Torn ligament, need advice!

I went to a specialty vet for a second opinion on my cat who hurt her leg from falling and has been in pain for 5 days with a swollen leg and limping, my other vet said nothing was wrong and gave a cortisone shot that didnt help much but since my cat was in pain I wanted second opinion.

The vet looked at her x ray and didnt see anything, but felt her legs moving them back and forth and still felt swelling on one, he showed how one leg didnt stretch out straight and was swollen and my cat isn't walking normally on her paw, He said she tore a ligament on upper part of leg, could be from injury to same leg earlier this year which my original vet said nothing is wrong. i was told. today it could heal on its own but takes months and her leg is slightly shorter from it so she will have a permanent limp but could easily re injure it just by jumping off a chair plus risk of arthritis pain. Or she could get surgery on the ligament, have rods in her bones and wrapped in casting to keep leg restricted as it heals but she can use the other 3 legs normally no restrictions, but she will need pain meds and at home I doubt I can get in her mouth so shed get surgery with no pain meds at home which is torture except pain patch for 4 days. I asked why not do surgery and just put a regular cast on, no rods in bones, he said casts fall off cats and something about cast won't allow healing, I was hoping for a cast not the bone rods it looks very painful not to mention very expensive. I don't have proof of any injury just his word, and our other vet said nothing was wrong but that didnt explain swelling for 5 days. I don't know what to do I'm really upset now.

I never had a cat get injured, so I'm in the dark about what to do. Plus if surgery was done what does this mean for my cats life at home during treatment, she cannot be confined. She is a former feral that is used to going outside but with surgery it could be weeks before she is allowed she gets depressed easily and add pain and meds I'm so upset I feel so bad for her! Plus the metal rods, wouldn't that be months of pain or does pain go away days after surgery?

Any advice or help is welcome

I am so sorry this is happening to you and your fur baby, but at least now you know what is wrong and can make an informed decision. That is the hard part and I have no experience in this. I do know that she could do very well in the long run having the surgery. Getting to that end though is a tough road.

That said, I do think that an important skill to learn when you own animals, is to learn how to give them their medications at home. It isn't easy and takes time, but only by doing it, do you learn it. By that I mean learning how to pill, give fluids, ect, you still need to learn how to handle your cat to give them. Most people don't think they can do it, but when you have no choice, you do somehow learn, and surprise yourself in the process. If this is the only thing holding you back from getting her surgery, I would not let that deter you. You can do it. There are many videos and people with experience that can help.

That she is allowed outside and you fear her not being able to go out for awhile will upset her, I think that also should not be a reason to not do what needs doing. Whether she has the surgery or not, she will still need to be kept in and kept where she can not be too active. Yes, she won't be happy, but is necessary. Just as a child isn't allowed to do everything he wants, so do we at times, have to do for our cats things they don't like or are not happy about. We do what we know is best for them in the long run. She will adapt.

IMO, and if it were me, I would go for the surgery. I will tell you why. Her recovery will be much faster and therefore she will be in pain for less time, she would have less restrictions in maintaining immobility. If you leave it to attempt to let it heal on it's own, she could re-injure it, causing more pain and possibly more damage. That's just my thinking.

Sending you and her all my prayers and mega Keep us posted on what you decide and how she's doing.

I went for another opinion. She definetly tore the ligament, but this vet said if its left to heal on its own it can never get re injured and eventually her pain will go away. If she gets surgery there is the risk of re injuring that part again. I decided to go for therapeutic laser treatment to reduce swelling and pain and help her heal faster. It took 10 minutes today for first treatment and she did great it was not a traumatic experience.