Is she really hurt or just faking?

Ok, 3 days ago I noticed Pepper limping on her left paw. I checked her paw and noticed nothing out of the ordinary, so I figured that maybe she has stepped on something and it was just a little sore. Well, the next day I went to check on her and this time she was limping on her RIGHT paw?!?! I'm not crazy, for real, lol.

Anyways, I checked her right paw this time and, again, there was nothing wrong. Also, throughout the day I saw her actually USING her paw and putting full weight on it, but when she would sit/stand still she would lift it up, like it hurt.

Today she is doing the same thing, limping half the time and acting normal the rest of the time. I have given both paws(and legs) a thourough massage to see if she would react to any specifi areas as if they hurt, but she never reacted to anything, there nothing swollen or hot, and everything seems perfectly normal.

Should I be worried, should I take her to the vet or should I hold off a couple days more and see if it gets any better? I don't want to go to the vet and have them have to do x-rays and stuff just to say there's nothing wrong, lol.

Call me crazy, but I think she's just doing it all for attention(hubby agrees, lol).

Cats are notorious for hiding pain. So if yours is showing some, it must be bad enough. Is she older? Perhaps she has a bit of arthritis flaring up. Or maybe she's just a little stiff in the morning. Keep an eye on it, and if it keeps up, a vet visit may help. Good luck!

Well, I don't know how old she is. I got her from a woman who said she was given her be ANOTHER woman who took her away from a man who had been letting her live on the streets and have a bunch of litters of kittens. According to what I was told, she has had 3-4 litters of kittens, so, from that info, I assumed she was about 2-3 years old. However, even after about a month of good food, her hair is still really rough and she is really skinny. So, maybe she's a bit older then that.

The weather was a little chilly about a week ago, now it's really hot, so maybe the weather change is effecting her joints? I guess that would certainly explain why she has been switching feet on me, lol.

Here's a pic of her, maybe you can guess her age by looks?

well, I have never had a cat "fake it" and I would have a vet check just to be safe...


BUT... I did have a husky mix once who would limp when I let her in the house... and then I would watch her in the back yard playing with the other dog and she would be fine, no limping... but I swear if she saw me she would start limping again... LOL

Fake it no... and GOOD food takes 40-80 days to change the full coat out ....

I would advise a vet visit... DUMB question when were her nails clipped ??? I just had this issue with my dog GIGI and turned out she jammed a toe and her nails were to long...

Well, now I'm at a loss. I watched her today and only saw her lift her paw once, the rest of the time she was fine. ???

However, I DID notice that she seems to have a really weird smell. I know it sounds crazy, but she smells like some type of medicine(in my opinion). The smell seems to be coming from her head, mainly behind her neck. I cleaned her ears, so it's not that. However, I remember that the woman who gave her to me said she had been treated with revolution. Maybe, after a couple weeks, it starts to smell funny, lol. who knows.

Anyways...I'm guessing she must have stepped on something because there's no way possible that she could have hurt her leg by jumping because she never leaves her "cubby" under my computer deask and it's only 6 inches off the ground, lol. Since her foot seems to be getting better then I think I'll give it a wee more time and see what happens. As long as nothing is getting worse, then I'm not too worried. I've stepped on things before and limped for about a week afterwards, lol.

I'll let ya'll know if anything changes.

just a question.. was she screened for FeLV?

One of my kitties I adopted from a shelter just tested positive... he never seemed to gain weight and had a mouth infection from the FeLV that made his mouth smell bad. We had him vaccinated but never tested and him testing positive put alot of things together... just a suggestion that if you haven't had your cat tested, you might want to... I wish I had, and you might want to rule that out as a reason why she is thin... hope she feels better

Well, the woman I got her from claims that she was FIV tested(is that the same thing?), but she seemed pretty shady about a bunch of stuff. for example, she claimed that Pepper was pregnant and "about to pop", but she's skinny as a rail and the vet said she
s not preggers and hasn't had kittens in a while. > That alone, made me think she's lieing about a TON of stuff!

I sure hope Pepper isn't FeLV +! How much does a test cost? Maybe the shelter can test her when I take her to get spayed.

Please take Pepper to the Vet. She really needs a thorough exam and to be tested. Be sure to tell her Dr about these symptoms you've observed as of late.

FIV isn't the Same as FeLV... they do a combo test around here for $30-45 I don't know about where you're at.. FeLV is very contagious and all cats should be tested... I am currently having to deal with finding out one cat from a shelter was FeLV + (Vet said he was probably born w/. it as we got him & had him vaccinated at 9 wks) and so I have to have everyone tested again, as I have slacked on my older cats FIV/FeLV vaccinations since they haven't been outside in 8++ years... it's a nightmare and one I could have avoided. No one to blame but myself...

Well, the place I'm taking her to be spayed offers the FIV/FeLV combo test for $25 so I'm going to go ahead and have her tested when I take her.

By the way, she hasn't limped all day, so I guess my "stepped on something" theory was right. Phew!