Cat is limping

redbowlingball

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Just under a week ago my cat Skye started limping. It wasn't much, just a small hobble when she got up after resting. We decided to take her to the vet on Sunday after it failed to improve and became slightly more pronounced. The vet examined her, felt her lymph nodes (fine) and manipulated her limbs a bit. She felt that Skye was showing a bit of tension on her left wrist and thought it was likely a sprain.We had suggested it might be something along those lines as we have very recently moved to a new home with carpeted stairs. Neither of our cats have ever lived with carpet or stairs and Skye got her claws stuck in the pile several times while going downstairs before we managed to find the scissors and clip her claws. Her kittens have also been very big and energetic the last two weeks and perhaps she overdid it playing with them. The vet sent us away with some Metacam for her. That was Sunday and it's now Wednesday. Skye is still hobbling after periods of rest, though with the meds it's not as bad. She will take two or three steps with a limp (still putting weight on both front paws) and then seems fine. We'll be updating the vet on Friday but in the meantime does anyone have any experience with this or have an idea as to what it could be if it's not a sprain, or, if it is, how long we should expect it to take to heal? Skye is otherwise eating and purring happily, jumping up onto counters and going up and down the stairs. She's not quite her usual self but she hasn't been for a while since she's been weaning her kittens this week and she's lost a bit of weight in the process, making her quite bony. There's five of them and they have massive appetites so I think she's struggling to keep up supply to the demand! 
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Hello @redbowlingball  - 

Sorry Skye isn't feeling right.  

I'm curious as to what meds they put her on.  Is it pain medicine...

If so it could be like humans, and what I mean by that is.  When we are nursing an injury and take pain killers, our instinct is when they kick in and no longer feel pain, the first thing we do is START doing activities we shouldn't be doing, thus keeping the injury fresh instead of healing.

When she takes the meds, does she get active again, perhaps adding to the injury and not letting it heal.

I wouldn't know how to remedy honestly.  Just thinking...

It's great that lymph nodes are fine. 

I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in.  It's good she's seeing the vet Friday.

Best to you and Skye
 
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redbowlingball

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Hello @redbowlingball
 - 

Sorry Skye isn't feeling right.  

I'm curious as to what meds they put her on.  Is it pain medicine...

If so it could be like humans, and what I mean by that is.  When we are nursing an injury and take pain killers, our instinct is when they kick in and no longer feel pain, the first thing we do is START doing activities we shouldn't be doing, thus keeping the injury fresh instead of healing.

When she takes the meds, does she get active again, perhaps adding to the injury and not letting it heal.

I wouldn't know how to remedy honestly.  Just thinking...

It's great that lymph nodes are fine. 

I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in.  It's good she's seeing the vet Friday.

Best to you and Skye
Skye is getting Metacam which is an anti-inflammatory as far as I'm aware. She's not any better today, in face I'd say it's more pronounced. Again, it vanishes after she's been walking for several steps. She is still jumping up on cabinets when she feels like it but mostly she is sleeping or begging for food when she comes out the kitten room.

I called the vet and the receptionist suggested we come in and get some x-rays done. I'm wondering if that's really the logical next step? She's had the limp for about a week now, would that be enough time to expect it to heal? I'm wondering if a blood test first might be best. Or simply a bit more of the watch and wait approach?
 
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foxxycat

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I suggest you ask for buprenorphine for pain management. yes metacam is for pain but bupre does a much better job at pain. it will make the cat sleepy at first but the next dose it wont be as bad.

I like the idea of xray to see if theres a fracture or something else going on. Who knows what happens when cats horse around. Normally these type of injuries take about 2 to 6 weeks to heal. if its a sprain it will take a bit to heal.

sometimes we pull something and we hurt for a week or two. I would ask about the bupre and maybe pred if there is swelling. But probably don't need pred if there is still weight put on the paw/foot.

Sometimes it just takes time to get healed. you may be able to massage or do range of motion exercises to keep the muscles supple and not wasting away. I am curious to see what the vet says on Friday.
 

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I agree with @foxxycat  , an x-ray would determine what is wrong with the leg.  A

I gave Buprenex to my cat and at first it made him sleepy then it had a hyper effect on him.  But it did work fantastic.

Keep us posted.
 
