Limping a bit...To The Vet or Homeopathic is Fine?

I came home today from errands to notice that my cat is limping a little. He's not crying out in pain and he's even really playful, and he doesn't mind me looking at his foot, there's no pain when I touch it so maybe his muscles are hurting him. Nothing looks swollen bloody or crooked.

So I did call the vet, only to find out an exam would cost about $70, which is money I don't have right now, and the lady on the phone said to wait maybe overnight and see if he's doing better in the morning.

I'm rather poor right now (I should have been saving up for vet emergencies but I was expecting money this month that hasn't come yet!) but I wonder if I should be homeopathic about this and just see how he handles it. If it gets worse yes I can take him in, I'm not going to let my cat suffer, but right now he doesn't look like he's in any pain, he's just sort of favoring his leg a bit.

It makes me feel like a horrible mommy that I didn't have a bit of money set aside yet for this.

That, and I tend to be homeopathic in my own personal health so I thought that I'd only need a vet in an extreme emergency.

But actually facing the idea of looking after my cat with a homeopathic treatment is a little daunting. :/

I feel so awful! D: I wasn't even home I don't even know what happened to him! Now I'll be scared to ever leave him alone!

VET ... homeopathic is great when you are guided by a vet ... but if you arent a homeopathic practitioner you could harm the kitty or give a ineffective treatment

My 2 cents

When Jack was 6 months old he got caught up in my feet and I tripped over him--he screamed and ran. At first I wasn't terribly concerned it wasn't the first time he got caught in my feet while I was walking and screamed. Anyway 15 minutes later he appeared to me scared and limping. I of course freaked out that I had hurt my baby! I immediately phoned the vet who was 45 minutes away and they said watch him for a bit and see how he does then call us back. I called my husband he came home, felt Jack's leg, Jack didn't seem in pain, continued to limp--and play and run and jump and climb the cat tree. We (the vet and I) decided to give it a few days, sort of assuming he probably pulled some muscles but although he was limping occasionally he was still being a 6 month old kitten to the utmost. He improved greatly over the next few days but every once in awhile would limp. For my own comfort I took him in to the vet four days after the incident, who checked him, felt that leg all over, Jack made one little peep. They offered some pain meds and rest and said if in 2 days we were still limping we'd x-ray but honestly they didn't believe it to be more than some bruising and maybe alittle spraining. The next morning the limp was gone! 9 months later we're doing just fine. He doesn't get under my feet as much though!

The vet did say if it had been a 2 year old cat or older they would have reacted differently. Young cats play hard, get under feet etc but they heal quickly as well. I trust my vet did the right thing--Jack was fine, I think he just wanted to mess with meowmys head for stepping on him.

Leslie

Thank you for the advice both of you. I played my cards and decided to wait a day to see if he'd recover, and he's walking a great deal more evenly now, running around, though his running is still a bit 'hoppy'. He's as playful as usual so if he's in any discomfort he's clearly NOT showing it.

I'm still going to be keeping a close eye on him in case his limping symptoms return. But overall I think he's doing just fine now.

Thanks!