Hey all, I need some of the collective expertise of the Feline Friends.
TL;DR: Feral momma cat, separated from kittens for 2 weeks, caught and taken to spay in full health. Advised to wait 24 hours and release if no issues noted. None were, until release when we noticed a pronounced limp in one of her hind legs. What could this be, and how urgent is it to re-capture her and get her to a vet?
Long version: This is the halfway point in TNR'ing a colony in my parents' neighborhood. Most of them (8 adults) are very used to us, and even let us pet them.
For the kitty in question, Koko, she has historically been our friendliest, and it's been harder keeping her out of the trap than getting her into it. I separated her kittens from her two weeks ago (they are currently living in my bathroom while we do vetting... but that means my "isolation" area is spoken for) and gave her time to "dry up" the last of her milk. Caught her, took her for surgery, all was normal. On pick-up, they told us she did well and they'd performed a "double ligature" for her. Standard instructions (stay in cage for 24 hours, food and water after 9pm, etc.) and release the following evening. This works well, since we feed in the evening, and the whole colony is around and good spirits.
As with our other TNRs in the colony, her "closest" stood guard over her cage until release (we keep them in the garage to recover, with fans going). I checked the incision as best I could, and, since her paw was stuck out of the cage, and my mom said she had been quiet (unusual for her, since she's a big talker), I felt to see if it was warm to the touch. Temperature seemed normal, no sign of unusual healing, so we let her out near their favorite bush, by the water and dry food. Then we started getting some wet put out.
Koko limped away, as far as she could get from the food, the water, and the colony while keeping them all in sight. Her tail stayed low, her hips were dropped and she seemed reluctant to put weight on her back left leg. The first time I approached her, she got up and moved. I sat close enough to see that there were no obvious breaks, no blood, no unusual swelling, but couldn't get close enough to examine the leg in great detail. We brought food and water to her and she limped away again, this time curling in a pile of plants.
When her "best buddy" came up to her, he groomed her forehead in introduction and when she tried to move away, he nipped at her (left) heel. He pounced on her (in play...he missed his buddy, and she was the first he went to after his release) a little bit later while I was trying to contact the vet, and she went under a car, still limping, tail still very low. After that, we lost track of her.
Has anyone seen this kind of thing before? I'm pretty much looking for some kind of hope that this is, perhaps, a reaction to shots. The vet that did the spay is, naturally, closed and without follow-up contact info, and our only other option, assuming we find and re-capture her, is to take her to an emergency vet that will almost certainly put a feral down if she so much as bites at the air (I called for their policy when I took in an injured kitten). If it comes to trapping her again, is two weeks too long for her to still come for her kittens?
TL;DR: Feral momma cat, separated from kittens for 2 weeks, caught and taken to spay in full health. Advised to wait 24 hours and release if no issues noted. None were, until release when we noticed a pronounced limp in one of her hind legs. What could this be, and how urgent is it to re-capture her and get her to a vet?
Long version: This is the halfway point in TNR'ing a colony in my parents' neighborhood. Most of them (8 adults) are very used to us, and even let us pet them.
For the kitty in question, Koko, she has historically been our friendliest, and it's been harder keeping her out of the trap than getting her into it. I separated her kittens from her two weeks ago (they are currently living in my bathroom while we do vetting... but that means my "isolation" area is spoken for) and gave her time to "dry up" the last of her milk. Caught her, took her for surgery, all was normal. On pick-up, they told us she did well and they'd performed a "double ligature" for her. Standard instructions (stay in cage for 24 hours, food and water after 9pm, etc.) and release the following evening. This works well, since we feed in the evening, and the whole colony is around and good spirits.
As with our other TNRs in the colony, her "closest" stood guard over her cage until release (we keep them in the garage to recover, with fans going). I checked the incision as best I could, and, since her paw was stuck out of the cage, and my mom said she had been quiet (unusual for her, since she's a big talker), I felt to see if it was warm to the touch. Temperature seemed normal, no sign of unusual healing, so we let her out near their favorite bush, by the water and dry food. Then we started getting some wet put out.
Koko limped away, as far as she could get from the food, the water, and the colony while keeping them all in sight. Her tail stayed low, her hips were dropped and she seemed reluctant to put weight on her back left leg. The first time I approached her, she got up and moved. I sat close enough to see that there were no obvious breaks, no blood, no unusual swelling, but couldn't get close enough to examine the leg in great detail. We brought food and water to her and she limped away again, this time curling in a pile of plants.
When her "best buddy" came up to her, he groomed her forehead in introduction and when she tried to move away, he nipped at her (left) heel. He pounced on her (in play...he missed his buddy, and she was the first he went to after his release) a little bit later while I was trying to contact the vet, and she went under a car, still limping, tail still very low. After that, we lost track of her.
Has anyone seen this kind of thing before? I'm pretty much looking for some kind of hope that this is, perhaps, a reaction to shots. The vet that did the spay is, naturally, closed and without follow-up contact info, and our only other option, assuming we find and re-capture her, is to take her to an emergency vet that will almost certainly put a feral down if she so much as bites at the air (I called for their policy when I took in an injured kitten). If it comes to trapping her again, is two weeks too long for her to still come for her kittens?
Oh no.... so sorry that Koko and you are dealing with this. I believe that Koko will still come to her babies. Prayers and vibes that you are able to get her back to the vet - I would be concerned, too 
