Our 2yo cat Alf suddenly lost the use of his back leg around 8 weeks ago. It was very sudden and he had no external signs of injury. He went from limping to crying in pain within hours.
X Ray at vets showed his left hip and femur were shattered, an injury that could of been caused by being hit by a car or a fall from a great height. Alf had surgery and was in hospital for total of 5 days pre and post op.
Post op x ray and review show the hip and femur are healing well and the vet is pleased with his progress.
However, (don't laugh) myself and DP are concerned about Alf's mental health to the point where we think he might of sustained a fairly big knock to the head or maybe post traumatic stress because he's a totally different cat.
The old Alf was confident, didn't give two shits about you or anyone, treated visitors to a staring competition, slept where he wanted even it was in the way and was generally kingpin of the house with our other two cats.
He came home a nervous wreck. I thought he would improve over time but he's worse.
He follows me everywhere except when he's shaking like a leaf under DD's bed because there was a noise in the house. He's booted out of the way at feeding time so we now feed him alone in the pantry so he gets a good meal. He still stares but it's more of a sad, tired stare and eventually he'll snooze where he's sitting. He also sleeps a lot.
The other thing is, he looks totally confused at the house, his food and the family sometimes. Hard to explain but it's just different.
He's also destroying whichever blanket or cushion he sleep on by biting it and pulling it apart.
The vet thinks there is none to very little discomfort as he can manipulate his leg easily without a reaction which is good, at least it's not physical pain.
But, bloody hell, I'm so sad for him. It's just not him at all.
Has anyone else had a pet that survived a major injury but wasn't themselves after? Did they ever recover to their old selves?
Any advice at all?
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.
The litter tray
Cat's behaviour following trauma
9 replies
AnnaBay · 18/05/2018 07:57
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.