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redbowlingball

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I suggest you ask for buprenorphine for pain management. yes metacam is for pain but bupre does a much better job at pain. it will make the cat sleepy at first but the next dose it wont be as bad.

I like the idea of xray to see if theres a fracture or something else going on. Who knows what happens when cats horse around. Normally these type of injuries take about 2 to 6 weeks to heal. if its a sprain it will take a bit to heal.

sometimes we pull something and we hurt for a week or two. I would ask about the bupre and maybe pred if there is swelling. But probably don't need pred if there is still weight put on the paw/foot.

Sometimes it just takes time to get healed. you may be able to massage or do range of motion exercises to keep the muscles supple and not wasting away. I am curious to see what the vet says on Friday.
I can certainly ask them about the other pain medicine. The thing is, I'm pretty sure they would let us come in and pick up medication without dragging Skye in there and I'd honestly rather do that than stress out her and the kittens while paying through the nose for the privilege.

Obviously, if this could be something serious, I would get her treatment, but she's not acting like she's ill. Apart from the hobble for 10 seconds when she gets up she is otherwise acting normal (as normal as a lactating queen gets at any rate). She lets me look at her paws and legs, manipulate them, bring out her claws etc so it really doesn't seem like she's in any pain except when she walks after resting. It's almost like she's pulled something and it stiffens up when she sleeps. I give her the meds at about 5 in the afternoon so the time that I usually see her moving around is also the time when the meds are wearing off or just kicking in which may explain why it seems like the meds aren't doing much. I'm just uncertain as to whether going to vets and being talked into X-rays would be worth it. I mean, if it was bad enough to be visible on an X-ray like a broken bone or a fracture, surely she'd be limping more or showing more signs of pain when I touch her?
 

foxxycat

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you would be surprised how well these cats hide pain. It could be fine but if another week goes by and no improvement xray is a good idea.

you can call and ask about the bupre. I am not sure if it can be used for nursing momcats. I wouldn't know but if she wasn't nursing that would be my suggestion.

Poor momcat-she isn't getting a break with the 5 kittens huh?!

some info about this medicine:

the bupre is given along the tongue/gums=its a liquid and a tiny amount- 0.015ml I think-the meds are absorbed via blood vessels under the tongue but it will be absorbed by the vessels in the mouth itself just fine. it doesn't get swallowed. I usually do half a squirt and wait 15 seconds and give the rest. only takes about 10 minutes or less and it works for 8 to 12 hours.
 
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redbowlingball

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you would be surprised how well these cats hide pain. It could be fine but if another week goes by and no improvement xray is a good idea.

you can call and ask about the bupre. I am not sure if it can be used for nursing momcats. I wouldn't know but if she wasn't nursing that would be my suggestion.

Poor momcat-she isn't getting a break with the 5 kittens huh?!

some info about this medicine:

the bupre is given along the tongue/gums=its a liquid and a tiny amount- 0.015ml I think-the meds are absorbed via blood vessels under the tongue but it will be absorbed by the vessels in the mouth itself just fine. it doesn't get swallowed. I usually do half a squirt and wait 15 seconds and give the rest. only takes about 10 minutes or less and it works for 8 to 12 hours.
Yeah, I remembered just after I posted that the vet had to check to see what meds would be safe to give a nursing kitty and Metacam is what she came up with. I know that cats are good at hiding pain, but Skye has historically always been a bit of an exaggerator/fusspot, haha. She screams the house down if something happens like she gets stuck somewhere or her tail is trod on, while most other cats I've known would give a hiss or growl and be done with it.

So do you think another week of watching would be worth doing? Perhaps without meds so as to discourage her from overusing the leg? I'd obviously take her straight in if she showed any sign of going downhill. My gut says give her some more time as I'm not seeing anything to ring alarm bells or finding anything on google that could be a possible cause of this other than a sprain or a pulled muscle. She's showing no signs of the diseases that could possibly cause a limp, much to my relief.
 
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redbowlingball

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Well I just called the vets again and asked the receptionist to check with the vet about it as we don't want to jump the gun on X-rays.. She called me back, having managed to speak with the vet who we saw on Sunday, and says that it should be fine to give Skye another week of watching to see how she goes. If she isn't any better after another week we will book her in for an X-ray. We can pick up more meds anytime so for now we're just crossing our fingers!
 
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