Feral Kitty I caretake for, broken femur (she's at the vet)

Boo disappeared for 6 days then limped back to my yard last Monday. She's about 10 months, previously TNR'd, and mildly social (will eat from my hand and sit close to me, very vocal too. She was avoiding using one hind leg and clearly not happy, but extra scared and not interested in a well stocked trap. I was able to get some cat antibiotics into a couple of her meals from a friend, and by Wednesday she was back to her normal personality and playing with her brother and mother whom I also feed (all 3 TNR'd). There's no external wound.

Thursday morning I was able to surprise her and pick her up, and got her to the vet. Vet called thursday night, she needs surgery, broken femur. vet was out on friday, was supposed to call me Saturday with more info... didn't. So I'm calling tomorrow until I get more answers.

Anyway... in your experience, assuming the surgery goes ahead, what am I in for here? What kind of post-op treatments should I plan - I'm assuming I need to keep her indoors and contained for a short while at least until she is mostly healed and that might be tricky.. but I'll figure something out if I can. Also, any experience with the cost of this sort of procedure? I have no idea what to expect or if I should "shop around". I'm hoping the vet can move quickly if surgery is the path forward since the injury is getting close to 2 weeks now.

Poor little girl, I had thought she was a goner when she was away, to have her come back and now face this is joy and sadness both together.

Just looking for similar stories, advice, tips, "what to expect" stuff - thanks!

Sending off MEGA vibes for this kitty! She is VERY lucky to have you caring for her and I am so sorry for the pain she had to endure BUT that will be a thing of the past. I do think she will need a very small room to recover and much rest. You have done a wonderful thing for this cat, bless your heart. :heart3: I do not know the cost of such surgery. I do hope that your vet will give you a huge reduction in cost because you did this out of a pure heart. I am sure the vet will let you know how long of a rehab she will need. I would think a few weeks before you release her. Maybe Boo could just stay indoors from this day forward??? :dk: I don't think she is a true feral cat. Otherwise, you would not have been able to just pick her up. Keep us posted on Boo.

Really don't have any experience with this but I just wanted to wish you and your kitty good luck.

i do not have any direct experience in a situation like yours, but a few years back i did have a feral that broke his leg, not as severe as yours, he broke it up in the hip socket. the vet at the hospital said that he would eventually be fine, so he was altered, given some pain meds and returned a few days later. his rear leg does cause him some discomfort - when he sits he keeps it extended a bit and off to the side. he has a couple of times "sprained" his front leg on that same side, i assume that it has been from him overcompensating. other than that, i do give him treats that have glucosamine, chondroitin and msm just to keep him as mobile as possible.

as Feralvr said, perhaps she could stay indoors from now on?


thanks for taking care of her!

Thank you all for the wishes. She's having surgery tomorrow. It's very expensive, but not a deal breaker. The vet will also keep her in rehab care for 2 weeks after at a reasonable rate. I'll figure out what she needs after that.

She's true feral. I have her Mom and older brother too and I've watched her since she was weaned (all are TNSR'd). 

As much as I'd like to think I could socialize her more and convert her to indoors, she'd want to go out and play with the other two, and she loves them. When she limped back to my yard it wasn't for food, it was to see her family again. So I also have to remember that no matter what I do now, she might get all better and run off one day and have another issue..... but I guess that's what you sign up for the day you first put the food down.
 

Boo had successful surgery Tuesday night, and I visited her yesterday at the vet where they are going to keep her for about 2 weeks while she recovered. Her poor little hind leg was all shaved, and she has about 3 inches of staples - ouch! She was not happy to see me, but she's not happy - period! That's ok, I expect she'll be that way for a little while until she adjusts and starts to feel better. I took her a towel that her brother sleeps on to put in her cage so I'm hoping that will give her some comfort to have with her.

I've put a new one down for her brother and I figure I'll cycle them back and forth so they can both know the other is ok somewhere. I'll visit her again tomorrow, and once I see her stress level go down I'll try for daily as much as I can. A nurse at the vet said this kind of a stay can increase her socialization so let's hope that's a little true. I'm mainly just relieved the worst part is over and she's on the road to a normal healthy life now.

So glad to hear that Boo's surgery went well. Sending healing vibes her way.

Well this is long, but good:

Boo finished her two weeks post-op care at the vet, stitches out. I had visited her daily, let me bring her to a small room each visit, and held her, talked to her, etc. She was always pretty glum and seemed depressed, didn't fight me, and I thought just tolerating me - what choice did she have there was nowhere to run to and her leg was weak. I was asked to keep her limited and confined for another 2-4 weeks after she came home, and indoors really isn't in the cards right now. Besides I'm convinced she loves being outside, and her family is there (mom and brother and her are my little 3 cat back yard colony).  So instead I bought a large dog cage/kennel that has a sun screening top after a lot of research, to find something reasonable, comfortable, and safe. It's 5'x5'x4', and luckily less expensive than most similar things. I could sleep in there. I have it assembled on my back patio surrounded by my outdoor furniture, and put an extra sheet or two over the top for a little more privacy, draping down the walls and such. I arranged a bed inside, with another "wall" around it of a chair on its side, food area, litter pan, etc. I live in South Florida so no freezing to worry about. Back yard is fenced and other cats pretty rare since her Brother owns the "territory".

I picked her up Wednesday. As usual, she hissed at me upon arrival, yelled the whole way in the carrier home. I released her into her new cage. She explored, and cried, for about an hour, checking for any option of escape. I left her alone but kept checking thru the window (one wall of the cage backs up against a patio door/window we never open). She settled into her bed nicely after a while. Her mom and brother are very confused, and stare at her from a few feet away, but don't seem to have done the "oh hey you're back we missed you" thing. Maybe it's because they aren't close enough to sniff each other properly?

When I went in to sit with her again later she was totally fine with me petting her - relaxed, happy, purring, kneading around her bedding while I stroked her. She was fine with me picking her up and putting her on my lap. Later, my husband went in the cage and she was let him pet her, and she hasn't even seen him in weeks. Yesterday morning, she climbed on my lap of her own doing after she had breakfast.

She has turned into a full on lap-cat, licking my hand like it's her own, staring at me, purring, playing.. more affectionate than some house cats I've known. Yes, she's been through some trauma and I guess somehow she knows I'm the reason she's better? I guess I'm the only constant for her during the past few weeks so she's decided to bond with me. (Yes I'm loving it).
So for now, I plan to keep her in her "apartment" for about 3 weeks or so till fully healed, after that TBD... She isn't trying to escape, uses her litter box, loves her bed- she's safe. When I go in there she gets in her bed and waits for petting, then comes on my lap.

I swear she was born feral and, while more social than the other two, still never wanted to be held or touched before all this. The transition is so fast and amazing!