A pacemaker, for the bladder?

Amazingly, a group of researchers at Duke University have brought the idea of a pacemaker to control bladder function one step closer to reality. No, it won't be for over active bladder, but instead for people who have lost all bladder function due to spinal cord injury or neurological disease. They have found a way to stimulate the nervous system to both contract the bladder (hold it), and to relax the bladder (urinate). Currently many patients in need of this type of device have to use catheters, which come with their own set of negative side effects like urinary tract infections.

I think this sounds like a great discovery, but in reading the article I wish they didn't have to test it so much on animals -- poor cats!