Broken Leg. Help!

Thank you for the update! It's such great news he is doing so well. I can just imagine him asking for rides, the rascal. Here's hoping he heals well. [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Another update. This morning I woke up to Thor's cast on my bed. I was shocked. He got it off of his leg. Its Sunday and the vca animal hospital where I got him done at is closed so I can't call them. He is still limping a little bit but what amazed me is he put his foot down and actually took a step on it! Im so scared and I don't know what to do. He has these sores on his arm from where the cast had been chaffing and he just sits there and just licks them. His leg actually looks normal from the outside. Its straight and not dangling like before when it was first broken. I don't know if he's in any pain when he just tried to lightly hop on it.

what a handsome boy, how many days early did the cast come off?

It just came off today. Its been 2 weeks and three days since he had it on. And the vet is closed today. I called another vet and they were like it'll be 98 dollars plus more x rays to see how it's healing. I don't get any money till a few days and I will surely bring him in. Do you think I could request to get it rewrapped until I have the money?

Nikanini said:

It just came off today. Its been 2 weeks and three days since he had it on. And the vet is closed today. I called another vet and they were like it'll be 98 dollars plus more x rays to see how it's healing. I don't get any money till a few days and I will surely bring him in. Do you think I could request to get it rewrapped until I have the money?

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I would talk to your vet about rewrapping it without cost to you. I think that if it would have been done properly that there is no way he should have been able to take it off. If they charge you I hope they will give you a discount at least, I hope he is ok 

Ideally a cast should be changed every week. This is to ensure that the skin underneath is ok and that blood supply to the limb is good. Thor might need an antibiotic if the sores on this arm are open at all.

If you are not able to get him to the vet today, you need to confined him to the smallest area possible (do you have a cat carrier for him or an enclosed shower?) and minimize walking as much as possible.

It takes an average of 6-8 weeks for the bone to heal and he is at a vulnerable time in which he could cause further damage to the affected limb.

On another note, since the break was clean, I would think it very likely that it would heal ok if it was set properly. You will want to recheck x-rays at 4 weeks to make sure things are healing properly.

I'll have to call them tomorrow and take him in, in the morning to see what they say about recasting charges. I hope it's nothing.


I don't have a cage, but Thor has been confined to my room with me. My room isn't big at all. He went into the litter box and actually used his arm to cover up his mess. I don't know what to do to stop him from using it. I'm getting stressed. He has a cat carrier but since Thor is big it's just enough room for him to spin around in.

I was never told to rechange it every week. I was going to bring him in to the vet in a few days anyway to get the x rays done and that'll be at three week mark.

If I were in your situation, I would confine Thor to his cat carrier and let him out briefly (5-10 mins at a time) every few hours just to use the litter box. He does not need to be using the limb or walking around on it without it being casted.

Just to hold you over until you get into the vet, you can go to Walmart and pick up a roll of Vet Wrap in the bandage aisle (I think?) It 'might' be in the pet aisle too? It's similar to an Ace Wrap for a sprained ankle, but it is stretchy and sticks to itself. It will cost maybe $3 to $5.00.  You can cut it if necessary to fit his leg, but I don't think you'd have to because it's only about 2 inches wide. Even though it sticks to itself, it is not 'sticky', so it will not stick to his fur at all. Put a little Neosporin on the sores on his legs and then wrap it. 

Start at the bottom of his leg just above his toes and wrap firmly (give it a slight tug while wrapping), but loosely (not tight! You should be able to slip your finger between the bandage and his paw/leg) in a criss-cross motion up his leg. The criss-cross promotes circulation upward so blood doesn't pool in his paw and create swelling, and binding in this manner helps it stay securely in place. Once you get the first layer on, start again and apply a 2nd layer to make it more stable. Again, wrap firmly, but loose enough that you can get a finger between his leg and the bandage - you don't want to cut off circulation. 

After about an hour or two, feel his paw pads to be sure they are warm. If they feel cool or cold to the touch, unwrap it and rreapply ir a bit more loosely. 

To keep him from chewing the bandage off, you can apply a strip of bandage tape over the end, but the wrap should be OK by itself. 

This should keep the leg stable until tomorrow. Don't allow him to jump or climb for sure, but I think at this point, if his leg is wrapped, minimal walking around the room should be OK. If he still has a pain pill left, I would give it to him this evening so he sleeps through the night instead of up prowling while you are sleeping. 

I hope this helps and that your little guys heals soon! 

