I keep trying to isolate him from the other cats so that I can see if he is going potty... but I don't have very good doors, my home is very old. The other cats keep "sneaking" into the room I have put him in... so I am still trying to figure that out.
He CAN walk. I've seen him do it. It seems to be exhausting for him, but he isn't limping or dragging his feet. He is acting normal otherwise, which I know that most animals will hide injuries as much as they can.. but I am having trouble putting a finger on this one.
His injuries show no signs of infection, and as I said his color is good. No sign of fever or dehydration.
He is a little over 3 years old, but he has always been a lazy cat. Not overweight, but he just is the type to be happy laying around in the sun all day... even before this. Could that be a factor?
Also, how can I "encourage" him to exercise? He doesn't seem to want to play much, though my husband had him rolling around playing with his hand. He's enjoying being petted, he'll lift his chin and whatnot.. but he is NOT purring.
I'm just unsure of whether or not this warrants a vet visit.
If I weren't so financially strapped this month I wouldn't hesitate.. but he just seems OK except that he won't move around. Thanks.

Im so sad im 15 my cat yesterday starting limping, he wont put pressure on his front right leg, he will still run on his three legs and play, but when i touched it he hissed, it seems like he doesnt want it to bend straight, my family is worrried about vet bills please tell me if its broken or a pulled muscle or something.

thanks tommy

Hi, tommy,
I am sorry tho hear that your pet is not well.
By far the commonest cause of a cat limping is a bite from another cat. If that is the case here, it may well get better without treatment, but if it is not improving in a few days try to do a deal with your family so that you can take him to the vet. Maybe give up half your pocket money for a few weeks!

Walter

my cat ran outside and onto the road and was hit by a reversing car. it has hurt its back left leg and its tail.the foot and paws have swollen up and it looks like it drags its legs when it walks.the tail bled for a bit but stopped but doesn't look serious.what would be the best treatment for the cat.my family is worried about vet bills so could you let me know of the animal welfare groups which help these cats.

Hi, Shoaib,
You cat must be seen by a vet and treated if necessary.
If you cannot afford veterinary fees, and satisfy the requirements regarding income, you may be able to get help from a number of animal welfare charities, depending on where you live.
These include Cats' Protection, PDSA, RSPCA, the Bluecross for a start. Look up their websites and find the nearest.
A private veterinary practice will always be willing to give you an estimate of their fees.
W

one of my cats came in holding his back leg up the other night took him to the vet who found a slight dislocation of his hip fortunately he was able to manipulate it back in there and then after a few days he was back to jumping and running about

Hi, Debz

Clearly your cat's hip was not totally dislocated if your vet was able to replace it and it stayed replaced - good!

W

my kitten is limping i bought her home today she has nt been out her basket only to eat and wee and when she does she limps on her frnt paw or holds it up? she is so quiet not like a normal kitten ad her nose is dry regards franchesca

Hi, I have an outdoor cat who 2 days ago came home with a noticable limp with his front left leg! when you compare it to his other leg it looks swollen or possibly dislocated? My cat is afraid to jump. Is theyre anyway the leg will heal itself or should i bring it down to the vets? PLZ HELP!

Hi,

I think your cat's leg may be broken, and he should be seen by a vet ASAP.

W



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2007 12:18PM by Walter Beswick.

HI,
If you have had your kitten only one day I suggest that you take it back where you got it from. This should be their problem, not yours.

W

Heya, my girlfriend's cat, just fell four floors of the balcony, he never leaves the apartment save the few times hes went out the front door got lost 5 steps later, and ran back in, he's a smart one! He sometimes jumps from the balcony to a window to see us from outside, we think he fell doing that, and seemed to have hit his chin on a ledge sticking out a few yards above the ground, we found him lying where he fell, there was blood on the ledge, and obviously on his chin, the cut can't be too deep though, considering the location, but he's not really letting us see. Nothing else seems hurt, but you can't really tell if something is broken or there is some internal injury. He seems pretty shocked, we think he was down there maybe 30mins, maybe less or more, he's walking fine, as soon as he came in he started eating.
He's pretty big cat, not fat, but Big, perhaps related to wild cats. It's to late to take him to a vet now, anything we could do?
He seems pretty shocked, he didn't move when he fell it seems till we picked him up and took him back upstairs.
Sorry about the bad grammar, it's late and I'm tired, heh. Any advice would be nice.

