What do i do? Does my cat have a broken leg?

**line6man** · #1 01-25-2009, 09:47 PM

I hadn't seen one of my cats all day long, and i was starting to worry, until at about 7:30 tonight i found him by the chair in my dining room.

He was sort of laying sideways a bit, but cats are in weird positions all the time, so i didn't notice at first.
I picked him up and he seemed fine, and he was very happy and purring. I set him down on my bed, and then he almost fell off.
It was then apparent to me that he could not walk...
He could not stand or walk on his left leg, and he soon settled into a position on his right side, where there was little pressure on the leg. He twitches his leg and moves it about every so often.

He does not appear to be in too much pain, because he lets me feel around his leg without any trouble (FWIW, the area around the bone in his heel is swollen). He still seems quite affectionate, and he even tried his best to walk his way up to me because he wanted me to pet him.
He still purrs and acts pretty normal, except he has a look of pain in his eyes, and he is somewhat restless, and gets irritated if i touch him, unless he is able to see and smell me first.

I am thinking that his leg may be broken, and i have no idea how it happened. What should i do?

FWIW, i dont see any injuries anywhere else on his body, and there was no blood or anything.

jonathan_matos5 · #2 01-25-2009, 09:48 PM

take the cat to vet!

Linas · #3 01-25-2009, 09:54 PM

yep. Vet dude.

Jonny B · #4 01-25-2009, 09:59 PM

Time to go out back with the shotgun I'm guessin.

That or you could take the cat to the vet, who would be in a better position to diagnose the problem than a bunch of bass players.

**line6man** · #5 01-25-2009, 10:00 PM

I think i will have to schedule an appointment with a vet tomorrow.

What should i do with him tonight?

I am thinking that i should get him a very comfortable spot to sleep in, and keep his food and water and litter box as close to him as possible so he wont have to drag himself too far.

I still don't have the slightest clue what happened to him

**Eric Perry** · #6 01-25-2009, 10:01 PM

Sooooo, you think your cat's leg is broken, and the vet never crossed your mind???

Maaaaybe, you should just stick with plants.

crimson_basser · #7 01-25-2009, 10:02 PM

i love kitties

i hope hes ok

bassteban · #8 01-25-2009, 10:07 PM

Cats & dogs have a much higher threshold of pain than people- they won't *complain* of pain until it hurts BAD. keep kitty in a safe warm place & get his/her kitty-arse to the vet ASAP; I don't think any TBers are vets & if they are, they'd need you to ship the cat to them for an aaccurate diagnosis.

**line6man** · #9 01-25-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric618

Sooooo, you think your cat's leg is broken, and the vet never crossed your mind???

Maaaaybe, you should just stick with plants.

Actually, the vet was the first thing that came to mind, but i guess what i am asking is what should i be doing right now, until i can get him to the vet...

I put down some food, and he immediately went for it.

Right now he really wants to be on my bed, because that's the place he usually sleeps. I don't want to keep him there, because its a really high bed, and he wont be able to jump down...

warwick.hoy · #10 01-25-2009, 10:30 PM

Is there an emergency vet in your area? They are typically more expensive, but may be able to see you kittie this time of night. Worth a try.

**line6man** · #11 01-25-2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

Is there an emergency vet in your area? They are typically more expensive, but may be able to see you kittie this time of night. Worth a try.

I would really prefer to wait until tomorrow with this.
But i want to keep him as comfortable as possible tonight.

hbarcat · #12 01-26-2009, 12:22 AM

Since you've already decided to keep him home tonight and go to the vet tomorrow, there are a few things you can do in the meantime.

1) Keep the injured limb immobile

2) Periodically ice the injured limb to bring down swelling

3) Monitor the cat's condition to make sure it doesn't change for the worse, such as increased swelling, increase in pain, or deteriorating vital signs due to perhaps internal bleeding.

If you don't know how to PROPERLY immobilize a limb, then DON'T do it. You can do more harm than good. If this is the case it will also be impossible for you to ice the limb because it's necessary to immobilize it first.

This leaves you with monitoring your cat's condition. I would make sure your cat is comfortable and within a few feet of where you sleep and I would check on the cat every hour to see how it's doing. If the cat seems to change for the worse, call an emergency vet.

