Dislocated Paw

My cat dislocated his paw and is at the vet right now.  They were trying to get it back into place but if they cant, which it sounds like they probably wont, they recommend seeing a specialist for 3000$ or amputating the entire leg for 1000$, which I don't have either.  Besides, me and my boyfriend can't bring ourselves to let them amputate his leg just because his paw is dislocated.  He is an inside cat. Is there any way we could take him home from the vet without amputating his leg? 

Imagine having a dislocated wrist.  It will hurt, and so will your cat's paw.  I know amputation sounds way out of proportion, but cats manage really well on three legs.  If his paw cannot be reduced then he will be left in pain for some time and at least as disabled as if he only had three legs.

They are going to let me take him home. They are sending him home with really good antibiotics for the cuts and they put vet bandage on him with splints. They are also sending home pain medication.  They said he is awake right now and is not being vocal but is just hanging out, more tired. The good news is that he ate by himself. Im going to pick him up soon and I'll keep you guys updated. 

They didnt get the paw back into place though. On Thursday they are going to check his cuts and paw again. 

Please check this list

http://www.univsource.com/vet.htm

and start calling vet schools for information on your problem without delay, even if the nearest vet school is not in your state.

All vet schools have 24/7 emergency care for small animals, so you might have to start by calling a small animal ER and then you'll get the necessary advice regarding how to proceed.

(The price you were quoted just doesn't sound reasonable to me, so you'll have to look into this on your own. And truly, without delay.)

Update: He's been at home from the vet for about 30 minutes now. The bandage looks more like a cast, but she said it wasnt a full cast- just the vet bandage and splints underneath it. He's walking around, laying down, getting up after a minute ....drinks water like 3 or 4 times and ate wet food a couple times already all by himself.  He must be on major pain medication (Buprenex) becuase he is walking around on his leg and not saying anything. He was almost running at one point. He is rubbing his head on me and is acting almost like his normal self, but I'm still very worried. I can't take my eye off of him. 

i had a cat with 3 legs. when she ran, you could not tell the difference.

The vet bandage was taken off 2 days ago and my cat is jumping down from his cat tree as if nothing happened. There is only a slight little limp when he walks but sometimes you can't notice it at all.  The paw that got hurt looks bigger than the other one, which is probably from swelling so it is good to see him walking around on it and fast walking too, where you can tell that he wants to run really fast down the hallway. 

Just to be clear, they never fixed the "dislocation", but he is putting weight on his ankle, hes eating normal and using litter box normal.  No loud vocal sounds of pain at all.  The height of his tree that he jumps down from is almost 3 feet high off of the ground.  I'm thinking that he is hiding his pain.  The vet wanted me to give him more pain medication for the next 5 days but I don't have the money so we are trying it without the pain killer.  The vet said he is still in extreme pain but I'm confused because how could he walk around on it like it almost never happened if he's in such extreme pain? I'm sure it hurts still but we are hopeful that it will somehow heal and one day he won't feel any pain anymore.  

He's now walking around, running fast and acting like it never happened.  His foot and leg are working fine and he is walking on it like normal. I can't believe the vet wanted me to amputate his leg! I won't be going back there again.