Cat limping

[Moonstonelove]

Hello everyone! Our cat Lucky who is 4 years today suddenly started limping on her one paw when she jumped off the couch this afternoon. This morning everything was fine then we let her outside (she is indoor/outdoor but in by 7pm) we ran some errands & came home about 12 she jumped off the couch & I noticed she was limping. I noticed her at times holding it up & licking the area so my husband & I inspected her paw pad & didn’t see anything in her paw pads, no swelling, it’s not hot to the touch, she doesn’t flinch back when we touch it & she still is jumping up & down even thought I don’t want her doing it she won’t listen to me. She is eating, drinking & acting like her normal self except for the limp & not putting pressure on the paw occasionally she will Pitt pressure on it when sitting there & of course walking. My husband thinks maybe it’s a sprain or strain to the muscle as she is still bending the paw & not flinching when we put pressure on the paw. My mind goes to the worst scenarios like the bone cancer I read about or tumors. Her one toe claw does look like it’s shredded so maybe she got it caught up on something outside or maybe her brother & her were rough playing while we were gone. Please someone give me some insight could it be bone cancer? I’m trying to get a vet but it’s a holiday weekend & I’m not having luck.
Thank you,
Deirdre

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! She is pretty young to automatically assume bone cancer. Odds are she did something to herself when she was outside. The shredded toe claw does indicate an injury - so watch that closely. If you can, keep her inside for a few days and see if her condition improves. I wouldn't - just yet - consider this an emergency. As long as she continues to eat/drink/use the litter box appropriately, I would think this is a 'wait and see'. However, when you can get an appt. with the vet, you can have it looked at just to be on the safe side. Keep us posted on how she is doing, please!

 

[fionasmom]

We are not vets, but from your description of the shredded nail, that certainly could be a starting point. I would not immediately jump to bone cancer on this so try to keep yourself calm until you see the vet. You might keep her inside so you can keep an eye on her in case she begins to experience more discomfort.

 

[Moonstonelove]

Hi! She is pretty young to automatically assume bone cancer. Odds are she did something to herself when she was outside. The shredded toe claw does indicate an injury - so watch that closely. If you can, keep her inside for a few days and see if her condition improves. I wouldn't - just yet - consider this an emergency. As long as she continues to eat/drink/use the litter box appropriately, I would think this is a 'wait and see'. However, when you can get an appt. with the vet, you can have it looked at just to be on the safe side. Keep us posted on how she is doing, please!

Hi!
Thank you so much for the reply! I’m the google queen which is such a terrible habit so when I read bone cancer I was like oh god I need to get to a vet now. Currently she is sleeping she was on the couch sleeping with me but her brother jumped on my back & then was bugging her so she swatted him & then went upstairs to her furry blanket. I’ll keepyou updated on her claw & the limp. I’m praying it’s gone tomorrow!

 

[Moonstonelove]

We are not vets, but from your description of the shredded nail, that certainly could be a starting point. I would not immediately jump to bone cancer on this so try to keep yourself calm until you see the vet. You might keep her inside so you can keep an eye on her in case she begins to experience more discomfort.

Yes we are defiantly keeping her inside thankfully it’s raining so she wants no part in going outside lol. She’s sleeping right now so at least she is resting whatever injury happened. If it’s not better by Tuesday I’m going to make a vet appointment of course this would happen on a holiday weekend when they have decided to take extended time off. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

[Moonstonelove]

Well Lucky is still limping this morning she didn’t hop up on the bed to wake me up for food plié she normally does so that broke my heart. We carried her downstairs for food this morning & thankfully she cleaned her plate & even ate some of her brothers dish lol. I’m going to call another vet because I feel awful leaving her limp around she seems to be holding up the paw a bit more than yesterday but she will put weight on it & jump up. Jumping down is difficult for her she’s not landing the normal way. Fingers crossed we can get into a vet today.

 

[FeebysOwner]

 

[Moonstonelove]

I was able to get an appointment at our regular vet I guess someone canceled. The vet said there was no obvious swelling & that she doesn’t flinch when he was looking her over anywhere on the paw, leg or shoulder area. He thinks that she just landed the wrong way outside or something but he gave her an inflammatory just to be safe & we’ll follow up on Tuesday. She walked herself back in the house & ate a whole bunch of dry food lol. I call it stress eating. So I’m hoping he is right & things improve over the next few days I hate to see her limping around.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I hope so too!!! I know it is hard to do, but see if you can keep her activity level lower than normal, just so she doesn't end up repeatedly irritating it.

Feeby stress eats too after a vet visit. First thing she does when she gets back in the house is make a 'bee-line' to her food dish!!!

 

[Moonstonelove]

I hope so too!!! I know it is hard to do, but see if you can keep her activity level lower than normal, just so she doesn't end up repeatedly irritating it.

Feeby stress eats too after a vet visit. First thing she does when she gets back in the house is make a 'bee-line' to her food dish!!!

Yes I am defiantly making sure she isn’t jumping she gets aggravated at me when I lift her down & makes her grouchy meow but I know her jumping isn’t going to help it. She just sat around after stress eating & headed upstairs to her furry blanket to rest. Fingers crossed the limp is improved tomorrow.

 

[fionasmom]

Your vet did make a very logical assessment for a first step. Try to keep her quiet and follow his directions and see what Tuesday brings. You are definitely on top of this and have begun treatment right away which is a plus.

