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Cat is limping
My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and
when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. I'm not sure how he may have hurt himself, if that's the case, but it may be that he fell or tripped on the basement stairs because when I came home from work that day the basement door (which is usually closed and the cats don't usually have access to the basement) was opened. The limping doesn't seem to deter him from jumping up on the couch or bed. And I've checked the leg out and it isn't swollen or anything. And otherwise he's acting normal. I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue |
#2
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Cat is limping
blkcatgal wrote:
My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. I'm not sure how he may have hurt himself, if that's the case, but it may be that he fell or tripped on the basement stairs because when I came home from work that day the basement door (which is usually closed and the cats don't usually have access to the basement) was opened. The limping doesn't seem to deter him from jumping up on the couch or bed. And I've checked the leg out and it isn't swollen or anything. And otherwise he's acting normal. I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue Check the paw and pads. |
#3
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Cat is limping
"blkcatgal" wrote in message ... My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. I'm not sure how he may have hurt himself, if that's the case, but it may be that he fell or tripped on the basement stairs because when I came home from work that day the basement door (which is usually closed and the cats don't usually have access to the basement) was opened. The limping doesn't seem to deter him from jumping up on the couch or bed. And I've checked the leg out and it isn't swollen or anything. And otherwise he's acting normal. I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Yes! I flipped out because my little tabby was limping and wincing when she put weight on one of her back legs. (She had a new cat shelf and I *knew* she must have slipped getting up there because she was not yet used to it.) Took her to Emergency Care, where she refused to limp. Later that night she was clearly in pain, so the next day I took her to my vet, where she refused to limp AND jumped from the floor to the table and back again with no sign of pain. An hour after we got home, she was wincing and cringing again. I actually took her back to the after hours place where she again refused to limp! This time I made them give me kitty narcotics in case she showed symptoms of pain--more for me than for her, as I was clearly having more trouble with her being in pain than SHE was. The next day she was fine and never showed a problem with that leg again. Point: if you can STAND to, you might wait a day and see what happens. But of course that limp might be a symptom of something serious. *sigh* That is always the risk you take when you wait. I will always err on the side of superfluous vet care rather than scanty vet care, but that's just me. |
#4
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Cat is limping
"blkcatgal" wrote in message ... My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. I'm not sure how he may have hurt himself, if that's the case, but it may be that he fell or tripped on the basement stairs because when I came home from work that day the basement door (which is usually closed and the cats don't usually have access to the basement) was opened. The limping doesn't seem to deter him from jumping up on the couch or bed. And I've checked the leg out and it isn't swollen or anything. And otherwise he's acting normal. I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue I would take the cat to a vet for examination. Cats are well known to hide pain, so this is probably a sign of significant discomfort. Earlier this year, I had a similar situation with Holly. She was fine one night and was limping the next morning. I checked carefully and couldn't see anything, but I took her to the vet that afternoon. He found a small cut on on pad, but it didn't appear to be serious. He said it was the type of cut that might have come from some small object such as a carpet tack that might work its way up through the carpet. Holly is a solid black cat, and her pads are also black, so it was very difficult (even for the vet) to see anything, but the cut was small and didn't appear to be serious. He prescribed some antibiotics. The next morning, she was limping *very* badly, and it was obvious that she was in severe pain. So, we went back to the vet. The pad had become noticeably swollen overnight. This time, the vet used gas anesthetic so he could probe the wound more thoroughly. It's a good thing he did. He told me later that pus flew from the wound as soon as he made an incision, and he discovered that there was an absess underneath. This means that poor Holly had the cut for some time but had hidden the discomfort. It also could have turned into something much more serious if it had not been taken care of. So, my advice is to err on the side of caution and take your cat to the vet. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o' Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e |
#5
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Cat is limping
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue I would take the cat to a vet for examination. Cats are well known to hide pain, so this is probably a sign of significant discomfort. This is exactly what I was thinking when I took my girl in to the vet, and why I had the heebie jeebies. If she was actually wincing AND limping, it had to really hurt. But then again, if you have ever had a soft tissue injury like a sprain, you know how bad they hurt and there really isn't anything a doctor can do, you just have to wait it out and apply cold compresses. Or is it warm? I forget as it has been a while. |
#6
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Cat is limping
cybercat wrote:
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue I would take the cat to a vet for examination. Cats are well known to hide pain, so this is probably a sign of significant discomfort. This is exactly what I was thinking when I took my girl in to the vet, and why I had the heebie jeebies. If she was actually wincing AND limping, it had to really hurt. But then again, if you have ever had a soft tissue injury like a sprain, you know how bad they hurt and there really isn't anything a doctor can do, you just have to wait it out and apply cold compresses. Or is it warm? I forget as it has been a while. George had some type of sprain earlier this year and I carted him off to the vet. As you said, not much to do for it but let it heal. The vet did give him some painkillers which had the side effect of keeping George a bit drowsy and less likely to be jumping around & re-injuring the leg. Since you can't exactly tell a cat to "take it easy for a few days". |
#7
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Cat is limping
Suddenly, without warning, Joe Canuck exclaimed (13-Nov-05 12:53 AM):
blkcatgal wrote: My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. I'm not sure how he may have hurt himself, if that's the case, but it may be that he fell or tripped on the basement stairs because when I came home from work that day the basement door (which is usually closed and the cats don't usually have access to the basement) was opened. The limping doesn't seem to deter him from jumping up on the couch or bed. And I've checked the leg out and it isn't swollen or anything. And otherwise he's acting normal. I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue Check the paw and pads. And the claws. Cats can get nailbed infections too - Meep's had them in the past. jmc |
#8
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Cat is limping
Brandy Alexandre wrote:
5cats wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: cybercat wrote: "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote I'll have him checked by the vet if he doesn't improve in the next day or so but my question is can cats get muscle pulls or strains, etc. like humans? Sue I would take the cat to a vet for examination. Cats are well known to hide pain, so this is probably a sign of significant discomfort. This is exactly what I was thinking when I took my girl in to the vet, and why I had the heebie jeebies. If she was actually wincing AND limping, it had to really hurt. But then again, if you have ever had a soft tissue injury like a sprain, you know how bad they hurt and there really isn't anything a doctor can do, you just have to wait it out and apply cold compresses. Or is it warm? I forget as it has been a while. George had some type of sprain earlier this year and I carted him off to the vet. As you said, not much to do for it but let it heal. The vet did give him some painkillers which had the side effect of keeping George a bit drowsy and less likely to be jumping around & re-injuring the leg. Since you can't exactly tell a cat to "take it easy for a few days". Kami limps periodically. This likely coincides with those times you are unable to be on the newsgroups to prevent your taking out of your frustrations on her. I asked the vet if I should keep her from jumping at any opportunity and she said to let her jump. Even if she was in pain, apparently being unable to be a cat was more destructive. So, she jumps. She SPLATS, but she jumps. To date no pain meds have been prescribed. On the injury note, when Kami recently had a kindey attack I thought she was screaming because she injured herself. Luckily not, but any sudden change should be looked at by a real vet. |
#9
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Cat is limping
"blkcatgal" wrote in message ... My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. Which leg, Sue, right or left? There's a reason for asking. Phil |
#10
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Cat is limping
It's the left front leg.
"Phil P." wrote in message ... "blkcatgal" wrote in message ... My 16 year old cat began limping 2 days ago. He was fine in the morning and when I came home from work, he was limping on his front leg. Which leg, Sue, right or left? There's a reason for asking. Phil |
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