First off, he goes to the vet Mon. Not sure how I'm going to afford this but, well, you know how it is.
On Tues I noticed he was limping on his right front leg. I decided to give it a few days to see if it resolved itself(Runt had an issue where he was limping and it resolved itself over a few days.) I felt it, I don't feel anything broken and I couldn't get him to knuckle over so his nerves weren't causing him to 'lose his leg in space' at least as far as knowing which way his foot was supposed to go and his ability to lift the leg and set his paw right, which he did almost before I could put his foot down. He looked at me like I was crazy when I did this, like "My paw doesn't go that way silly human, my paw goes pad down not the other way." He is walking on it, but it seems to be kind of collapsing at the 'knee' joint(best way I can describe it, in other words, not the shoulder joint the one below it.) The only other think I see on the leg is a tiny round bald patch(really small, about the size of a ballpoint pen) on the leg. So I'm pretty sure he wasn't hit by a car, or got into a fight as there would be more damage. Paul doesn't know what happened, Mitzi didn't even know about it until she saw him limping so no one knows what or how it happened. He is still doing everything he normally does, disappearing during the day(and regularly coming back, which they all do. There is usually at least one, if not more, of the group around at this time, so it's like a normal check in time) then he goes off again or lays down to rest or he eats or drinks, or if we are out wants attention, as usual and is what the others are doing as well.
I put him in the carrier and shut the door and other than pawing at the door and 'fluffing up' the towel he really didn't care(remember he is very easy to handle and I can pick him up and hold him just fine), called the vet clinic and the earliest they could get him in was Mon between 7 and 8 AM, they'll knock him out and let the vet check him out. I let him out of the carrier since I'm not leaving him cooped up until Mon, that would just be mean. He has been going back in it to lay down, and when I went out for a smoke he was sleeping in there. Biter has also been in it and Runt tried to lay down on top of him while he was sleeping so he's not the only one entering it, I also know Mama was in it with him earlier, I think they like the towel to lay on, they have a cat house with a pillow case filled with cedar chips so it's not like this is the only comfortable place to sleep, they used the house all winter and we have replaced the chips once over the winter. He did run when Blue was chasing him but when he got back to the porch he entered the carrier.
I know he has to be hurting, is there anything I can do to make him at least feel a little better until Mon. I feel so bad for him and I fear the bill, but I can't leave this untreated anymore than I could ignore Mama's rectal prolapse, even though it was obvious she had something really seriously wrong with her and we were having subzero wind chills and freezing temps and having your intestines sticking out your rear end is a bad thing, even when it's not so cold you're worried about it freezing, remember it took me 4 days after I noticed her insides were outside to catch her, and in this case this was the first time I had the carrier clean(it was used Weds by Half-tail overnight after she was spayed) and he was around actually everyone but Blue was since I was late feeding them, I sleep in on weekends since Attitude and Nuts don't seem to care when I feed them.
OK, seriously is there anything I can do to reduce his discomfort until I can get him into the vet Mon morning, I feel so bad for him but this was the first chance I got to pick him up him and get him in the carrier. Mama happened on a weekday so I had more flexibility(the vet was open a lot later than on a Sat), not to mention a cat with their intestines hanging out is considered a serious emergency. I just want to try and ease his discomfort until I can get him to the vet and they can fix him and make him feel better or end his suffering(which shouldn't happen due to a leg injury, he's not a horse who needs all 4 legs he can make it on 3 if he has to, I hope it isn't the case because I REALLY can't afford that.) I wish money wasn't an issue, but it always seems to be for just about everyone, vet care doesn't come cheap. I also want to say ALL of them(including Attitude and Nuts) except for Blue, if he's lucky, are leukemia positive so I can't get insurance for them, even if I could afford it for everyone, which I can't. I really wish I could, especially for Attitude and Nuts, they're expensive.
Taryn
On Tues I noticed he was limping on his right front leg. I decided to give it a few days to see if it resolved itself(Runt had an issue where he was limping and it resolved itself over a few days.) I felt it, I don't feel anything broken and I couldn't get him to knuckle over so his nerves weren't causing him to 'lose his leg in space' at least as far as knowing which way his foot was supposed to go and his ability to lift the leg and set his paw right, which he did almost before I could put his foot down. He looked at me like I was crazy when I did this, like "My paw doesn't go that way silly human, my paw goes pad down not the other way." He is walking on it, but it seems to be kind of collapsing at the 'knee' joint(best way I can describe it, in other words, not the shoulder joint the one below it.) The only other think I see on the leg is a tiny round bald patch(really small, about the size of a ballpoint pen) on the leg. So I'm pretty sure he wasn't hit by a car, or got into a fight as there would be more damage. Paul doesn't know what happened, Mitzi didn't even know about it until she saw him limping so no one knows what or how it happened. He is still doing everything he normally does, disappearing during the day(and regularly coming back, which they all do. There is usually at least one, if not more, of the group around at this time, so it's like a normal check in time) then he goes off again or lays down to rest or he eats or drinks, or if we are out wants attention, as usual and is what the others are doing as well.
I put him in the carrier and shut the door and other than pawing at the door and 'fluffing up' the towel he really didn't care(remember he is very easy to handle and I can pick him up and hold him just fine), called the vet clinic and the earliest they could get him in was Mon between 7 and 8 AM, they'll knock him out and let the vet check him out. I let him out of the carrier since I'm not leaving him cooped up until Mon, that would just be mean. He has been going back in it to lay down, and when I went out for a smoke he was sleeping in there. Biter has also been in it and Runt tried to lay down on top of him while he was sleeping so he's not the only one entering it, I also know Mama was in it with him earlier, I think they like the towel to lay on, they have a cat house with a pillow case filled with cedar chips so it's not like this is the only comfortable place to sleep, they used the house all winter and we have replaced the chips once over the winter. He did run when Blue was chasing him but when he got back to the porch he entered the carrier.
I know he has to be hurting, is there anything I can do to make him at least feel a little better until Mon. I feel so bad for him and I fear the bill, but I can't leave this untreated anymore than I could ignore Mama's rectal prolapse, even though it was obvious she had something really seriously wrong with her and we were having subzero wind chills and freezing temps and having your intestines sticking out your rear end is a bad thing, even when it's not so cold you're worried about it freezing, remember it took me 4 days after I noticed her insides were outside to catch her, and in this case this was the first time I had the carrier clean(it was used Weds by Half-tail overnight after she was spayed) and he was around actually everyone but Blue was since I was late feeding them, I sleep in on weekends since Attitude and Nuts don't seem to care when I feed them.
OK, seriously is there anything I can do to reduce his discomfort until I can get him into the vet Mon morning, I feel so bad for him but this was the first chance I got to pick him up him and get him in the carrier. Mama happened on a weekday so I had more flexibility(the vet was open a lot later than on a Sat), not to mention a cat with their intestines hanging out is considered a serious emergency. I just want to try and ease his discomfort until I can get him to the vet and they can fix him and make him feel better or end his suffering(which shouldn't happen due to a leg injury, he's not a horse who needs all 4 legs he can make it on 3 if he has to, I hope it isn't the case because I REALLY can't afford that.) I wish money wasn't an issue, but it always seems to be for just about everyone, vet care doesn't come cheap. I also want to say ALL of them(including Attitude and Nuts) except for Blue, if he's lucky, are leukemia positive so I can't get insurance for them, even if I could afford it for everyone, which I can't. I really wish I could, especially for Attitude and Nuts, they're expensive.
Taryn
