Limping cat and Swollen leg

Hello!

I came home today to find my cat limping and with a swollen leg. Let me share a little bit of details. (excuse my English)

He is a rescue. I found him on the streets about 3 months ago so I took him in. I have no previews health history about him. I do not have the money to take him to a vet since I'm a student working part time at a clothing store. Given the facts that he is all black and an adult he is less likely to be adopted so my last option would be take him to a shelter.

So I live in the northeast so I was affected by the blizzard. I spent the storm at a friends house since I didn't have a generator in case I lost power. I left him enough food and water for the day and a half I was gone. I came back home today to find my cat limping. He refuses to put littler to any weight on his front, left leg  which is a sign that he is in pain. His leg is pretty swollen and there's a bump on the back of his leg where most of the swelling is coming from. He was not let outside so if he had an accident it happened inside my apartment. other than the swelling and limping he's acting quite normal. He lets me touch his leg. He's not crying or anything out of the ordinary. I'm not sure what to do in this situation. I want what's best for my Kitty.

Any thoughts, tips or recommendations appreciated! 

First of all welcome!

Thank you for caring about this kitty.

The swollen area, is it hard or soft?

Was he allowed outside before you left for a day and a half?

the swollen area is hard and he was not allowed outside duo to a storm.

DiananJiji said:

 
the swollen area is hard and he was not allowed outside duo to a storm.

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before I left he was aloud outside and when he return home he wasn't limping 

It could be an abscess, if he was allowed out at all, from a cat bite. If so, you'll find that it will burst in a few days and he'll need an antibiotic, oral and topical. Or he could have landed wrong when he jumped from something. If he seems to be getting slowly better, monitor him. But if he doesn't start putting weight on it soon, see if you can find a cheaper vet visit by calling around and explaining your circumstances, or get on a free site and see if someone would adopt him and take care of his injuries. I want to thank you for taking this sweet baby in, I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers, all the luck!

thank you for your help!

he seems to be doing better today he's slowly putting some weight on its leg although it is still pretty swollen. He's been eating and drinking so that's a very good sign. Now that I remember he did get into a fight with a neighbor's cat about a week ago. He had nothing but a few scratches so I didn't worry too much about it.

This is exactly why I was asking about him going outside, I highly suspected it to be from a cat bite.

He must not be neutered.....................

He really needs to be asap so this doesn't happen (or much worse) again.

Unneutered males fight viciously and cause a great deal of trauma besides the abcessed wounds.

catwoman707 said:

This is exactly why I was asking about him going outside, I highly suspected it to be from a cat bite.

He must not be neutered.....................

He really needs to be asap so this doesn't happen (or much worse) again.

Unneutered males fight viciously and cause a great deal of trauma besides the abcessed wounds.

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He is not neutered yet. I was able to find a place where he would get neutered and his shots for a very low cost. His leg is doing much better! He's putting weight on it and is barely limping at all. The swollen is almost gone as well. Thank you all for your help!