VetClick Discussion Forum

Hi, Lori,

I think you could safely leave your 8 week-old kitten for a couple of days to see how things develop.
If the limp gets worse, or does not improve, best to get her checked out.

W

Hi again, This morning she has taken some liquids but she never moved at all last night so i have called a vet and i am trying to get her in. She has tears coming from her eyes and i am just scared that she is in alot of pain..Lori

I have another question for you, is there anything I can give her for the pain she seems to be in?

Hi, Lori,

DEFINITLY not,

Cats can react badly to analgesics, especially kittens. Wait for advice from the vet.

W

Well i took her into the vet and i am so happy that i did... she has some kind of virus and was given antibiotics and something else he said was for pain...something called,metacam.... she had a fever of over 40.. the vet says that she will be fine... he said sometimes a kitten will limp when they are not feeling good, i was so scared but now i am happy that she has been looked at... thanx for all your help, Lori

She was standing on a pipe after going to the bathroom when he back left paw got trapped between the pipe and the wall. She started freaking out (hissing, spitting, biting, scratching) and I wasn't able to pull her free for about 10 minutes. Then she flipped over herself, managed to land on the floor and remove her back paw. However, she wouldn't put any weight on it. She sat down with her paw in the air while shivering visibly.

I put her in her carrier for about 30 minutes, and when I took her out, she was able to walk on it. Granted she is hobbling, and still sticking it up in the air when she sits down, but she is putting weight on it. I do notice a little swelling, but not a great deal. How do I know if she broke her paw or just strained it? Would she put weight on it i it was broken? Should I take her to the vet?

Any advice/experiences would be helpful right about now.

Hi, Tiah,

I suspect your cat's leg is bruised and strained rather than broken.
If she continues to improve over the next couple if days I do not think you will need to take her to see a vet. If not, you should do so.

W

my best friends cAT IS LIMPING O ONE BACK LEG AND DRAGING THE OTHER IT'S HIPS ARE PUSHED IN SOME HOW HE IS AN OUT SIDE CAT WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP HIM OTHER THAT VET CARE BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD IT

If you live in the UK you can contact an animal welfare charity such as the RSPCA, Cats Protection or the Blue Cr.
You will find their addresses in the Telephone Directory or from their web sites.

I know my cat has a broken leg, there were x-rays. she broke the head of the back femur. the vet said to keep her in a kennel or cage for 4-6 weeks so she couldn't jump around. we haven't done that, and now it's been two weeks. i wish we had done it earlier. is it too late for her leg to heal if we put her in a kennel now? it seemed to get better the first week on its own, then it stuck out again like she had re-broken it. thank you.
-Aijung

I forgot to mention that my cat was estimated to be between 6 months and 1 year old. she's a stray we took in from the street, but was otherwise in good condition. Thank you. - Aijung

Hi, Aijung,

I wonder why you pay a vet for his opinion and advice and then ignore it?
By all means put her into enforced cage rest now for 4 to 6 weeks, but you cannot expect the result to be as good as it would have been had you followed instructions from the start.

W

I found a stray kitten and decided to take him in. Since this morning, he has been dragging his whole hind body. I don't know what happened to him. I left and went to the store and when I came back he was dragging his hind legs. I know I didn't run over him with my car because he was on my porch when I left. Do you know what is wrong with him? Does he have a dislocated hip or are his legs broken? How much may this cost me? Thank you.

Hi, Monica,

This sounds very like a serious back injury which needs veterinry attention.
I cannot advise you about the cost of treatment - I do not know which country you are calling from, fees do vary from country to country and from practice to practice.

W

my father found a kitten that is about 1 month old and gave it to our tenent. the tenent stepped on the cat coming home one night and now the kitten has a big lump on its leg and when you toch it in certain spots she tries to attack you. it looks like if its swollen and i dont know if she is ok.the man weighs about 230pounds. what can possibly be wrong.

P.S. do you know what the ASPCA would do for him? he sort of doesnt have alot of money right now

Hi, Karen,

It sounds to me like the kitten's leg may be broken and needs proper attention.
I am not familiar with the way the ASPCA works, but you could always telephone them to find out.

W

Hi there,
I have a 2 months old kitten and her leg is broken and she is on fever she and finds it hard to sleep, I want to know if there is any thing I can do for her except watching her suffering .
thnx

Hi,

I cannot suggest anything that would be safe to give to a two-month old kitten,
Maybe the vet who is treating her broken leg may be able to be more helpful.

W

This cat has adopted us about two years ago and today he climbed out of his box he sleeps in and fell over. When he got up he limped inside the house and doesn't put weight on his right foot much. Is this serious ?

Hi, Vicki,

If you look at some of the earlier postings you will see that by far the commonest cause of a limp or a sore foot in a cat is a bite from another cat.

Look very closely at the affected foot, at the pads and parting the fur to see if you can find the tiny mark made by the tooth of another aggressive cat.

