Dislocated hip :( Need help & ideas to discourage jumping

Hi all,

I rushed my 3 year old girl, Zoe, to the vet this morning. She came out from under my bed crying and hobbling. She was favoring her left rear leg. I think she hurt her leg and hid under the bed. I have no idea how she did it. She was fine early this morning when my girlfriend left for work.

I picked up Zoe the vet and her initial diagnosis was confirmed. Zoe dislocated her hip. The vet said Zoe had a shallow hip socket and her hip popped out of joint a couple times after they put it in place. Zoe's leg is in a sling to keep the joint in the socket and she wants me to bring her back in 3-4 days. She wants me to use a dog cage to keep her from exercising too much or jumping onto anything. The vet said that if her hip keeps popping out of the socket, there are 2 different surgery options that could be done. One would involve cutting the ball of the femur and the other would involve pins and suturing the joint into place. I hope neither of them are needed.

I feel soooo bad for my lil' girl. She is strictly an indoor cat. She is a bit of a spaz and likes to jump up onto high things (eg, the hutch on my desk, on top of the kitchen cabinets, etc) and she is fearless. She has no fear of jumping from any height.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of injury and how you have handled it? Any tips would be much appreciated. Also, do you have any tips to keep her from jumping up onto high things? I was thinking of using something like fake plants to keep her from being tempted.

Nabu had something similar happen last year with a front leg. He didn't have to have the sling or need surgery though. He just dislocated his shoulder. He is almost 13 yrs old, so he doesn't get too wild on his own anymore. We do have "steps" for him to get to perches. Like a chair pulled out by our kitchen table (they sit in the window there) or 1-story cat condos next to window height perches. In our bedroom we used (12" cube) boxes and cat condos to make a stairway to our dresser until my husband can make actual pet stairs. Nabu does use all these things. It was at the time of his injury that they ran x-rays and we found out he also has significant arthritis.

We can't keep Nabu off of high things, but by using steps that are about 12" apart he doesn't hurt himself.

Also, next to our bed where we suspect he slipped originally, we added a rubber backed plush rug. Our floors are hardwood and I was worried about him slipping again, especially when he was still sore from the injury. I have so many of those 1-story cat condos around the house.

Thank you little raven! I went to Petsmart after picking Zoe up from the vet and got her a 30" dog crate. She wasn't too happy about being in there at first, but she is doing ok now. My girlfriend and I have been giving her attention and she even purred some tonight. She hasn't eaten or drunken anything yet, nor has she used the litter box. If she doesn't use the litter box by morning, I'll call the vet. They did put her under anesthesia to take the xrays today so that could slow her digestive system.

Has she ever worn a harness or any sort of clothing? It wouldn't work for long, but most cats feel so weird in it for the first time that they don't jump or run around. You could try either using a harness or a baby shirt modified with velcro in the back (easy on and off) when you let her out of the crate.
The latter, if she does need surgery, can keep her from getting at the incision.

That's a good idea with the harness and clothes. My girlfriend and I have bought costumes for Christmas and Halloween for the kitties. They do act weird when they wear it so we only leave it on long enough to get pictures. lol I will try that with her. Every little bit helps in my opinion.

Thanks so much for the ideas!

As long as she doesn't try to get them off, you can't have her rolling around.

I hope her hip doesn't dislocate anymore. Surgery is pretty drastic, though she has the fact that she's still a young cat in her favor if it turns out that way.

I would try putting things on surfaces where she might jump. It would need to be things she could see easily before she tried the jump. i hope she mends well and that all works out for good.

Thank you blueyedgirl!

Zoe seems to be doing ok. She's anxious to get out of the dog crate. She has been very accepting of the attention she has been getting. For her, this is unusual in a way. She typically only likes to be pet on her terms in certain places in the house. She has a box she loves to jump into and be pet. lol

She doesn't seem to be in any pain as of this morning when I left for work. I am going to run home this afternoon to bring her to the vet for a quick re-check of her bandaging. I'm afraid she has a bit too much freedom of movement with the bandaged leg. I really want this to heal on its own. I don't want to put her through surgery.

I will post pics of my 3 kitties when I get a chance tonight or tomorrow. Thank you all for the help and well wishes!!

I took Zoe to the vet this morning and her hip is dislocated again. Zoe will need surgery. My vet gave me 2 recommendations for an orthopedic surgeon. I hate that my lil' girl will have to go through this. I can't imagine how much this will cost too.

Now I need to research...

I'm sorry it turned out this way. For you and Zoe.

I looked into the two orthopedic places my vet recommended and decided to go with one of them. Both of them are pretty expensive. I'm trying to avoid Zoe having an FHO performed and want her to have the open hip reduction surgery. It is more expensive, but I shudder at the thought of just cutting off part of her leg and just letting her deal with it.

The estimate for the surgery is $2500-$2800. Ouch!!

I just took Zoe in to see the surgeon. I think she will be taken care of really well. I actually feel relieved with everything after talking to the surgeon.

Zoe will be better after this! I will get a call after the surgery is done and I can pick her up tomorrow.