My poor cat is in a cast..

Hi everyone, I'm new to this website but was wondering if anyone else has any advice or has had a similar experience...

The other night I noticed my cat, Sammy, began limping after a somewhat acrobatic attempt to catch a ball in midair. He's never had any musculoskeletal problems before, so obviously I was worried when he refused to bear weight on his back left leg. I took him to the vet yesterday and they found he has a dislocated toe on that paw, and they put a cast on it last night. Now I know it should take him some time to get used to the cast because it is a foreign object to him and it is heavy, but since I have brought him home he hasn't walked or tried to drag it along behind him at all. He basically just flings himself around like he is fighting with the cast when he tries to move, and he chews at it like he is trying to pull the crazy thing off. I've had him home now for over 10 hours and he still hasn't urinated, although I've set up a makeshift litter box that's basically a shallow cardboard box with one end open so he won't have to climb over the high edge of his regular litter box. I'm worried that since he can't get around on his own he might hold his urine in so long that he'll get an infection or blockage, but he won't go when I try to hold him up in the litter box I made (he had a urinary tract obstruction last year and they had to catheterize him to drain his bladder).
He also was ravenous when I first got him home (I move the food to right in front of his face though since he can't get around yet), but he hasn't ate or drank since. And he seems depressed too..I'm sure it's frustrating for him to not know how to maneuver that heavy cast.

Sorry this post is so long... Basically, I guess I'm just wondering if anyone knows of anything that would help him through this, or will it just take time? He has to wear the cast for 2 wks, which I know isn't TOO long, but I just don't want him to be miserable the whole time!

Hello cassiecat3! Have you tried using treats or a toy to get him to walk to you with the cast on (to help him get usto walking with it on)?

awww..poor sweetie....my baby will be having a cast pretty soon..I don't have any advice for you, but I am sure it is possible that it iwll take time..he is just probably aggrivated, doesn't understand why he has this thing on his arm...I would pick him and try and to take him to eat or use the litter box..not sure if you said you tried that already, but that is what I would do...open up a can of wet food and see if that may spark him...I would just give it time though...give the vet a call and ask him about options too..Good Luck and give him some rubs and kisses from my 3!

My Sheba (RB) had a cast on a broken leg for four weeks, and though she fought it at first (and managed to remove the first one!) she eventually settled down and endured it. I seem to remember it took four or five days though before she fully accepted it. I had to carry her everywhere at first.

Thanks for your replies! Sammy is still not used to the cast, although he seems to be getting a little better with it each day... I have used his food to try to get him to walk towards it, but he didn't act interested and just layed there. So I have been putting his food right in front of him every now and then to see if he's hungry. And he is at least eating and drinking better now, so I'm happy about that. He somehow managed to climb up to his spot on the couch last night while we were sleeping, which I thought was funny because he must have been pretty determined to get up there since he would have had to hike that big cast up so high! He also proceeded to urinate while he was up there, but since I know he's still having trouble getting to where he wants to go I didn't get upset with him (although it is gross.. it's really my stupid fault for not keeping him in a more confined space during the night).