Kitten has been limping for two days - what do I do??

Hey everyone,

I'm fostering kittens through my local humane society. One of them started limping yesterday. I didn't notice until evening, but what I did notice was that around noon when the others were playing he was still sleeping. He's always the most energetic of the bunch, so I knew it was weird but let him be.

For dinner I had to pick him up and put him in front of his food bowl, but then he ate everything just fine. He wandered around the house a bit, and then settled on my lap for the evening, purring away. He was favoring his right paw.

I isolated him for the night, in case it was something more serious (calici?), but this morning it's the same thing. He's favoring the same right paw. He ate all of his breakfast, and seems bored because he keeps finding new places to sleep, but isn't playing.

Yesterday he was favoring his paw, and sometimes today he's not using it at all when walking around. It looks like there's a bump on the side of it, but when I feel it I can't feel anything. He doesn't mind when I play with the paw (extend it, bend it, feel it, press the claws out). However, today when he's laying and I pet him instead of purring like normal he meows briefly and then ignores me. 

The humane society has limited times in which you can bring your foster in to be checked, so the next time I can do is first thing Tuesday morning. 

Should I monitor him until then or call them and see if they can make an urgent appointment today?

Thanks!

I think you should attempt to have him seen sooner if possible. The lethargy is concerning to me, since you said he had been the most energetic of the bunch prior to this. The fact he ate well is good, but clearly something is bothering him. He may be running a fever or have inflammation in his paw or leg that is causing him to want to sleep more.

I'm guessing he injured his leg or paw while playing. How old is he, and has he continued to eat well today?

Hi Sarthur2, thanks for taking the time to respond. I spoke to the humane society and they told me to monitor him and bring him in first thing Tuesday. He's still eating just fine, and he seems to want to play but not want to step on his paw. He's about 7 weeks old, up to date on vaccines (as of last Thursday), and he purred like mad when I went in to see him recently. 

I hate that he's in pain, but I'm hopeful he'll start to feel better tomorrow.

It sounds like he's already improving. Let us know what the vet says on Tuesday.

Hey there,

The vet saw my foster kitten this morning and was pretty sure nothing was broken, but said there was a lot of swelling in his shoulder joint. She gave him an antibiotic in case he has an abscess and then gave him an anti-inflammatory (with additional doses for me to give). When I got home from work he was doing so much better!

He immediately started running (on three legs), but walking and playing on all four. He has way more energy than he had yesterday. And he jus seems generally happier. I'm still going to keep him separated from the other kittens when I can't be exactly with them, because the others want to play too hard with him. But I'm so glad he's doing better and doesn't have a broken bone!

Hooray for no broken bones! The anti-inflammatory will help loads. Don't be alarmed if he gets a bit of diarrhea from the antibiotics. So glad to hear he's getting his game back on!

My poor foster kitten started getting better and then his swelling started getting worse and he was losing energy. He was still eating and still excited when I would come home, but his swelling was an abscess that consumed his entire shoulder and chest, and his back paw was starting to swell as well.

I booked him the earliest appointment they had available, once it was clear he was still in pain. The vet saw him this morning and it turns out it was that upper respiratory infection that ends up in the joints. I had another foster kitten, they weren't in the same litter but the Humane Society paired them up, who ended up with abscesses all over his body. The vet treated him too and thinks they had the same thing, and the first one must have picked it up from his mother before getting taking in.

Luckily he got better within a week, so I'm confident this guy will too. The level of care is too high for me to handle, since I'm leaving for vacation, but the Humane Society will find him another foster for the next week or so and then he'll be ready for adoption!

I do have two other kittens that I'm worried about. I am taking them in tomorrow for their spay/neuter appointments and then they were going to be placed on the adoption floor. I already let the coordinator know they may need to be isolated for awhile before being placed, but hopefully everyone is fine!

My heart goes out to the little guy! I hope he gets well fast and is placed with a loving family.

Good thinking on the two who need to be watched. They very well may have contracted the infection. I'd remind the intake person about it upon surrender.

Enjoy your vacation, and thank you for the informative update.

I have heard that this is fairly common with the calici virus.  Fortunately it is one of those things that actually looks much worse than it is, not that they aren't sick they are, but it has a high recovery rate.