To be worried about my cats limp

[Waitbytheriver]

I have posted in the litter tray but I never seem to get a response on there so I’m really hoping that someone on here has previously had a cat with this and can let me know their experience (or maybe there’s some vets or vet nurses?)

Cat has had a limp for 7 days now. She’s been thoroughly examined and had an xray which hasn’t shown anything. She’s on gabapentin and meloxaid, but day 7 and her limp is still just as bad as day 1. She is confined to one room and I’m trying to make her rest but there’s been no improvement whatsoever. Vets are stumped, they just keep saying to carry on resting because the X-rays dont show anything.

Has anyone’s cat had a sprain before? How long did it take to get better? I am really worried because I feel like if it was a simple sprain, after a week I would at least see SOME improvement??

Which leg? If a back leg, I assume they ruled out a cruciate injury?

Take her to another vet for a second opinion if you don't believe the first one.

Yes! Weirdly started limping every now and again not constantly. We presumed he'd just strained it while leaping off the roof ( don't ask! 🙄) he's totally fine now but took about a week to settle down.

A non bony injury wont show up on xray shed have to have an ultrasound and maybe depending what it is some strapping. Check the paws for thorns and ingrowing nails. One of my cats claws curled right round into her foot and it wasnt i.mediately noticeable I felt so bad for her.

fgs your pet is in pain
GO TO THE VET

Apoligies - this is presumably one of the first things they checked and therefore a silly suggestion but, still - when this happened to one of ours it turned out it was a painful claw. He’s an older boy now and doesn’t go out as much and we hadn’t realised his claws were so long that one was growing back inside his paw pad. We now make sure they are regularly clipped as he wasn’t doing a good enough job on the scratching post!
But claw issues definitely make them limp too.

She’s been to the vet, she said in her post “vet is stumped” after x rays were clear.

When one of mine did a soft tissue injury it took 2 weeks to see any improvement so it may just need more time.

If a vet hasn't thoroughly checked her paws, claws, and the whole limb, they are utterly incompetent.

fgs are you blind or stupid?
READ THE POST

Have they taken blood work? When my cat started limping they assumed it was strain etc but also took bloodshot to rule out any thrombosis/heart and kidney problems which can cause a limp. I hasten to add that she developed other symptoms as well such as increased vomitong etc. I don’t expect that it’s this at all but if it’s an older cat it’s worth asking

It’s her front one. She did tear her cruciate on one of her back legs last year. My vet said the same thing then “she’s just pulled it” but I took her back and asked for can xray and they found the cruciate was torn. However, this time there is nothing showing on the xray

How bad is the limp? Are they weight bearing or keeping that leg off the ground altogether?

Can you check there's nothing small in their pawpads or any tissue injury under the fur? Looking when they are asleep is probably best. Mine managed to hide a very nasty cut where the top of their inner leg meets their tummy by keeping that leg in a position where it was impossible to see.

Yeah so when I first took her they looked at everything, was manipulating her leg, looking all between the toes and feeling her stomach and chest and just everywhere really. They prescribed pain relief and said come back in 5 days if no better, but on day 3 I called them to ask if she could have an x ray. So when she was sedated they had another thorough look. She lets us touch all over her leg and paw and only seems to show any sign of pain when she puts pressure on it to walk

Oh really?! Ah thank you this reassures me. I was reading posts on Reddit and people were saying their cats stopped limping after 3 days with a sprain which is what has worried me. Did you keep your cat confined at all while they healed? Mine is in one room but she’s still a cat so not a very good patient lol

We had tiny little tortie who went missing for 48 hours. Very out of character. When she reappeared she was limping badly and I imagined all the horrors she could have been through.

Like you, vet could find nothing wrong on examination or from x-ray. He started off with assuming a soft tissue injury. She had pain relief, anti-inflamatories and lots of rest. We never found out what she had got up to on her travels
but it did resolve itself. Probably took about 10 days.

Hope puss is on the mend soon and further investigations aren't needed.

No they haven’t taken any blood work. She mentioned arthritis but she is only 3 years old so I don’t know how likely that would be or how they would diagnose it if it is that

Could it be dermatitis or a trauma wound on the pad/between toes? Something like a seed or thorn stuck? Does she keep licking it?

Does she let you touch it/inspect it?

I hope it gets better soon. I mean it must do if vets say there's no evidence of damage?!

She is weight bearing yes. She is using her leg to walk and scratch her scratch post and make biscuits on her blanket etc. she lifts the paw slightly off the ground when she sits down. She has been thoroughly checked three times and I have looked as well, there’s nothing. I will have another check though just in case

Awww that must have been awful!! I’m so glad she came back though and her injury was nothing serious. That’s really reassuring, how did you make her rest? Did you have to crate rest her? We had to crate rest her last year when she tore her cruciate on her back leg and it was awful! I’d rather not do that again, but if I have to then I have to. For now she is confined to the living room

Have they checked for the virus - FVC? It's usually kittens that present limping symptoms in front paws because of this virus. If it is, your cat needs meds immediately as it can be deadly. Limps can also can be a reaction to vaccines.

She doesn’t lick it at all and yeah she does let us touch it. She hissed at the vets when they touched her shoulder but she doesn’t do that when I touch it so I’m not sure whether that was just her telling the vet to back off or whether that’s where the pain is. But they x-rayd the shoulder and all looks fine, which is obviously great but… confusing because I’m worried something might be being missed

It was almost impossible to get her to rest but we knew caging her would be too distressing for her. We also just kept her in one room and spent a lot of time with her. We would lay on the floor with her to discourage jumping up on sofas!

No he is is too much of an idiot, bless him. He climbs trees all day and jumps from ridiculous heights. He is also a hunter and likes to chase his sister a lot. They are both 2 and whilst I tried to keep him in he was flinging himself around the house so I gave up after 48 hours and left him to it. He actually rested more when not confined if that makes sense. He felt trapped inside and that made him completely wired.

I took him back twice but vet said I just needed to wait and sure enough eventually he stopped limping. He had metacam and an anti inflammatory injection and that was it.

Soft tissue injuries can take longer than fractures to heal and sometimes they just need rest. I also have owned horses and they are even worse at hurting themselves but sometimes you just have to leave them to it. I wouldn’t worry too much if he can stand on it (even if it’s raised most of the time).

Vet thought he had probably landed badly, he had a small amount of swelling but not much. Given how I have seen him launch off our cottage roof that is no surprise. He’s a bit of a wally (but with the most velvet fur and biggest purr).

That’s exactly like my cat!! Even in the room she’s in, she’s trying to play and finding random things to play with and run around. All of the furniture in there is relatively low to the ground though, so no big jumps. I was hoping the gabapentin would make her a bit sleepy but nope 😆