Callie's Limping :(

Left for work this afternoon and Callie, my 14 yo with arthritis, was fine. Came home and the first thing the husband told me was, "She's limping and having trouble walking." We don't know what happened, but she will barely put any weight on her back left leg. DH said it's not her paw, but he thinks it's up in her lower back/hip area. It's not severe enough to take her to the ER vet since she's sleeping and eating/drinking if we put her food and water by her. She's not gone to the potty since I've been home (about an hour) but she's eaten.

I'll be calling the vet first thing in the morning to make an appointment if she's not showing significant improvement. My concern is her being able to get a drink of water and make it to the litter box during the night if she needs to. Any suggestions on what to do with her? I can't confine her to the bathroom or a spare room or she'll howl all night.

Carry her to the litter box a few times (until she goes) and help hold her up, if she seems like she can't squat on her own.

If her feet are slipping, place a paper towel over the litter and let her squat/hold her up with her paws on the paper towel. I did this for Ootay after her strokes, and it helped her a lot.

Perhaps she just slept too long in one position and she stiffened up. Again Ootay would curl up in a tight spot and sleep for hours and then not be able to move. When I came home, I would have to actually lift her out of the bed and gently massage her before she could uncurl.

Is Callie on cosequin for cats?

Keep us posted.

Otto, thank you for your suggestions. She's on cosequin twice a day for her arthritis, but it wasn't the arthritis causing the problem. She was definitely limping and not wanting to put pressure on her leg. When she crouched down, she wasn't putting equal weight on her back legs and one looked almost distended. She was still eating like a champ, drank some water, and even hobbled into the litter box, eventho I had one closer to her to use. She still wanted belly rubbins and would roll onto her side for me to get to said belly, but she wasn't purring.

While I was lovin on her and rubbing her belly, I felt her leg and I noticed some inflammation in her "thigh" area. When I gently stroked that area, she would draw her leg away and try to tuck it under her. I set up a little area for her in the den with a towel rolled up into a U-shape for her to snuggle with (she loves towels!), put a water bowl near her, a snuggle bed, and a litter box. She doesn't eat overnight, but the husband got up around 4 AM and checked on her and gave her some morsels. That's when he discovered she'd gone all the way into the laundry room to use the litter box.

Anyhoo, I found her this morning in the living room. She's still very gimpy, but walking better. She's purring for me, she's eaten some, had some water, and even jumped up on the stool and into my computer chair while I wasn't looking! Scared me to death!! I think I'll still haul her to the vet just to rule out any significant problems since she's older and has the beginning stages of CRF.

I'm glad you are bringing her in. Perhaps she pulled a muscle when jumping off of something.

Let us know what the vet says.

Called the vet earlier this morning. They had no openings (of course), but the receptionist/tech took down all my info and talked with the vet. The vet said that since she seems to be gradually improving, it's most likely a sprain or strain on the muscle and to keep her calm, quiet, and no jumping (yeah, right!) for a few days. If she's not back to near normal by Friday morning, I'm to call back and she'll probably give her some kind of pain medication or anti-inflammatory. The vet wanted to see if it would heal on its own without medication since Callie's got some kidney problems. As of this afternoon, she's better than she was this morning! I think we're on the right track and she'll not need the meds. Better safe than sorry, though!

How's your cat?

She's getting better! Still limping a bit, but it's more of a stiffness after she's been sleeping for awhile. I'm thinking that she's on the road to recovery! Thank you for asking.

Glad to hear that you precious kitty is doing better. That's wonderful news! I will keep her in my prayers as I do all the other precious kitties who need it