Scared kitty hurt leg and won't walk tonight

Hi everyone i am a newbie here. I am very worried about my 1year old kitty named Mouse. She is very lovable and playful. Tonight when I fed the cats a treat of canned cat food (I have 4 other cats). She did not come up immediatly my son and I started looking for her. My son found her hiding behind washer, very unusual as she is a very social cat. She wouldn't walk, my son brought her upstairs and we couldn't find anything obvious but she wasn't moving her back legs first which scared me half to death. It seems to be the right leg she won't let us touch and it must hurt a lot because it seems to tremble at times. But what worries me is she is having trouble walking. I have had enough animals over the years that have hurt a leg or two but they just seem to favor the hurt leg but they do get around. She also cried a couple of times but this was after we had looked her over.

I brought her some catfood which she ate and she cleaned herself which seems to be a good sign. She did walk a little but it was very short and very labored. She went under the couch and is hiding which I guess is the best place for her right now. We have a small cage we will put her in tonight to keep her to herself.

I will of course call the vet first thing in the morning. But I am very worried tonight. We love this Kitty very much and it just tears my heart out that she is in pain and there is nothing we can do until morning. She is a very small cat ( I believe she is a runt) and has had good medical care. As I said we have 4 other cats and a medium size dog who all play together. Do any of you have suggestions as to what to look for? I would really appreciate it. Thanks for listening to a worried kitty mommy ramble. Bonnie

Welcome to TCS bonnie!!! It is a good sign that she is eating!!! Just keep her in a confided area over night so one one messes with her, and take her to the Vet in the AM.

Cats will sometimes hide when they are pain and they seem to instinctively also want to hide their pain. So that may be why she was behind the machine. I agree with the above post. Make her a comfortable place where she can be contained and not move too much and thus hurt her leg even further. Is there a 24/7 animal hospital near you or a vet you can call? I realize she may not be bleeding but the fact she "cried a couple times" when kitties tend to handle pain better than humans (in terms of hiding it) indicates it must hurt quite a lot. A vet could assess her and give her pain meds. Or set the fracture if it is broken and thus start her on the road to recovery. Other than that, I guess immobilizing her for the night will have to do. Do you have any Rescue Remedy you could give her? It won't help the pain but will make her more relxed and less stressed about the pain.

Good luck - I hope it is not a fracture or anything serious!!

Poor Mouse. Yes, get her to the vet first thing in AM.

Cats will usually always hide, and try not to call attention to their pain unless they are in complete agony, and sometimes not even then.

I hope everything goes well when the Dr. sees Mouse in the morning. Do let us know the outcome.

Thank you all for responding. She is still under the couch. I check her every 15 minutes or so and she seems to be resting comfortably. I got her at a shelter as a kitten and she had 2 cage mates. I ended up getting all three because I couldn't seperate them. One of the cats who's name is Patrick is under there with her. He always seems to be the most sensitve one of the bunch . I don't have the heart to make him leave because Mouse seems to be comforted with him under there. He is close to her but not to close so he is not hurting her. It gives me comfort to know she is not alone under there.

Emb thanks for the welcome. I have never seen this site before. But with our love of cats, I am sure I will be on more in the future. Ciberkitten, I'm going to ask a really dumb question. What is a rescue remedy? There is an emergency clinic about an hour away from us. I went there once before when one of the before mentioned kittens had a blockage in his urethera. It is very costly us around $600.00 and I don't regret a penny of it. My husband, son and I had a meeting and decided to wait until morning. We took in consideration the fact that she seems to be comfortable and is eating. Believe me this decision was not taken lightly and if she was crying in pain I would have her there regardless of price.

