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My vet says he is one of the most self assured and expressive cats she has ever met. She saw him about every other week for the first 4 months of his injury and he was hospitalized for the first 5 days. She knows his warnings that he is getting annoyed and has learned what he will and won't tolerate fairly well. He really does love his vet and tries to follow her out of the exam room to explore the office most visits.
After the second surgery she put a cast on it on top of the cage rest so that he couldn't move and damage it further. She wanted the cage rest and cast for 3 weeks. He twisted the cast within 5 days.
The ER vet who removed the cast (because of course he twisted it at 10pm in the evening) took x-rays and said the bone is as healed as she would expect given his healing time and looked very well healed. If I hadn't told her he had the pins removed because they broke out of the bone she wouldn't have known. I didn't have them replace the cast because it seemed pointless if he slipped it in 5 days in a cage to put it back on and have him slip it again. Especially since when he slipped it he managed to tweak his hip and I was seriously worried about a displacement from how he was holding it. The ER vet thought he didn't need the crate rest for more than another week but we kept him in for two more weeks per his regular vet.
When his regular vet found out the cast came off early she just sighed and told him he was a crazy boy.
I think you are right about it being more soft tissue damage at this point. My vet didn't seem concerned about how he is moving when we saw her recently. I had some videos of him walking around the yard towards the end of the day and she saw him doing his usual exploration of the room. I might consider a MRI or CT for my own peace of mind. My Dad works with both of them (install and maintenance) so I can ask him to talk to some of the techs and figure out which one is the better option and where in my area there is an office with good ones. The last time I had to get a cat a MRI the machine was seriously outdated, in my Dads opinion, even at the top rated center in the area. It was kinda funny because my Dad did some tweaking to it to help them out and I got a free chemo treatment visit out of it, lol.
I don't think there is a way to slow Link down. Even if he is house bound he is everywhere. Climbing his cat tree, chasing his sister over beds and under, chasing his brother around the table. Outside he is on the roof or up trees half the day (and passed out on his outdoor swing the other half). I wouldn't want to re-crate him at this point. I think I will just have to keep an eye on him and make sure I go to bed on time. The only time he stops is when I go to bed and he is usually curled up next to me fast asleep within minutes; but if I stay up late he will keep going until I lay down. I really do appreciate your posts. I will definitely be stricter on the crate rest if something like this happens again. I think my childhood cat who shattered his femur and healed with no complications jaded me to what was needed. That cat had a cast for 4 weeks and got fully wired up to piece his leg together. But once the cast was off he was fine other then a slight limp in his old age.
After the second surgery she put a cast on it on top of the cage rest so that he couldn't move and damage it further. She wanted the cage rest and cast for 3 weeks. He twisted the cast within 5 days.
The ER vet who removed the cast (because of course he twisted it at 10pm in the evening) took x-rays and said the bone is as healed as she would expect given his healing time and looked very well healed. If I hadn't told her he had the pins removed because they broke out of the bone she wouldn't have known. I didn't have them replace the cast because it seemed pointless if he slipped it in 5 days in a cage to put it back on and have him slip it again. Especially since when he slipped it he managed to tweak his hip and I was seriously worried about a displacement from how he was holding it. The ER vet thought he didn't need the crate rest for more than another week but we kept him in for two more weeks per his regular vet.
When his regular vet found out the cast came off early she just sighed and told him he was a crazy boy.
I think you are right about it being more soft tissue damage at this point. My vet didn't seem concerned about how he is moving when we saw her recently. I had some videos of him walking around the yard towards the end of the day and she saw him doing his usual exploration of the room. I might consider a MRI or CT for my own peace of mind. My Dad works with both of them (install and maintenance) so I can ask him to talk to some of the techs and figure out which one is the better option and where in my area there is an office with good ones. The last time I had to get a cat a MRI the machine was seriously outdated, in my Dads opinion, even at the top rated center in the area. It was kinda funny because my Dad did some tweaking to it to help them out and I got a free chemo treatment visit out of it, lol.
I don't think there is a way to slow Link down. Even if he is house bound he is everywhere. Climbing his cat tree, chasing his sister over beds and under, chasing his brother around the table. Outside he is on the roof or up trees half the day (and passed out on his outdoor swing the other half). I wouldn't want to re-crate him at this point. I think I will just have to keep an eye on him and make sure I go to bed on time. The only time he stops is when I go to bed and he is usually curled up next to me fast asleep within minutes; but if I stay up late he will keep going until I lay down. I really do appreciate your posts. I will definitely be stricter on the crate rest if something like this happens again. I think my childhood cat who shattered his femur and healed with no complications jaded me to what was needed. That cat had a cast for 4 weeks and got fully wired up to piece his leg together. But once the cast was off he was fine other then a slight limp in his old age.
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