Margo Domestic Long Hair Mix Iroquois, IL

SPECIAL NEEDS KITTEN

Say hello to Margo!
Margo was a farm kitten brought to ICARe for dragging her back legs.
At the shelter, she was able to stand, but had a very messy back end full of maggots!
The next day was a spay day, so she went to get checked out by one of the vets there. Margo had a LOT going on. Her bladder was enormous - she hadn't been urinating on her own. Her colon was so full of stool that it was ten times it's normal size. Under anesthesia everything was emptied, she was spayed, and vaccinated.
Since her ability to urinate on her own was questionable because of potential damage/inflammation to her urethra from the maggots, we asked a volunteer vet tech to keep an eye on her. If she wasn't going to be able to urinate on her own, she would have been helped across the rainbow bridge.
That night, and even the next day, urine was leaving her body, sometimes leaking into her fur, sometimes where she was laying, but at least she could go. She seemed "off" in her back end, we sort of assumed it was from everything that had to happen while under anesthesia.
Nope. She is weak in the back end. Xrays don't show anything broken. After an exam, the assumption (because she was a farm kitten) is that there is a possibility of something yanking on her tail and causing nerve damage that may or may not ever improve, and could potentially get worse. Margo can feel things in her back end, but things don't work quite right.
Margo will need a special home. Her stools continue to be a problem that may or may not be related to whatever else is going on. She requires some daily medication to keep her stools soft enough, and when she is old enough she should be on a special food to help as well. She needs daily checks to make sure she isn't getting too backed up, and sometimes some gentle help gets things moving. So far she doesn't seem to be trying to go on her own, it just happens, so it isn't always in the litterbox. Margo also likes to hold more urine in her bladder than she should, but does eventually go in the litterbox - most of the time. Part of that is from being a farm kitten - litterboxes are new to her!
Margo needs to be with someone that is capable of keeping a very close eye on her (as in daily feeling her abdomen for the amount of stool present, and checking bladder size). Due to holding urine in her bladder longer, she will always be at increased risk of things like bladder infections and urinary crystals/stones. As long as she continues to be weak in the back end, she MUST ALWAYS STAY SKINNY. If she gets heavy, she will be less able to move, and may stop walking completely, and that brings with it a whole host of extra problems for her.
Do you think you might be the person able to take on this special girl? Contact ICARe for adoption information! She is spayed, vaccinated, felv/fiv negative, no more ear mites, and no more intestinal parasites. In the meantime she will be bunking with our volunteer vet tech while she gets some "physical therapy", a few more laser therapy treatments (it may or may not make a difference for her, but it can't hurt!), and maybe some more acupuncture. Margo is still a bit of a shy girl (farm kitten life!), but when she relaxes she has a wonderful motor and will happily head and nose boop your nose/face.