W

I'm at my wits end not sure what to do for the best, my 2 yr old cat Suzi came home over a month ago now in a severe panic, without her collar, limping - I took her straight to the vets - they could find nothing wrong, gave her antibiotics/painkiller, a week later she was still limping and holding her front left paw up whenever she sat - I took her back to the vets, they said nothing was broken, and gave her another injection, it is now over a month since the original incident and she is exactly the same, still limping and still holding up her left paw, I am very short of money but cant leave her like this, I thought I'd give the vets one more chance and have an appointment on wednesday but have not got a clue what it could be (nor apparently do they) can you help with any ideas please? she is still eating and going out but she is definately not as sprightly as she should be i.e. thinking before jumping, and not bouncing around like she normally did.

Hi,

There are several possibilities - a tiny bit of glass in a pad in her paw, a strained toe, a sprain higher up the leg, a torn ligament, a sprained shoulder- all can be very difficult to identify. However, none of these are 'life-threatening' and faith and time are great healers!

W

Hi fellow cat lovers

My poor gorgeous cat called Midnight who is two has broken his metatarsals - clean break straight across and has had it pinned. God knows how he did this I found him walking on 3 legs in the garden and took him straight to the vets. He is on cage rest and has been resting for a week with a cast. That has now been taken off and is on cage rest for a further two weeks. He is not a very happy cat - he is usually so loving and friendly. I know it is for the best to keep him in the cage which we have put by the window so he can look out at the garden - it this being cruel as he cannot go out ?
I feel so sorry for him and cannot wait to have my friendly loving cat back to normal and I am so miserable myself about this whole episode, i hope his personality won't change when he is fixed. Is that a possibility ?
Thanks
Mary

My 11 month old cat goes outside from time to time. Today he came in as we were about to leave. Anyways, when I got home I had noticed him laying around alittle more than normal. He was very quiet but, time to time he would let out a loud pain meow. I went and looked at him and on his back leg he would hit his tail on the floor if I got near it. I patted him till he was comfortable and purring for me and rolled him over where I could push the fur back to look. I see nothing there nor a bite of anykind. He was limping on it now, its kind of a straight stiff walk on it but, just laying there. Please let me know what to do or what it may be so, I may be able to help him as I cant stand to see him suffering. Thanks

Hi, Mary from England,

It is necessary to restict your cat's activity until the fracture heals. Cats and dogs do accept suprisingly well being kept in resrticted conditions.
However, I think maybe putting his cage where he can se into the garden is not going to make for a happy cat - better where he can see you as you go about the house, I think.

W

Hi, Ashaki,

You will see from earlier replies that by far the commonest cause of the signs you describe is a bite from another cat. The injury may look like no more than a pinprick in the skin of the thigh, and can be difficult to spot.
If that is the case here, as well as bruising there is infection introduced under the skin which can cause infection, sometimes resulting in an abscess.

W

2 wks ago A kitten wandered into a local convenient store looking like somebody’s house cat, well cared for. The owners off the store decided to shelter her & name her Journey. Often I would go & visit Journey & every day she was healthy, happy kitten pouncing like a champ. My only concern was that she was always in the way of the customers coming & being so little they will not see her. On Monday I went in the store I didn't see her around till later in the day. I notice she was acting pretty lazy & hadn't eat all of the can food put down for her and she loves too eat. I figure maybe she just had a tummy ache or was just plain bored. Anyway when I check on her again she was resting in the in the walkway as usual so I picked her up and placed her in the chair behind the counter. She played w/ my hand and she seem to be kind perking up but she was still pretty lazy. I notice she was limping then I finally put it all together. I think her leg may be broken. I don't know how but Seeing as how no one else is as concerned.. I took in the injured kitten from the store that night she appears to be about 3/4 moths old. I defiantly can't afford medical expenses for her & I'm afraid to take her to the shelter where they may just put her to sleep 4ever. She growls when I try and handle her leg & she won't step down on it@ all. She can't move her toes @ all so I Know it has to be broken I just don’t know how far up or even how serve.... She doesn't have any protruding bones ....She is drinking, eating, resting, pooping & peeing normally… Playing is not as often but she is mobile & alert. I know street cats survive injuries everyday so realistically what are her chances & how can I care for "broken" hind leg myself. What signs should I look for to know whether she would be dire need of care?

Hi,

As long as it is not a compound fracture - i.e. the broken bone is not sticking through the skin, the fracture may well mend on its own, if your keep her fairly restricted, though this is not a course I would recommend.

W

ok my partner wont let me take my cat to the vet i love her tones but she's really hurt her back leg it really sore when she moves she limps i'm keeping her extra warm and lots of food its not sore in the pelvis but her hock is really sore can i strap it to support it for her to heal up i feel so mean poor baby girl is only little

I have been letting my kitten to go outside to play for a few weeks and i found him one day comming back home very late one night ( around 11:00 pm) and i realized that he had a limping leg ( right leg ) and when i was giving him a shower i realized that he was meowing very lound. Thats when i realized he either had a swollen leg or a cat bite. He eats and drinks normally everytime. He can also put pressure on his legs and he doesn't talk constaintly.we can't really think of anything to do to help out kitten, but is there any advice that you can give me right now because i can't really afford to pay the money to go to the vet, but if it gets worse would i have to bring him to the vet?
please reply back ASAP
thank you
My cats name is David and i live in ontario, mississauga.