My foster kitty Roxie has a hurt front leg!

This morning I went downstairs to feed kitties and noticed that Roxie was on the bottom level of the cat tree and was moving very slowly. It looked like one of her legs was "asleep" the way our arms or legs go to sleep. I went over to her and sure enough something was wrong, bc she usually darts away -thinking I am going to put her in a carrier lol- and instead she was unable to run anywhere. 

Just coincidentally I already had a vet appointment for my own cat William so I took Roxie too. The vet examined her and took xrays and said she did not feel any breaks but that Roxie clearly has an injury and only the next couple days will tell if we need to bring her back for more extensive xrays (where she wd need to be sedated for better pictures of harder to reach places) or if it is a sprain that will improve.

In the meantime she gave me buprenorphine which I have given her today. Roxie is pretty much not moving, not eating, not pooping or peeing. She has crawled to a few different places, looking like she is just barely able to do it. Tonight I carried her upstairs and put her in a cage with the litter box and food (she HATES being held like that but did not/could not struggle away) because she kept crawling up to sit on a chair or stool so as not to be "prone" to the other cats. She is just laying there now, out cold I think, from the meds and from the injury.

Since I have never had a cat with a leg injury or any kind of injury like this before- i.e. where they appear to be in serious pain- can anyone tell me, is this normal? I will call the vet tomorrow too, but I would like to know if anyone has had experience in this area before. I do have fluids that I can give Roxie tomorrow if she needs them, and I will do that as well. 

Hello there! Am not a pro when it comes to cat care, but am replying as my kitten had a very similar injury to his front left leg and was limping badly and just wouldn't run even though he is an eternal busybody. He had actually got stuck in a store room and was rescued after a day, so we guessed that he must have fallen from one of the higher shelves. He was examined and no fracture was detected. But the vet did not prescribe any medication and my kitten nursed himself to good health in 2 weeks.

For the first two days he was avoiding his food and was aloof all the time. After that he started eating and was back to roaming around and was almost fine in two weeks. The recovery was gradual after that as he still had a slight limp but after a month all signs were gone. He still used to make some adjustments which he had adopted during the injury (like keeping the injured leg in the air, whenever he sensed danger/ movement) but stopped after a while.

I just checked out the medicine and it turns out to be a strong opioid with high probability of side-effects including constipation, drowsiness and sickness. Coupled with the trauma of the injury must explain his behaviour. 

I hope Roxie recovers in same manner as my kitten and is back to being himself in a short while. All the luck in the meantime!

Hi @BarbB

It sounds very worrisome.  She won't pee or poop if she isn't eating or drinking, but the lack of food/water intake is or will become serious if it continues.  One day without food is marginally ok, but after that she will lose more energy and become at risk for a very serious liver disease that can come on quickly.

Buprenorphine is an excellent pain killer and well tolerated in cats, but it will make her sleepy.

My biggest concern is her condition without a diagnosis.  I am very concerned that the cat is dragging its leg and is lethargic and without appetite without any sign of injury despite radiograpghs and palpation by the vet.  Did the vet check for a pulse in the leg to confirm there is no blood clot?  When he palpated her leg if she didn't react in pain then its not clear that she is in pain, but possibly sick in a different way.

If it was me I would be back at the vet getting a second opinion from another vet or a re-exam by the first.  Regardless, if the kitten isn't eating or drinking by tomorrow then the problem is even more serious and a and another vet visit is going to be urgently needed, like immediately.

i'm very concerned.