over to the handicapped pets bb ASAP and see the sticky post on the incontinence bb. Poop on Demand can be done tons of different ways, and you can pick one that suits you. I would also keep expressing until you're SURE she can empty herself completely when she pees; otherwise, she can get UTIs. In my experience, the bladder isn't all that prone to rupturing; when Buddy had that funky urethral spasm it took TONS of pressure to blow past it, and his didn't rupture. It takes a fair amount of pressure anyway, to blow past the sphincter.

I wouldn't set a time limit on her recovery; Buddy's injury was a lot higher and a lot more complete (he was 100% paralyzed and 100% expressed for months), but he got it all back. As CarolC says, a slow recovery is still a recovery!!!

As kb2yjx says, lactulose can be a BIG help; it's yummy, cheap, and effective, although you usually have to get it from a human pharmacy.