need a quick response re: sprain vs. break

hi,

i just need a quick response if possible about how to tell wether a cats leg is sprained or broken .... our vet is taking ages to get back to us today.

he's not really our cat, he's sort of the compound TNR cat but we look after him. if it is a sprain then we can wait for a house call tomorrow morning so which will be far less stressful for him and the vets. If it is a break then we'll have to rush him in before the vet shuts.

Thanks

I don't know how you would be able to tell, unless they do an x-ray. If it is just a sprain, it will still be swollen and painful. Is he putting any weight on it? Hopefully he'll let you know if the pain is unbearable-in that case go ahead and take him in to get some pain meds and anti-inflamatories in him. Good luck, I wish you and this kitty the best. I hope he heals up nicely

well the vet finally called.... i had to make the decision to wait another day and see if it got better or worse... he has had a sprain before but this is the first time he was very noticeably limping... he was also letting me pick him up and put him on his chair outside... so i made the decision to wait till the morning....

anyway

the good news is, it WAS just a sprain and he is back to normal again and his paw seems to be the normal size again. it did seem a bit bigger the other day.

it's really tough with cats because you hear so many stories about how they are so good at hiding pain so its hard to judge sometimes.

I'm glad it was just a sprain and he's acting normal again

Unless it's a compound fracture (the kind where you can actually see the broken bone through the skin), there really isn't a whole lot that can be done for either a break or a sprain. Either way, pain is actually the best healer because it tells the cat to keep off the injured limb which helps it to heal. As long as you can't see or feel a protruding bone, you can just keep an eye on it and let time and nature do the healing.