Kitten limping

Boone and I went to bed around 11 last night and he was fine. When I woke up today around 5:30am to get ready for work I put some soft food out for him and noticed when he came to eat he was limping. He's really favoring one of his front legs. (Not putting any weight on it at all)

I had to leave to go to work unfortunately, but this is my question. Should I call the vet and try to rush and get him in today to be looked at or give it a little time and see if he starts using it again? I work all day but could get my boyfriend or mom to take him for me if you all think it's necessary!

P.S. He's eleven weeks old if that makes a difference!

I'd get him in today if possible.  Best to be cautious, especially when he is still so little

So Boone did see the vet on Tuesday. I wasn't able to get him there so my boyfriend took him for me. They couldn't really tell us much without taking an xray, but they gave him 0.13 ml of metacam and sent him home with 2 more doses with the instructions to keep him on cage rest and give him one dose a day with breakfast. They told me if he wasn't doing better at all he should come in for X-ray's Wednesday or Thursday morning.

I was really worried Tuesday, all he did all day was sleep and I really had to coax him into eating (I hand fed him some soft food and a few pieces of kibble). Wednesday morning he ate a little bit of breakfast himself and was more active but still limping so I called the vet and they advised to give him the next dose of metacam and see how he does throughout the day. Which was good! He had a lot more energy and when I brought him out of the cage he was still limping, but he had started to use his bad leg and putting a bit of weight on it. He spend the evening hanging out on the couch watching tv with me

Right now it's the middle of the night but he just woke me up asking for soft food and some Cuddles (spoiled) and I let him walk around for a few minutes and he just has the tiniest limp now, you can barely notice. I will call the vet and see what they say but I'm assuming they will tell me no X-rays are needed as he is improving so much on his own.

My question is: how long should I keep him in the cage? I feel awful having him cooped up in there all the time, and he in obviously wants out.. But I don't want to let him have free range of the house too early in case he re-injures himself by jumping up or down off of something.

Thoughts?

I would keep him in the cage for a few more days, to be sure he is OK, especially since you don't know hte cause of the limp.

And I know what is done is done, but please look up Metacam on Google and you will see that it is not longer on the approved list of the FDA for cats, as it is linked to kidney problems. Many vets still prescribe it 'off-list' as it is an effective pain killer, but there are other less dangerous drugs.

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely keep him caged at least until Friday, then.

Oh no, I had no idea about the metacam! I just assumed it was safe. Maybe I am a little too trusting of my vet

He has had it twice now in two days. I will not give him the third dose today. How worried should I be that he's already had two doses???

As Jenny said, done is done with the Metacam.  Maybe give him a little extra water with his food.  Also, he might need to pee a little more than usual.  He's still young, so he should be able to handle it, but definitely ask for other options in the future. 

It sounds like a sprain, which means it just needs a little time and rest to heal up.  The cage is helping with that by keeping his activity level to a minimum.

One of our cats actually broke his leg when he was young.  We had to keep him kenneled for 6 weeks, poor thing, but it healed up nicely.

I will definitely be asking for more options in the future. He has another appointment on Monday to get a booster and another dose of revolution so I will mention to the vet he's not to have metacam again.

I have been keeping an eye on what he's eating/drinking and he has been drinking lots so that is good. I mix water in with his soft food on a regular basis as well.

I let him out for a couple house this morning because I felt so bad keeping him locked up. But I kept a close eye on him and made sure he did no jumping. I'm at work now so he is back in his cage!

He seems to be doing very well today!

It sounds like everything is going well. When you see the vet just stand your ground over the Metacam. I have had so many arguments over the years with vets over this. The manufacturers have even put out a 'survey' proving it to be safe, one which they themselves commissioned and which only featured 70 cats. But there are so many instances of cats getting very sick after being given it - you can find the case studies online- that I always insist on Tolfadine or another pain killer/anti-inflammatory. Better safe than sorry.

I will definitely stand my ground with the metacam. I will just tell my vet that I would feel more comfortable if he was given something else next time, and if she has a problem with it I will change to another vet in the same practice.. She is such a sweetheart, though, that I can't see her having a problem about it