You've gotten great advice and I don't have anything to add - just lots of good wishes your rascal will be ok. I really hope it works out at the vet. Since your $ will come in so soon, you might ask them if they will take a post dated payment. My old vet used to do this. Kisses to beautiful Thor![emoji]128149[/emoji]

Hello everyone!! Sorry I've been really busy with taking care of this fat boy over here. He is such a baby. Here's an update on Thor's progress. Its been three months now since he was injured and we are not yet done with Thor's healing process. I've also taken him to a new vet, one which cares for my baby so much. They love him cause he's so gentle and kind and he's big and fluffy. He weighs 12 pounds. I just went in around the end of January to get another x ray for his arm and yaaaaay!! The bones are actually healing up so nice. Buuuut, I was told by this new vet that, the first vet I had taken Thor too did not do a correct job in casting his arm. In the cast they made, he was still able to move his arm around, meaning 3 weeks and nearly 350+ dollars of nothing, wasted. They didn't cast his arm right at all. Because of them not casting his arm correctly, Thor is taking longer to heal. However, at the end of January visit the vet told me he is confident that Thor will make a full recovery. He also told me that Thor was in a critical time for his healing process and that if he removed the cast that his arm would only snap again, so he advised we keep it on for one more month. At the end of February, I have to get him x rayed again and hopefully this is his last time. He was given a nice red cast with a pink Valentine's day heart on it. I loved it.

This new vet's method was a splint and cast, spoon splint to be exact and because of this spoon splint Thor's bones have been stable and have found each other and are fusing. He showed me the x ray and everything, so that I could see his progress. I am very pleased with this new vet and I am even more happy that my child will be alright. It was all I prayed for in the beginning.

I am glad you found a new vet and Thor is healing.  I would not use that old vet ever again.  I would also warn my friends that have cats about your old vet.  Give Thor some pets from me.  You are doing a great job taking care of Thor and managing his injury.  I am glad new vet expects your baby to make a full recovery.  You staying on top of his care allowed you to get the previous vets mistake fixed which I am sure will help with the healing  process.  Hugs to you both I am sure this is hard on both of you.

I am glad that Thor is getting the help he needs to recover, you are doing a wonderful job of looking after him 

I'm so glad to hear Thor is finally getting better.  I've wondered about him many times over the last couple of months.  What a shame the first vet didn't do a better job.  Poor baby.  He really did have a rough time of it, there.  Thank heavens he had you to care for him!  

I thank you all for your wishes and your kindness to not only me but Thor as well. I am also proud of myself as a meowmmy. That I am able to take care of what has to be done with my cat. I love my cats with all my heart and I would do anything to see that they are taken care of. I'm going to now start using this vet, getting him and his sister ears cleaned and regular deworming and flea control as well as other issues that may arise. Its been a hell of a ride with Thor cause he's so... spoiled and bossy. He wants it his way. And I will advise as much as everyone I could advise about that vet place. I will also write a detailed review of my experience so that the public could see what recklessness they have caused to my baby, a place that's suppose to care for animals. Makes me so angry. And when I was there the vet made a cruel and hurtful joke. She said "make sure you punch your cousin in the head" and literally started laughing. As if him hurting my animal was funny. The look I gave that lady made her stop laughing. She was sarcastic and just plain mean.

It is now March 23 2016, I brought Thor in at 8:30 to do another x ray and guess what? Vet says it's all healed!! The bones are together and it looks perfect. He just has a hairline fraction which will close up nicely. The cast has been removed and his pressure sores were finely treated and now we are home. His leg is a bit smaller than the other and he has a small knot where the break was, you can feel it through his skin. But the vet said that small knot will go away. So he's not worried about it. Thor is walking on his leg, just small steps, walking around the house and eating and drinking. He does however still hold his leg up when he sits and I'm guessing that's just natural because his leg is weak and he's so use to that cast and the pressure sores are just irritating him so he just keeps it up. Once he even lifted it and hopped along like he did with the cast, but I'm sure as time goes on, he will continue to use his leg more and more. I'm so happy now. He's all healed! And the tough part is over. My fat butt is a trooper. I want to thank all of you. Every single one of you for your support and kindness. I knew I had named him Thor for a reason. The Almighty Thor.

Cast is off. I know it's not a pretty sight however I hope someone see's this and can learn from Thor's story.

It's wonderful that Thor is home without his cast and with a good report from the vet.  It has been a very long haul for the two of you - I'm so glad Thor had you watching out for him.  I'm sure you're right that he'll start using his leg once he's used to the cast being gone.   I can't tell you how happy I am to see him doing so well.  That leg doesn't look so awful to me,  not when I remember how it looked back in December.

Hurray Thor!        

This is what we want to see him doing next >>>>>>>>>>>