Hi, Ardo,

I am sorry to have taken so long in replying to your message, but I have been away from my desk for 4 days.
When cats fall from a height the commonest injury is to the head - their legs absorb the shock, but the head keeps going and the chin strikes the ground. No only does this damage the chin itself, but frequently the force with which the chin strikes the upper jaw causes a midline fracture of the palate.
If you are able to open his mouth, do so, and look at the roof of his mouth. If there is a clear line of separation down the middle he really should be seen by a vet.

W

My cat Silverbell is 8 years old. We took her to the vet because we thought she had a minor bladder problem. As it turns out, she did, but the vet also found that she had an enlarged heart. The stress from the vet's made it worse, and my cat may not survive for much longer. She seems to be somewhat stronger, as the few days have passed, but I have noticed yesterday that she was limping. Her right back leg seems to be making her have difficulty walking. She tries to put minor weight on it, but sometimes she just drags it and she occasionally stumbles a bit. Is this a broken leg?

Thanks

Hi,JJ,

Several things could be causing the signs you describe, and a broken leg is probably not the most likely. Did the vet give her an injection in that leg? If so, that could be causing her some pain.

I cannot go into all the other possibilities here, but if she is not improved in a few days time the vet should see her again, even if it does stress her to be taken to see the vet.

W

Thank you very much for your help. As it turns out, I have noticed today that her leg is much better and she seems to be building up more strength everyday. I'm sure it must have had something to do with the vet giving her a shot or something.
Thanks

My cat `is 18mths old .In June I noticed his stance was`nt right,his rear hind leg turned out to far,but only limped if he`d been on it a few hours.To cut a long story short ,after 5 visits to his vet,who thought his ligaments were damaged,eventually x-rayed him,& yes he has a fracture which has healed,through the growing plate,now an expert who swa him 12days ago,wants to re break & pin/plate his leg.An ankle joint is the problem,I do nt know what to do ,I feel this type of op is`nt done much ,what are the pro`s & cons.He`s booked in for the op next week,and I am so un-decided. Comments would be welcomed,I know if the op is`nt done he will end up with arthritis etc.but this can be helped with anti inflamitries ,hes still hunting ,playing,killing the dog etc,and does`nt seem in pain
Thanks Susan

Hi, susan,
If your cat is getting about reasonably well, and not limping badly, and the fracture has healed, I would not support the treatment advised, i.e. breaking and re-setting the bone. It would cause unnecessary stress to your cat and a lot of expense to you.
W

Hi. I'm not sure if my cat has a broken leg, if it's a bite, or what. She is limping, putting her sore foot down (front left leg) but not putting much pressure on it. There is a tiny little bump on her leg and a little bit of the fur is 'gathered' making me think it may be saliva or blood from a bite. She cries out when we put pressure on her leg between her elbow and wrist. It does seem to be a bit swollen too. Our vet is closed on weekends and the next closest one is three hours away. Can we wait until Monday to bring her to the vet? She snuck out of the house tonight too, so I'm worried she'll not come home because she's hurt. What do you think?

Korrie

Hi, Kor,

This sounds to me to be much more likely a bite than a broken leg.
I am surprised that your vet is close all weekend without providing alternative cover less than three hours away. That would certainly not be allowed in the United Kingdom.
The sooner an injection of antibiotic is given in these cases, the better, but unless there is a very virulent infection here a wait of 48 hours should not prove to be disastrous!

W

hi,
my cat is 18 years old, and he has a broken tibia and fibia. the vet says on a cat this old, surgery is out. So he could either have his leg amputated or...

he already had arthritis and it might be hard for him to walk on only 3 limbs because of that. do you think getting the amputation is a good idea? are there any other options that you can think of?

