Rehabiltation of Injured Foot

I rescued "Ace" (short for Asclepius [greek god of healing]) who was not willingly putting weight on her foot--except to run to the food I was giving her.  The vet took xrays and concluded that the foot had not been broken but had somehow developed an absess that healed poorly.   She does not act like she is in pain when you touch it or manipulate it.  It may feel uncomfortable, so she may have simply gotten in the habit of not using it. 

She tested negative for FIV/FELK.  Her eye is weeping--vet thinks it is allergies or stress.  She has been previously owned--loves to be petted.  She is roughly six to eight months old; the paw/became injured around April.  (I take care of a cat colony so people sometimes stop by when I am feeding cats and tell me about other cats they have seen.)

Friend and I are going to foster it temporarily, how long depends on how she gets along with the resident (feral) cat and if we can get her adopted out asap.  (Friend and I are also co-fostering a very pregnant cat; we have our hands full.)

My question is:  are there any exercises that might enable her to use the paw more easily?  Or, bring out the treats, put them on a bed, and if she wants the treat, she'll have to jump?

Thanks.

That's so odd. Earlier this year, one of our ferals, Tabby, was not walking on her paw. We couldn't re-trap her. She recovered - then a few months later, she was not using the paw again. This time I was able to feed her in a crate and just close the door. :lol3: X-rays showed nothing. They could find absolutely no reason for her limping. No inflammation of anything - no sign it had ever been injured even. :dk:

Of course, after releasing her the next day, she was walking on it.

Just about a month ago, Baloo was favoring one of his paws. Off to the vet we went. Same thing - when manipulated, it didn't seem it was in pain at all. No fracture - no sign of a bite or infection of any kind. No thorn sticking in it... :dk: And once we released him, we was back walking on it normally the next day!

Since there's nothing medically wrong with her foot, I think I'd work on encouraging her to jump onto things, as you suggest. :nod: No better way to get her to do that than with food!

Thanks LDG.  The vet's best guess is that Ace was bitten, either by an insect or animal, and the abscess didn't heal properly.  Like your cats, tge limb doesn't seem to cause her any pain.

She is in my friend's cattery, very scared, hiding.  She had some difficulty climbing one stair when she was trying to get away from us.  Because she was hiding so much, we put her in a large dog crate so she can feel safer.  Based on her reaction/non-reaction to the two other cats she's seen (one hiss, then quiet), I think she'll get along with the resident semi-feral cat and very pregnant foster. 

Once she is more comfortable, we'll begin playing with her.