Need Advice on Swollen Paw

First off, Hello to all my fellow Ailurophiles...! I've been to this site before, but didn't have reliable internet access which I now do, and I'm glad to be a member!  A couple months ago I found this site while doing some research trying to find out what could be wrong with my beloved Squeaky, who has since, unfortunately, passed away... This was a real blow, she was my friend for many, many years, and I'm still not over it; part of my still being upset about the situation has to do with my vet, who, I later found out, was massively overcharging me for a treatment plan that had no point; long story short, I don't have a new vet who I trust yet, and the expense involved in Squeaky's care left me in some financial trouble.  Hence, my request for advice today...

I'm the only person around here who doesn't have dogs; also, my back yard is a cat heaven; lots of stuff everywhere... Over the years, many strays, usually wounded, tired, and hungry, have found their way into the sanctuary of my yard, and I've helped them all; some have stayed, some I've found homes for (mostly the kitties) and some fall in between; in the in between category is Spike... he showed up some months ago, wouldn't come anywhere close to me, but waited patiently till i put out food and water for him... over the months, he's gotten used to me and now he doesn't run when if I step out under the porch while he's there, though he's still very aloof, and doesn't like to be touched.

Yesterday he showed up with his right rear paw slightly swollen, and unable to put any weight on it at all; to my great surprise, he let me pick him up, but as soon as I tried to examine his paw he got squirmy and feisty; not wanting him to get more hurt, I took him inside, and put him a sort of small spare room in my house, where many, many strays have convalesced in the past; again, to my surprise, he accepted this without too much fuss; he's got food and water, and he even sleeps on the little bed I made for him.  This was yesterday afternoon; his paw is swollen a fair bit, from the sorta pointy 'ankle' bone down to his toes, with most of the swelling closer to his toes; his toes are also pretty swollen; he still won't put any weight on it at all, but he seems otherwise ok; he's eating fine, doesn't seem to have a fever, and is reasonably mobile, given the situation; however, he still won't let me touch his foot, and gets real upset if I try to much.  From what I can see, there are no visible wounds, no punctures or lacerations, no bleeding, no evidence of anything being wrong other than the swelling, and his not putting weight on it...

So, I don't know what exactly is up; believe it or not, no animal I've ever had has had broken bone, so I have no experience with that; I was thinking that might be what it is, but i imagined it would be more swollen if that were the case; though like I say, I'm not sure... I've dealt with many abscesses on cats in the past, including on paws, but i don't think this is it; like i say, there's no evidence of any kind of wound that i can see, though I haven't been able to examine it as closely as i'd like; he doesn't lick it, he lays and sits reasonably normal, except, like I say, he won't put any weight on it at all...

Sorry for the lengthy post, this is my first time, and I wanted be thorough; any advice or input would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you all in advance!

Could be a break, could be an abcess from a bite, could have a thorn in it...  In my view he needs to see a vet.

Wow, Scotland...!  Really illustrates the 'world' part in 'world wide web'...  

Firstly, thank you for your reply and advice!  These are all things I considered myself, and this morning I got a recommendation from a friend for a vet to go to; only one problem:  I can't get him there!  He's basically a semi-feral stray, and although he trusts me to a certain extent, I can barely pick him up with him clawing his way free, and there was NO WAY I could get him into the pet carrier; I tried, and before long it became evident he was going to hurt himself worse before I'd get him in there...

A little while ago my friend came by to try to help, but he's only comfortable with me; as soon as she walked in, he hissed, made a run for the door, and when he couldn't get out, bolted under the bed, and has been there ever since; any attempt to reach for him and he hisses and growls; not sure what to do now... 

In the interim, I've started him on a course of Clavamox and some pain meds, left over from when I was treating my cat who passed away last month; they are both in tablet form, so no concerns about viability, and I've dispensed both many times over the years.  I know its not the best thing in the world to start giving meds to a pet without vet supervision, but like I say, not sure what else to do right now, and I don't think either of them will have any adverse affect on whatever the injury is...

Do you have vets that make house calls where you live? I hope he's calmed down and come out from under the bed. 

Clav as I'm sure you know is a very general a/b and will be fine to treat him for now, hopefully he starts to feel better soon. 

I'm amazed you can give him pills but not scruff him and put him in a carrier...  I do mean a top-loading carrier, far easier with awkward cats than the plastic front-loaders.

And Scotland isn't that exotic is it?  Home of golf and all that?

Originally Posted by jpb23  
...He's basically a semi-feral stray, and although he trusts me to a certain extent, I can barely pick him up with him clawing his way free, and there was NO WAY I could get him into the pet carrier...

In the interim, I've started him on a course of Clavamox and some pain meds...I know its not the best thing in the world to start giving meds to a pet without vet supervision,...I don't think either of them will have any adverse affect on whatever the injury is...

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Well, now that you're here, a very warm welcome to you!!!

Just a wee bit of feedback for you......all intended in a positive, supportive way....because, what you're doing is really heartwarming and inspirational.

1. What is the "pain med" that you're giving? There are some which can be quite injurious to cats, whether or not they've been prescribed for a cat.

