Robin got hurt

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
Hi, been a long time since I last posted. My cat is completely , suddenly unable to put any weight on his left front leg. Robin was licking his left paw intently last night, but seemed otherwise ok, though he was still sleeping on the sofa when I went to bed (a bit unusual).

I work shifts and slept all day, and noticed it immediately when I woke up. [emoji]128575[/emoji] Eating, he lays down and seems unable to pull that entire leg close. (See picture). It's his left.

I can't feel anything wrong, but that joint seems "off"--a bit bent or swollen?

What should I look for? His pads seem ok. He did injure that same paw as a kitten--at the time I thought it might be a shoulder injury. He cried (never does this) when I examined him. Not the arm, but around the chest area.

I can bring him to a vet but not before Monday unless I can get family to help, and that's quite unlikely.

Meanwhile, should I have him sleep in his kennel? It's a cage, but not big enough for a litter box. He is really quite uncomfortable, right now he's trying to sleep while keeping the paw away from him.

Might it be a sprain or strain? Robin was playing on top of my 4 1-2 foot tall dresser the other night, and he jumped off it like usual.

My poor guy. It doesn't seem like an emergency, but I am really concerned.

Anyone have any ideas on what I should do? I'm trying to keep him from jumping, but he just jumped from my table to the sofa. He's so out of sorts, because he knows something is wrong.

He just fell asleep. Poor baby. [emoji]128575[/emoji][emoji]128546[/emoji]
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
You can see here how he holds the injured left paw out from under his body weight.
Please?
 
Last edited:

zed xyzed

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
3,786
Purraise
3,740
Location
Toronto Canada
It is likely a sprain. Does he go outside at all? How old is he? I wouldn't worry too much, keep an eye on him and make sure that if he is not better take him to see the vet on Monday. Also, don't give you cat any pain med unless given by the vet, many pain kills are extremely toxic to cats. Hope he gets better soon
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,768
Purraise
3,489
Location
Texas
I would keep an eye on him until you can get him to the vet on Monday.  Most likely, he'll limit his jumping due to the pain.  You can give him a heating pad wrapped in a towel and set to a low setting to lay on.  That might help with any discomfort for him.  If he continues limping, he might need a steroid to help decrease inflammation.  If you're very concerned about him while you're away at work, you could always put him in a large wire dog crate with his litter box, water, food, and bedding.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
Hi, thank you. I don't have a heating pad unfortunately, but he is keeping me busy, no jumping, trying to keep him quiet.

He definitely was OK Saturday morning when I came home from work, unless the injury had not swelled by then. We were playing with a cat toy marinated in catnip, and this was 7 am. By 7 pm he was limping. I did examine him again and the tip of one toe seems to invoke a reaction, I am very much hoping it's not related to his declaw surgery. Nothing extraordinary was found by me examining him, and I used his other leg for comparison. He's not my first cat, and he's already had more limp issues in the 3 years than all my others combined. I do blame myself, as I did get him declawed but it was only because of dangerous issues in the house I lived in. Oh god, I wish I hadn't had it done.

Can kidney issues cause foot pain? I found his old bloodwork taken when he was 8 months old. (He's now 3.5 years old.) His BUN and calcium were at the very top of the high range; I was told he was ok, but the SPCA lady who helped with his medical at the time kept going on about kidney issues...he does drink a LOT of water. He currently is 15 pounds (if not 16), is a fixed 100% indoor cat. I feed him ONE hairball dry with a can or two of canned a week.

I do think my chubby bunny needs to go on a diet again.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
Update: little boy did put some weight on that leg today, so I'm hoping it was just a strained muscle! Am keeping an eye out. He doesn't seem to want to jump off anything right now, so it must hurt still. He's so cute when he sits on the edge of the bed, knowing mom will rescue him. But oh, I don't want him to hurt.
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,768
Purraise
3,489
Location
Texas
If you don't have a heating pad, you can fill a sock with white rice (uncooked) and tie the top off.  Place in the microwave for a couple of minutes and instant warmth!  Wrap it in a hand towel and place near your kitty. 

If you're concerned about his kidneys, ask the vet to do a blood test to check his creatinine, BUN, and other values.  It will give you a good baseline for "normal" for him if nothing else shows out of whack.  As for the diet, talk to the vet about that as well, but switching to a mostly canned food diet will help him lose weight and slim down.  He may be drinking a lot of water because he's on mainly a dry food diet and that generally makes kitties more thirsty.  A canned food diet already contains a lot of moisture and the kitties don't drink as much water to keep themselves hydrated.
 
Top