VetClick Discussion Forum

I found my cat limping on her right hind leg tonight, she was fine this morning when I let her out. I only noticed because when I pet her and ran my hand over her leg she moaned, and meowed. When she stood up I saw it was tucked way up high against her body, it is moving, because she has that reflex to tuck it away if I touch it. So I dont thinks its broken, if she's able to move it right? SO I just keep her away from the kids and dog and am leting her rest. I keep bringing her food and water to her. But she didnt seem interested. Do you think she needs to be seen?

Hi, Margaret,

If the leg is as painful as it seems to be from your description I think you should have it checked by your vet.

W

My cat Poppi has a broken leg his albo is bent in and he has a limp we need to how we can fix it at home and we know we can take it to the vet we need to know how to do it at home please write back

Hi,

There is no 'do-it-yourself' treatment for a broken leg in a pet.

W

My cat was playing on a scratcher on the ground and began to cry, and has been dragging its foot. I thought maybe after a day she woudld be fine but she is still dragging her foot and crys when you touch it. I do not understand how she could of hurt herself if she was on the ground and am wondering how long I should wait to take her to the vet. I do not have the money but if I have to go to the vet I will find it. but I am afraid to pay $200 to find out that it is just a sprang and it will heal by itself.

Hi, Linda,

I think it very unlikely that your cat will have broken its leg on a scratching post.
She may have torn out a claw - look very closely at her paw and press on each pad so as to push out the claw for you to examine it.
If a claw is broken it may need to be cut off by the vet.
In any case, I think you may safely leave it for a couple of days.

W

my 8 month old cat is limping on his right foot. i dont see any bites or swelling on it..he wont eat or drink nething. the vets are closed today ad i was wodering if hes gonna survive until tomarrow?

Hi, Fana,

I think it would be very unlikely that your cat would be any the worse for waiting until Monday for the vet to open.

W

Hey...
The other morning i pivked up my cat and placed him on my dad he was queit not like normal he has black oil on his fur from a car and he is limping on his right back leg what shell we do as we left it for 2 days and he is still limping..
maybe a car accident of coursed this ?
..From Hannah..

Hi, Hannah,

It certainly sounds like your cat has been run over by a car. He should really be checked out by a vet. Treatment may not be necessary, but if he is still limping he should at least be examined.

W

Hi Walter,
I arrived home from work a couple of hours ago and was met my (15 year old) cat who was limping. She was holding up her left hind leg, not putting it on the ground at all. My neighbour said that she saw her cowering under her car and there was another cat hanging around. This other cat has been tormenting mine for a while now. She's now in her bed after having her dinner and shes just sleeping. I can't get in to look at her leg as her bed is a covered one. I tried running my hand down her back and she jerked her head as I got towards her leg and she also went to bite me when I (lightly) put my hand on the sore leg. Does this sound like a broken leg to you? I'm bringing her to the vet first thing tomorrow anyway, but shes such a misfortunate cat I'm afraid to go to the vets unprepared anymore!
Thank you
Claire.

Hi, Claire,

You cat's leg may be brokenm, but I suspect it is more likely that it has been bitten by the other cat you mention.
If you read some of the earlier letters and replies you will see how common this is, and how cat bites, more often than not, turn septic.

W

Hi, Anie,
Your neighbours are adding to the feral cat problem by feeding them, as the cat population will grow as the food supply increases unless active measures such as catch, neuter and release are put into place.
This cat has probable been bitten, and there is no 'first aid' which you can give that will help.
Be very careful if you handle him - many people have lost a finger from an infected cat bite, and cat bites tend to be contaminated with very nasty bugs.

W

Hi. My 3 week old kitten, Raya, fell from a roughly 15 foot wall and hurt her left front leg. She won't put any weight on it at all. This happened about 45 minutes ago. I don't know what's wrong. Should I take her to the vet? Thanks so much!

Hi, Elizabeth,

I think it unlikely that a three-week old kittn will have a broken leg, but if is not improved by now (Monday 8th Oct) get her checked by a vet.

W

I was heading out to school and my neighbors 2 month old kitten was hiding under my car and I acidentally ran over his leg he ran away from the car after the tire was done and has been hiding in a bush too scared to let even his mom touch him. When he went to the bush he was keeping his hurt leg up walking on the other legs what can we do for him?

Hi, Mike,

All that you can realistically do is to catch him and take him to a vet.

W

hi
my cat came home with a limp on its front leg a few days ago but it seemed to get better then last night he came home limping worse than ever, his leg had swollen twice the size of the other one and he had a lump aswell. then he licked off all the fur which revealed a puncture wound. does he need to go to the vets or will it heal itself?
thanks gemma x

Hi,Gemma,

This sounds to me like sepsis folowing a bite from another cat. In my opinion these cases should always have antibiotic treatment.

W

Hi, Arkady,

Cats are notoriously good at getting out of plaster casts! He did well to keep it on for 6 weeks.
It is usual to lose some muscle after being in a cast for as long as this, and it will take a few days before he walks on the leg again. If he has not started to use it after a week, take him back to our vet.