Hi,Lily,

I am afraid that you are not going to like my advice.
Along with the privileges of owning a pet come responsibilities. A major responsibility is to do our best to prevent suffering, physical and mental, and we also have the privilege of being ably to carry out that responsibilty by means of euthanasia.
Your cat has clearly had a long and happy and active life. To spend the rest of his days as an amputee, espcially as he already has arthritis, would, in my opinion, be condeming him to misery.
You will gather from the above comments that I think you should seriously condsider asking your vet to put him to sleep.

W

hi,
i need some advice we have a family cat named tigger and shes's about 2yrs old. she had a litter of three about a month ago and has been very happy. She went out for half an hour as she usually does every evening but when she came back she was limping. her front right paw has swollen a little and it looks slightly misshappen although this could just be the swelling. She is very reluctant to place the paw on the floor but she will if nessisary. She doesn't cry when you touch the paw although she pulls it away. I'm worried that there could be a small break but we can't afford to take her to the local vet's as we have found that it's one of the most expensive in the area. We can't take her to any of he cheaper vets as we can't get there but i don't want to put her through any unnessicary suffering. Please help

Hi,

I cannot tell you without seeing her ( which is impossible !) whether the foot is broken or if she has had some other injury, such as a bite from another cat.
A small bone broken in her foot will almost certainly heal without treatment, and a bite may do so unless it is badly infected. A couple of days should show if she needs veterinary treatment.

W

Hi

Our new kitten, only had him a month or two, came into my room last night, pushing the door open and then fell out of my window. I didnt notice until the morning when I heard him crying outside my window.

I went into the garden, where he was hiding in a bush, and brought him inside. He seemed find, but I only put him down to go stright to bed again.

When I got up to feed him and his sister, I noticed he wasnt using his front left paw.

He would put it on the floor every now and again, and he doesnt cry when I touch it, but he does tend to pull away.

Anyway, my folks are away on holiday, and so I took him to the vets, because Im not expert and dont want the little chap suffering.

Hes a clever little lad, and when the vet got him to walk, he walked almost as if nothing was wrong.

I explained that he was walking a lot better, and at home he tended not to use it.

She gave him the once over and said give it a few days and give him "the cat version of nerofen"

I get him home and he starts walking with the limp again, and when he runs, he keeps it off the floor completly.

Im not sure what to do, as he stills like to play fight with his sister, who is being VERY gentle with him at the moment, and hes enjoying his normal bouncing around the how.

Do i assume its just a sprain from a bad fall, or possible a hair line fractor (the vet said) and keep him in his little box for most the day so that he is resting, and not trying to jump off tables.

I feel for the little chap, he is only little and cleary not very good at landing.

Hi, Michael,

I would be inclined to take your vet's advice. There is every chance that in a few days your kitten will have forgotten all about it and be walking OK.

W

Hi, I think my cat may have a broken leg, but not sure. He fell pretty hard on his back righ hind leg. He at first cried and meowed alot, but then stopped. He then only cried if I tried to move him, but after a couple minutes I was able to pick him up and massage his leg and rear without him crying. I kept gently massaging his leg to see if I felt any swelling or broken bones, but nothing was found. He still hurts at some point when you touch that side of his body and doesnt even attempt to put his leg down when walking. He'll sleep or lay on the hurt side, but I'm just not sure what to do. Should I wait it out or take him to the vet? Its only been about 20 hours since it happened.
Thank you for your time
M.M.M.

Hi, Malissa

I think your cat may have dislocated his hip rather than broken his leg.
Only a skilled examination and maybe an x-ray can tell you for certain. I think you should make an appointment to have him seen by a vet.

W

hi, my husband found our outside cat in the neighbor's shrubs today. he picked the cat up and brought him inside. we tried giving him some chicken broth b/c he won't eat or drink. he also is dragging the back legs like they must be broken. no external bleeding, no bleeding oozing from other areas. he is in alot of pain, but does not try to bite or cry. he is still inside we're keeping him warm. i am really afraid b/c i love him so much. is there anything i can do. it is very late at night.
thanks

Hi Angie,

I suspect that your cat may have a blood clot in the veins draining his hind legs - Iliac Thrombosis, which does cause paralysis of the back legs.
OR, he may have had an accident - e.g. hit by a car, which has broken his back. It is really, and urgently, a visit to the vet which is needed.

W