Worried about my cat who may need ACL surgery

[RobC]

Hi everyone,

We recently adopted a cat (a year ago) from the shelter and he is really great. When we got him he had a lot of issues with infections, etc. but that has been cleared up. We did find out he has FIV though. We also noticed that he always sat weird with his leg sticking out. We took him to a doctor who did an x-ray and he said that it showed some really weird stuff on his left side. He has a torn ACL, his kidney appears displaced which may mean that he got hit by a car prior to us adopting him.

About three weeks ago we noticed a huge patch of hair missing over where his leg is at and there were bit marks on it. We tried some medicine but he was biting it again. Today we took him to the vet and he said that it could be that the leg is bothering him so bad that we may need to get surgery because the cat appears to be biting at it to try to relieve pain.

Has anyone here experienced this with their cat before? I am just nervous because I don't want the cat to think we are giving him up leaving him to get surgery, etc.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
When you take him in, or if he's still at the vet, see if they let you bring him some worn but not yet washed socks that will give him your smells. It may help him to not feel abandoned that way

 

[fionasmom]

Not with a cat, but with a dog. Certain painful issues will sometimes elicit a chewing or biting response in the pet. Even if he is not in pain exactly, but is experiencing tingling or intermittent numbness, it can be enough to cause chewing. He is letting you know that something is really bothering him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Admittedly, I don't know much about ACL injuries, but I do know they can lead to arthritis. I was wondering since it has been about a year between the identification of the ACL issue and his just recently biting that area - could it be more related to arthritis that has developed over time in that area? Maybe a new x-ray to see if arthritis is visible? Maybe treatments for arthritis (e.g. NSAIDs) before going into surgery to see if that might change anything?

 

[OopsyDaisy]

Yes. My Kokanee chewed on her foot when she had the tumor. Vet said it was because she was in pain and the tumor was causing nerve issues. X-rays should show the reason for the problem. I hope it isn't anything serious and that they can treat it without surgery.