Jefenator · #13 01-26-2009, 12:25 AM

If the cat still has an appetite, that's good.

(My cat had a problem that got so bad, she stopped eating and drinking. That sucked.)

Those 24 hour vets can really cost an arm and a leg. Unless it's really critical, I'd probably wait till the morning... then dial up every conventional vet in the area and get the soonest appointment I could.

Good luck. Nothing like a little medical crisis to bond one a little tighter with kitty.

T-Bird · #14 01-26-2009, 12:38 AM

Hi.

I'm no vet by any means, but there's a crazy cat (ain't they all

) in my household.

I'm more of a dog person, but I hope a speedy recovery for Your feline friend.

When she was young 'un she somehow tripped one of my bass cases over and the case pinned her leg. No bones broke but my GF ATM screamed bloody murder. When feeling the leg, it moved and felt solid, no unusual new movements at any direction, and was followed by a pretty fast front paws with exposed nails. After a day she was good as new. She's been in a few fights too and has probably been bitten once or twice to the rear legs/hips/rear of her spine as that's a really sensitive area for her. Usually after a fight or injury while on walkabaut,she's been able to regain full mobility after a day or so.

Some cats are able to strain their legs, as far fetched that sounds, so that's one possibility. The vet will be able to tell You more.

BTW, have You ruled out an insect/snake bite.

Regards
Sam

Phalex · #15 01-26-2009, 06:31 AM

You're gonna need a pillowcase, and brick and a body of water............

**Eric Perry** · #16 01-26-2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Actually, the vet was the first thing that came to mind, but i guess what i am asking is what should i be doing right now, until i can get him to the vet...

I put down some food, and he immediately went for it.

Right now he really wants to be on my bed, because that's the place he usually sleeps. I don't want to keep him there, because its a really high bed, and he wont be able to jump down...

I think, as has been said, as long as he's eating/drinking okay and not in any serious discomfort you can wait until it's more convenient. I'm no vet though.

ROON · #17 01-26-2009, 07:50 AM

Reading this thread makes me wanna go cuddle my cat.

If I did, he'd just get grumpy that I woke him up anyway.

I hate hearing of or seeing injured animals, I hope your pus' is okay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

Cats & dogs have a much higher threshold of pain than people- they won't *complain* of pain until it hurts BAD. keep kitty in a safe warm place & get his/her kitty-arse to the vet ASAP; I don't think any TBers are vets & if they are, they'd need you to ship the cat to them for an aaccurate diagnosis.

While dogs do have a much higher pain threshhold than cats, I wouldn't say it's higher than a humans, or that they don't complain unless it's serious. I used to own a Rotweiler cross Labradore, and he used to sook like a puppy if he got a bindi-eye stuck in his paw. He'd stop dead in his tracks and whine and cry until someone picked it out for him.

It's funny because he was not the type of dog to ever back out of a fight, he was quite ferrocious and fearless when he wanted to fight. But something like a bindi would make him cry.

There are plenty of dogs out there that are complete wusses!

drteeth · #18 01-26-2009, 07:59 AM

I would think cats have a higher pain treshold than dogs. With all the jumping in and out of stuff they would get hurt more often than dogs. They also (IME) fight more.

EDIT: now I want to go cuddle my cat too! Only a couple of days 'till I get to see her again

**line6man** · #19 01-26-2009, 08:02 AM

Ok, He seems alot better this morning, though his leg is still hurt.

Last night, i went out of the room, and when i came back, he had tried to follow me, and was in the middle of the hallway.
He then came back and climbed up the bed and layed down.
So he is feeling well enough to move around and be happy.

He seems to be acting the same as he always does, including walking around and trying to follow me. He just limps around, avoiding the one leg.

I am happy that he is feeling so much better now, but he still needs to see a vet.

Tsal · #20 01-26-2009, 08:10 AM

I'm not a vet, but it doesn't sound like there's a serious fracture. However, avoiding to step on it and swelling is a clear sign of somekind of damage to her leg. If there's no external damage, my best guess would be that she has jumped and landed her leg on a bad spot, so it's probably sprained or similar. A vet is your best bet, of course.