 

[Moonstonelove]

Your vet did make a very logical assessment for a first step. Try to keep her quiet and follow his directions and see what Tuesday brings. You are definitely on top of this and have begun treatment right away which is a plus.

I’m hoping we won’t have to go back to the vet for this she hates car rides & gets so stressed out. She seems to be jumping down a bit better than yesterday & will not let me place her on the ground lol. She is still eating, drinking, kneading, playing with my earbud on the couch so I’m taking it as a positive. I’m just hoping as we go on the limo improves.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Have any footstools to help her go up and down on places she likes to go? If you tap on them to show her the way, she might use them. I did that with Feeby (much older, and has arthritis), and she began to use them as interim steps. Just something to try for now...

 

[Moonstonelove]

Have any footstools to help her go up and down on places she likes to go? If you tap on them to show her the way, she might use them. I did that with Feeby (much older, and has arthritis), and she began to use them as interim steps. Just something to try for now...

We actually have pet stairs that I purchased when she developed vertigo from an inner ear infection so I’m gonna set them up for her.

 

[Moonstonelove]

Have any footstools to help her go up and down on places she likes to go? If you tap on them to show her the way, she might use them. I did that with Feeby (much older, and has arthritis), and she began to use them as interim steps. Just something to try for now...
[/QUOTE
We are still limping this morning but it seems to have improved a tiny bit where she isn’t dipping as much when she walks. She is walking around faster but it’s a fast limp & she did jump on the bed this morning to wake me for her food. I put the pet stairs up where she likes to eat (we have 5 cats she likes to eat up high on our kitchen island) she will not use the stairs she refuses. I didn’t see her jump down as I was facing my cabinets taking my vitamins but I heard her jump down & it didn’t sound like it did yesterday where it was a bang it sounded like her normal jump. I’m just hoping with more rest it starts to improve significantly

 

[Moonstonelove]

Update:
We are on day 5 of limping over here but Lucky is still acting like her normal self. The only thing I did notice that is new is that she did sneeze once & she does this cough/hack thing (she’s done it twice) She use to do these things frequently with fluid coming out of her nose so we knew it was an URI but she hasn’t had one of those in a over a year. She use to get frequent URIs we had XRays & bloodwork done in 2019 to check for everything & all came back good. Of course me being google queen I decided to look it up & saw she could have Lymphoma cancer & now I’m in a panic. I even chatted with an online vet through Chewy who told me cancer is very low on the list of what is causing the limp. I defiantly plan on getting X Rays & bloodwork done if this isn’t improving by Friday because my nerves can’t take anymore. Does anyone know how long a limp will last from a muscle strain or tendentious? Do you think it’s a high chance for cancer?? Thanks everyone!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think there are a number of potential causes to explore first before cancer would be considered as a possibility. Depending on what muscles/tendons are injured, it can take a long time for those to completely heal. Activity using those muscles/tendons can delay the healing due to continuous aggravation. Sure hope you can get Lucky checked out soon!!

 

[Moonstonelove]

I think there are a number of potential causes to explore first before cancer would be considered as a possibility. Depending on what muscles/tendons are injured, it can take a long time for those to completely heal. Activity using those muscles/tendons can delay the healing due to continuous aggravation. Sure hope you can get Lucky checked out soon!!

Yea we can’t figure it out just looking at her so I do think X-Rays are going to be next. Today she is defiantly trying to be more active & im keeping her in a room but I did bring her to sit on the porch with me so she doesn’t feel completely confined & stressed out. Of course she decides to start running after a butterfly & it was time to go in after that lol. The limp appears to come & go too like one minute I’ll watch her & it seems like it’s gone but then it’s back. I am the absolute worst at being patient & I keep telling myself I need to be. I’m waiting on my vet to call back to follow up see what he thinks. Thanks for listening to my panic messages my husband is thankful lol cos he gets a break lol!

 

[fionasmom]

I have to agree with FeebysOwner that there can be many reasons for a limp and that cancer does not have to be at the top of the list, as Chewy also said. One of my cats has lymphoma, is being treated for it, and has never limped or had a URI. It is easy to connect these dots as a layperson reading the internet. If you google "I have a pain in my side", within the first page of WebMD they are going to point out that it could be liver cancer. Bone cancer has other symptoms that usually go with it that your cat is not exhibiting such as a broken bone for no apparent reason.

Taking her to the vet is a good idea, even if it is a sprain. Those can come and go and can take time to heal, especially if the cat resprains them.

 

[Moonstonelove]

I have to agree with FeebysOwner that there can be many reasons for a limp and that cancer does not have to be at the top of the list, as Chewy also said. One of my cats has lymphoma, is being treated for it, and has never limped or had a URI. It is easy to connect these dots as a layperson reading the internet. If you google "I have a pain in my side", within the first page of WebMD they are going to point out that it could be liver cancer. Bone cancer has other symptoms that usually go with it that your cat is not exhibiting such as a broken bone for no apparent reason.

Taking her to the vet is a good idea, even if it is a sprain. Those can come and go and can take time to heal, especially if the cat resprains them.

You are totally right I’ve had symptoms I google them & it’s always could be cancer. My mind always goes to the worst scenario it’s something I’ve done all my life & is a terrible trait of mine. The limp is seeming to come & go now but still we have her resting even though she is pissed at us lol.

I still have yet to hear back from the vet for his follow up from our visit. I’m going to try calling him again tomorrow & most likely will be going to the vet that is impossible to get an appointment with but they are super duper thorough. Thank you so much for calming my nerves I greatly appreciate it!