W

My cat loves to go outside, but she just stays in the bushes right in front of the door the whole time. Wednesday night I heard my cat cry outside. I ran out and saw the neighbor's cat run out of the bushes. She came in with a cut on her leg, but it looked very minor. She was holding her back leg up and walking on the other three. She didn't seem like she was in any pain. The first thing she did was eat. She let me touch the sore and clean it up. She seemed fine so I didn't take her to the vet until Saturday. It cost me $112 just for him to tell me that she could have a dislocated ankle or a shattered ankle. He said to come back Monday to have her put under for more expensive x-rays. He says I will have to decide while she's under what treatment I want to go with. He said this could cost $2,000-$3000 if I don't want to have her leg amputated, and even the amputation would be expensive. My cat is running around on her three legs, eating plenty, and she learned to get in and out of the big litter box already. She goes upstairs, downstairs, and in the basement. She is acting perfectly normal. I was wondering if it would be okay to skip the vet tomorrow to have more time to come up with the money. I am a college student, and they told me my charges tomorrow would be minimum $165. That is a lot for me when I already just spent $112. I was hoping to call around to other vets and try to find someone to take payments to get her the best treatment. I am not ready to part with her leg when she seems to be doing so well. She lets me touch her foot, she just doesn't bend it and holds it up when she walks. I think maybe it got caught in between some branches during the cat fight and she was running or something. Is there any chance that it could heal itself?

Hi, Amanda,

Is there not an animal welfare association locally who would help you? The fees quoted by your vet do sound to me to be on the high side.
As long as the cut you mention is clean and not infected you could try total cage rest, and the leg may heal well enough, though the joint would probably not function as a joint afterwards.

W

My 1 Year old male indoor cat has recently decided to venture into the backyard everyday for a play but isn't usually out for long before wanting to come back inside. Today he was out for only about 5 minutes before I could hear him wailing. I let him in and he is limping quite bad and whenever he puts any weight on it (back right leg), he wails as if he is in a great deal of pain. We have tried to touch it to find the exact spot of the injury but when we do he growls, wails and hisses at us. He has been resting in the same spot for the last couple of hours. He is usually a very fiendly, effectionate cat who never has hissed at us before.

Could this possibly be a broken leg?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,
Could be broken, but needs to be examined properly to be certain. I suggest you keep him indoors overnight, and take him to your vet tomorrow if he still will not let you check it.

W

The cut was infected but I have had her on antibiotics since Friday. I am going to another vet to get a second opinion. All the places that help owners with their pets around here are all for senior citizens or people that get living assistance, so I do not qualify. Thank you for all of your help!

My 17 year old cat started limping yesterday afternoon on her front leg/paw. I think it may have occurred when she jumped off the dresser. She is still putting weight on it and has been jumping up and down off the bed and over the baby gates but it appears to be swollen. She will allow me to pet it but not examine it. She does not appear to be in any pain though.

I think it may just be she twisted it cuz if it was broken I do not believe she would put any weight on it, correct?

Hi, Aimee,

You are probably right in thinking that your cat would not be putting ANY weight on her paw if it were broken.
Does she get out? If so she may have had a bite which has gone septic.

W

please please walter, help me. I was rushing down the stairs and my cat flew in my way and i think i broke its leg. It screamed and ran away. its the right back leg. I wrapped it in a bandage. I placed 2 ice cream sticks to hold it in place and wrapped it. He is sleeping now on my bed and is shivering, i am afraid i ruined my kittens life! The possibility of seeing a vet is slim to non. I know there is not much u can do, but my brother says its not a broken foot and that it will heal itself. It started shaking its injured let and took of the sticks moments before it went to sleep and it licked and bit it for a while. What do you think?

hey there!

I have 2 kittens one of which is about 11-12 weeks and the other is 8 weeks old. This morning i woke up and I could not find the youngest one. After looking all over for her I finally found her in the closet. I then picked her up and cuddled her a bit before i put her down on my bed and left the house for about an hour. When i returned home she was still on my bed so i went in and brought her out into the livingroom once again cuddling her a bit. At this time i realized she was limping. Because she didnot complain when I was carrying her or cuddling her I did not realize there was anything wrong. I have read some of your other posts and I'm just not to sure what to think this may be. I have felt her leg (front,left) and it doesnt seem to have any lump or anything however she does pull it away and meows when you touch it. She does not try to bite at you or anything. She wants to lay down and not walk much. She did try and jump up onto the chair and got half way up and then she gave up. She can still jump in and out of her litter box as well. She also has been walking around (not as much as usual) on it which i think is what you would call a soft limp. I have tried to look for a punture wound as you had mentioned to someone in an earlier post and i can not find one. I am unsure if I should take her into a vet right away or wait and see how she is throughout the day tomorrow. Can you please give me your opinion?
Thank you, Lori
P.S. Her name is spunky!!!

Hi, Adam,

It does sound to be very likely that your kitten may have a broken leg. If you really cannot get him treted by a vet you should get a cage for him and severly restrict his exercise for a few weeks to give it a chance to mend itself.
It may not be straight afterwaards,depending where the fracture - if any- is, but the younger the cat ( and in one place you say 'cat' and another 'kitten'), the better then chances of recovery.

W