A limp that comes and goes?

[JorisBonson]

As the title suggests, youngest boy had had a limp that's come and gone for a few months.

He's been to the vet several times, with no real diagnosis. There are no fractures, broken bones, his shoulder joints are fine.

The vet gave us Metacam for as and when, but it upset his stomach after a while.

You wouldn't guess that anything is wrong with him - he tears around the place like a goodun, plays and sleeps and eats as he normally does. When he's ill he really shows it, he's a big hider when he's under the weather and goes off his food.

He is VERY clumsy and the least elegant cat I've ever met in my life, which I'm sure has something to do with it (falls off things a lot 🙄).

It's come back in the last couple of days but he really is as happy as Larry (whoever he is).

Any thoughts?

I’d change vets. Vote with your feet.

Maybe your old vet is working somewhere else. I don’t mind paying but paying for a whole days hospital when he was only there an hour isn’t right.

I'll see if they've added it to the bill when they eventually phone us for money.

Moved vets for convenience after we moved house but thinking the car journey to our old ones would be worth it.

He seems to have had bloods as I've found a little shaved patch on his chest. His bum looks very sore from the thermometer

Poor sod. Do they know where the infection is?.

Nope. It's been coming and going for so long with no sign of anything, so that's why we were pushing for an x-ray and now this. I personally (in my non expert capacity) think it might be a small fracture near a joint that he's learnt to live along side.

Just waiting for the phone call / inevitable argument.

I’d go back to the old vet, it’s worth travelling for decent care.

Still no x-ray. Still limping. He's in a dreadful mood today.

The vet had booked him back in for an xray on Tuesday. No blood tests results back yet and they're still being difficult about the insurance. Unfortunately we've gone too far with them to change his care now and we'd be quite out of pocket.

Sigh. Hoping Tuesday has better results.

Bugger. Would a heated throw help for him lie on?. Or a heat pad?.

That's a good idea fluffy, I'll see if I can get one tomorrow.

He's definitely more vocal at the moment too, like he's trying to tell me it hurts 😟

He's not off his food in the slightest though and still being about the place like an idiot.

*bombing

Yes mine would whinge when he was in pain, you can’t blame them.

Tonight the paw looks swollen and he absolutely will NOT come inside. I swear kids would be easier!

How is it today?.

Just to say that we had this! Our 1 year old kitten had an intermittent limp for a couple of months - we think she had sustained an injury jumping off the toilet and landing in her litter box and then, from the debris that kept appearing, that whenever it got better, she would do something similar again. Vet prescribed metformin (sp?!) and restraining her in a single room (which we didn't do) but we did make everything very accessible, tried to remove her favourite jumping off points and kept her in for a week to keep an eye on her - it took a while but it did clear up eventually :-)

meant to say that the vet said soft tissue damage can persist for a while, particularly if they then overexert because they feel better if that makes sense?

He eventually came to bed last night and woke me up at 6 by biting my nose til I let him under the covers so he's certainly perky 🙄 had a little bit to eat this morning but he's not a big eater in the morning generally.

It's mild here today so he's gone AWOL with his sister. Really hoping the x-ray goes ahead tomorrow to rule out any breaks once and for all!

Thanks @KristaK, hoping it's something similar!

He obviously had a good time rolling in dirt somewhere yesterday because he came back like this 🤦🏻‍♀️

He's in, we're to pick him up at 4.30 🙏

Did he find a coal mine?.

Looks like it @Fluffycloudland77 🤦🏻‍♀️ luckily he spruced himself up a bit before his trip this morning. 3 hours to go, I'm so nervous for him

He's out... The poor boy has elbow dysplasia, caused by a mild dislocation. There is a fragment of bone there.

Options are long term management with anti inflamatories and supplements, or referral to a specialist.

As awful as it makes me sound, our insurance will simply not cover a referral and we just can't afford it right now. I'm going to do some research on payment plans that might be available as he will need an operation in the not too distant future. We will try to keep him comfortable and as pain free and possible until then. He's absolutely impossible to keep indoors for long periods of time and, to be honest, I just want him to have a happy life so he will still be able to come and go as he pleases.

We've been told, in the nicest possible way, that this will be a lifelong problem and he's unlikely to make old bones.

My poor baby... I just want him home now.

Oh no, poor lad. You must be gutted.

I am fluffy. All we can do for now is manage.it while we hammer overtime to pay for the specialist.

DP leaving to pick him up now.

Thank you for listening to my rambles the past few weeks!

It’s ok. Your dreamie bill will be massive now too.

Post sedation face 😂

Oh dear, those pupils are huge aren’t they.