2. One of the potential problems with giving antibiotics for an undiagnosed/possible/probable infection is that you may be inadvertently "masking" the true potential diagnosis of an actual infection - better to have it assessed prior to introducing any anti-bacterial, so that IF there is infection it can be accurately assessed and the antibiotic of choice can then be selected. That said and, in this case, it's still 'early in the game' and, if you can get him to a competent Vet, I wouldn't be worried. (Another well-known danger, of course, is the desensitizing which occurs with unnecessary antibiotic exposure.)

3. On the issue of "caging" him...often, rescue agencies will lend out live small animal traps. These are small wire carriers with a door which will automatically close when the animal ventures (or is enticed!) inside and trips the door release. You might consider investigating this possibility with local cat rescue groups. (Some rescue groups will also work with you by making their own Vet care available for a stray that you're helping.)

So, what's the pain med?

Again, wow, thank you to everyone who took the time to reply, I apologize it took me so long to reply myself, but this computer I have is an old G4 Mac, probably 10 years old now... half the programs I'd like to use aren't even compatible with it anymore!  To answer the questions as best I can:

The way I was able to administer the antibiotics to a cat who I couldn't pick up for fear of getting shredded is I simply put them in his food... he seemed to not notice, gobbled it right down; same with the pain meds... which leads to the next question/answer,

The pain medication was Butorphanol, I believe its called, at a very low dosage, half the dosage I had been giving to the cat who it was originally prescribed for; I only did this the first two days, as he seemed unable to put even the slightest amount of weight on his foot, and I worried he had a broken bone; just wanted to ease his discomfort a bit... even when he lay down, he'd keep his back foot elevated in the air until he fell asleep; it must have hurt something fierce...

Anyway, a follow up, late though it is, everything has worked out fine!  By the third day, as usually happens, he seemed to realize I not only meant him no harm, but was trying to help him... He came out from under the bed and started hanging out on top of it, though how he got up there I can't imagine, with his swollen back foot!  Later that day, I started feeding him some treats, and he was calm enough that I was able to inspect his foot, and I could finally see where there was an injury sorta between his toes.  I got a hold of the scruff of his neck, and he went totally limp, allowing me to clean it as best I could, one-handed, and to make sure there wasn't a foreign object in there; I'm now fairly certain it was a 'fight injury'... by that evening, the swelling had started to go down, and the next morning he was gingerly putting weight on it!  Three more days of rest, and the continued antibiotics, and he was fit as a fiddle again.  He is now back outside, and doing fine; he actually let me pick him up the other day, to get a close look at his foot, and its totally healed!

Now the interesting part:  other than his being grouchy and upset at first (who can blame him, in pain, locked in a strange room!) he was the perfect house guest!  I am not kidding; I thought for sure, being a male, and one not fixed yet, he would spray on everything!  There was a lot of cat scent from my cats in there; also, more than once he'd sprayed the screen on the window of that very room from the outside windowsill!  I also figured he'd do his 'business' in the corners, or under the chair, where despite my cleaning efforts I'm sure he could smell the fact that one of my cats had done exactly that before... None of it!  Not only did he not spray on one single thing, but, dig this, he used the litter box I put in there with absolute consistency!  Not once did he go elsewhere!  I put it on the bed on top of a small canvas tarp, so he didn't have to jump down, cleaned it every day, and he gladly made use of it... He didn't scratch or claw anything, he didn't spray, pee, or poop, he was friendly and affectionate the last couple days, I have to confess, he was a truly perfect and considerate guest!  After he was gone, there was no trace he'd been there, I didn't have to do any cleaning up except vacuuming the fur!  Unbelievable! 

Also, a few days after I let him back outside, he very thoughtfully brought me the largest fence lizard I've ever seen, and left its soft squishy carcass just outside the porch door so I could step on it first thing in the morning... What a sweetie!  I tell ya, if it weren't for the fact that I still have 3 fuzzy lil roommates (I had five, one passed away last year, another just recently) I'd take him in without hesitation; he's beautiful, gray with black stripes/spots, a tan tummy, pink nose, and pale green/yellow eyes... and he's HUGE!  A real bruiser, hence the name 'Spike'... he's got a broad chest, a thick neck, a great big head, and a very narrow, slender waist and hips; and his tail stand up more perfectly straight and tall than any I've ever seen, its like a flag pole, except the very tip, which is hooked left, always... i suspect from some past injury... he's also the most muscular cat I've ever come across; when I first picked him up, I thought to myself he feels like he's made out of cold modeling clay!  All in all, a real stud; my lil girly Emily spends a lot of time on the other side of the back screen, grooming and lolling languidly, trying to get his attention; he just lays on the porch floor, a couple feet from the screen, and acts disinterested, King of all he surveys...!  I'll try to get a good pic of him to include when I add pics of my other lil friends...! 

OK, again, sorry for the lengthy post, I live alone right now, and all three of my closest friends have moved to other cities in the last few months... Its been a very rough time around here, between my human friends moving, and having lost my best feline friend recently... So, thank you again to all who posted replies, I'll do my best to be a worthy contributing member of this community!  I'll include some more bio data and pics of the other guys soon!