We have a wonderful vet who is very familiar with us and our pets. Someone is in the office at 8:00 a.m. and I will call at that time. They are very good about getting us in. Thanks again for your caring thoughts! It's amazing isn't how these little creatures grab a hold of your heart and they don't let go. I will let you know what we find out. Bonnie

I don't have any advice, but sending lots of good luck vibes to Mouse. Let us know how you get on

Hi everyone,

I called the vet at 8:00 a.m. and we are taking Mouse in at 8:40 a.m. She is bright eyed but still is not moving much but last night she did eat again when we put her in the cage. She also went in the litter pan when we put her there. So her functions seem to be working. Thanks again everyone you helped me get through a dificult night. I will let you know what we find out. Bonnie

Just got back from the vet. Mouse has a broken hip and needs surgery. The Dr. that does this surgery is out of town until Monday. She is on the schedule for Monday Morning and the Dr. gave us prednisone to give her to help with pain. He told us that this is the kind of break they usually see on cats that have been hit by a car. Mouse is an indoor cat and never goes outside. I am completely at a loss as to what caused this. After I got home I checked around to see if I see if anything had fallen but found nothing. I will let you all know how surgery goes. I am relieved it is something he feels they can treat. Bonnie

Great news!

Maybe she fell off something? My two have played on top of the wardrobe and it scared me silly in case they fell off the edge, I've since blocked it so they can't get up there!

Sending lots of {{{bone healing}}} vibes to Mouse

Well I hope that her surgery goes well. Cats have amazing recuperative powers!! Just keep her calm over the weekend and keep us posted on how the surgery goes!!
Good luck to your family too!

If there is someone that lives with you is it possible at all they kicked or abused this cat?

Does she play with the dog?
I've had a cat get quite seriously injured when her well meaning play buddy (a 40 pound terrier mix) got a little too rough playing with her.

Thank you again for your responses. Hissy I will answer your question first. No there is no one here that would abuse the cat. There is just 3 of us and my son is 25 and he is as much of an animal lover as we are. We have had animals for 28 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. If there is one thing in this world My family will not stand for it is animal abuse. We have our dog Noel, because my son brought her home with him two days before Christmas 11 years ago with a color imbedded in her neck. So we spent Christmas Eve. looking and finding a vet open.(That is why she is named Noel) Thank you for your concern and I do understand why you asked.

Arlyn, yes she does play with our dog who does weigh 30 lbs and Mouse is fearless.(Noel has always seemed gentle with her) I have watched thier interaction on many occasions. Noel seems to do more of a nudge with her nose. I know that doesn't mean that she couldn't get rough in the heat of the moment. I did ask the vet about that. He said it is possible but he didn't seem to think this was the answer. Mouse has always walked a little funny since we got her from the shelter. She sort of had a sway to her hips, almost like her front and back legs were not aligned at times. We have mentioned this to the vet in the past. But he didn't seem to think it was any thing to worry about. We now are wondering and he concurs it is possible if she has had a broken bone as a kitten or some sort of deformity at birth which could have made her predisposed for this to happen.

He did state that it was odd how she was walking which is she is not hobbling. He also stated her bones and tail did look odd. He stated that the Dr. who will do the surgery will be able to explain more to us when he sees xray as this is his speciality.

The prednisone seems to be helping her pain and we are keeping her quiet. Thank you all once again! Bonnie

Sorry for the delay in responding - I am just now peeking in on my 1st day back to my regular work (after volunteering in La). I am sorry to hear of your kitty's broken hip but glad you have a clinic and surgeon you trust and she has pain meds.

Rescue Remedy is a herbal supplement - part of the Bachs flower essence family. As a scientist, I was VERY skeptical about it when someone recommended it for my own cat but it works very well in many cats - depends on the animal. There was a very recent study questioning the value of these products in a medical journal but I do know it helps my own Siamese when she is stressed with visits to the vet, travel on airplanes to Florida, near accidents or just changes she does not like.

It is usually found at Health Food stores tho here it is also available in the health food/organic section of one of our largest grocery stores at a cheaper price. I have also used cocculine which makes some kitties sleepy. It too is available in the same locations.

I hope Mouse's surgery will go well and she has a great recovery!! Hip surgery is quite common now - at least for humans - not sure if it is for felines to be honest - but I know that is not much comfort for you. I think it was important that you managed to get your kitty to a vet asap. I dispense advice to parents about their children all the time, calming them by noting how better we have become at such and such a procedure and yet I am a basket case when my little YY has so much as a cold so I know it's easier to be the one giving than taking the advice!

I will keep your little one in my thoughts!

sending hugs and prayers to you and Mouse! keep us updated, BTW... Welcome! I am donna proudly owned by the incredible trio and surrogate mum to Freesia a yr old shepard mix