Baby kitty hurt himself. Please help :(

rosy1116 · Sep 15, 2015

Hello everyone,

Rosy from Miami here. So I was hoping you all could ease my mind tonight. I have three babies and my younger luffy is just about 7-8 weeks old. We found him on the parking lot of our apartment complex when he was just days old, and we couldn't just leave him there! Anyhow we've had him for a bit and he's a bit of a feisty baby very energetic and has taken a liking to climbing up clothes in our closet...today I came home and he's limping

He does walk on it every once and a while, no crying but you can tell he's uncomfortable. He holds his paw up a lot and looks at us, so he does move it around and I've seen he lays on it. I'm thinking he was trying to climb and on one of those he fell down? Possibly hurt himself but I am not sure if since he's so young and he's not fully developed he's really done some damage. I've been reading things online and it's only freaked me out more than helping me. Is there a way to tell if it's a sprain ? Can I treat it at home? We don't have the funds to have him seen professionally at this time so I want to check my options out and hopefully get some opinions. I am so worried he is only a baby and I don't want him to keep hurting.

I'm new on this forum so I thank you all in advance for reading my thread and taking the time to help. Anxiously awaiting your replies.

nansiludie · Sep 15, 2015

rosy1116 said:
Hello everyone,

Rosy from Miami here. So I was hoping you all could ease my mind tonight. I have three babies and my younger luffy is just about 7-8 weeks old. We found him on the parking lot of our apartment complex when he was just days old, and we couldn't just leave him there! Anyhow we've had him for a bit and he's a bit of a feisty baby very energetic and has taken a liking to climbing up clothes in our closet...today I came home and he's limping

He does walk on it every once and a while, no crying but you can tell he's uncomfortable. He holds his paw up a lot and looks at us, so he does move it around and I've seen he lays on it. I'm thinking he was trying to climb and on one of those he fell down? Possibly hurt himself but I am not sure if since he's so young and he's not fully developed he's really done some damage. I've been reading things online and it's only freaked me out more than helping me. Is there a way to tell if it's a sprain ? Can I treat it at home? We don't have the funds to have him seen professionally at this time so I want to check my options out and hopefully get some opinions. I am so worried he is only a baby and I don't want him to keep hurting.

I'm new on this forum so I thank you all in advance for reading my thread and taking the time to help. Anxiously awaiting your replies.

Is it swollen at all? Did you carefully check his paw pads and also his claws to see if there is any injury or thorn? Also does his paw feel warmer than the others? Does he walk on the toes like he is supposed to or on the heel? He might have torn a nail on something while he was scratching or climbing. Please check and let me know. If he won't walk on it tomorrow, you might need to see if there is any way you can get him seen by a Vet. Maybe a local Humane Society might be able to help you, given how you came ahold of him.

rosy1116 · Sep 15, 2015

I checked his paw and he has nothing in between them, his claws are good as well. I did notice the hurt paw is warmer than the rest. He's walking on his toes from what I can see. He's been running around kind of passing through it but he continuously holds his hurt paw up to us. Should I isolate him this evening to his bed only and see how he's feeling in the morning? Will having him off the paw help or should he just walk it off?

catwoman707 · Sep 15, 2015

You know honestly, kittens injure their limbs pretty often, they might flop down trying to land and it was too much, or claw gets hung up and they spin when trying to get it unstuck, etc.

But what I have found nearly all of the time, unless it's an actual break and you would def. know if it were, but that they have this fantastic ability to heal those limbs on their own, and very fast.

The limping takes the pressure off and allows it to heal itself, I think you will see this as well, it will happen within just a couple days.

stephanietx · Sep 15, 2015

It's common for kittens to injure their limbs because they are so active and are almost fearless. I would keep an eye on him. If he's still holding it up tomorrow and/or it swells up, then get him to the vet for a check over of the leg.

speshlneedsreqr · Sep 16, 2015

Paw/ankle injuries in kittens are common-- I'd recommend trying to limit activity this evening and watch for swelling-- if still tender in the morning a trip to the vet is in order as there is NO safe OTC pain medication for felines and kitty may need a little anti inflammatory