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I stepped on my young cat's paw on Wednesday 2nd April.Took him to a vet on the same day in the evening who prescribed anti-inflamatory drug which is running out today. Indy is still limping although he is happy, eats and sleeps well and using his litter tray as normal.He plays with his toys hopping around but his limp is worrying me as it is taking time to improve.He is using the paw every now and then but prefers to keep it up slightly above the floor level when sitting upright.How long should I give him before taking him to see a vet again who suggested the next step, an x-ray.Indy is not insured any more and I am concerned about the cost involved so this is the reason why I am asking you here.Indy seems to be limping more after a long sleeping session.He does scratch his nalis on the scratching posts and seems to use the paw when playing.
Hi , I'm James DVM MRCVS and would like to help you with your problem
Sorry to hear about Indy
You mentioned that when playing he uses his paw perfectly with no sign of pain
as well he hops about with no sign of pain as well
it is only when he sits up that he is more careful with his paw.
Is that all correct ?
he seems to be acting normally, not displaying much pain but I am aware that cats have a great pain threshold...yes, he is limping and only when he sits up he is lifting his paw slightly above the floor level but everything else, including clawing his scratching posts is done in the same way
what i meant is i can't see him being in pain
what i noticed is that he doesn't open up his claws in the same way as when he uses his 'good' paw
Cats bones in his age are like rubber - especially the ones in the paws . there is always an option of a fracture but I find it hard to believe as it would have been very painful, another option is dislocation of one of these small bones in the paw but again this comes with great swelling of the digit which is visible most of the time .
I think think that what we are dealing with is sever swelling in the paw which is yet to go completely away .
It might very well be that more time is needed for it to heal completely .
Have you seen any improvement over the past 4 days ?
I can't see swelling but it worries me that he doesn't fully use his paw so it might be permanently damaged? he gets better if he stays up and runs around, then his limp decreases slightly but after a long sleep we seem to be back to the original situation...he lets me touch it and massage it but i cannot really say whether he improved at all, maybe slightly
As money is an issue - I suggest we do the following : first as your vet if possible another short course of anti inflammatories and see over the coming period of time if his pain has gone away . if still it has not gone away then there would be no avoiding it by performing a Xray . I must let you know though that even if you find and small fracture in any of these small bones , there is nothing much to do but cage rest .
by cage rest - do you mean that he shouldn't be walking and hopping around but just resting? vet mentioned a surgery in extreme cases and this is something again i would like to avoid if possible because of the cost..
Again I say ' I do not believe it to be anything serious and would suggest in order to save you money , give it more time . I can promise you that you have caused no permanent damage :)
how long should I give him before I start to ask questions again? I saw online a two week period being mentioned - is this right?
Surgery ?! I highly doubt it as there is no diagnosis and by all you have just indicated to me there is no sign of fracture or any other sever problem . Two weeks is too long . lets give it another week and see if there is no improvement. Cage rest is just that - placing him in a cage (not his carry box but a larger cage area) - thou he might go crazy in there .
botXXXXX XXXXXne is - give it more time , something about a week and ask for more pain relief from your vet for this week .
once this week has passed you can draw your ideas as to what would be the next step.
another piece of advice - do not massage the paw - rather let it rest and do not disturb it (at times it can do more harm then good)
ok, so another week from now is ok to watch him?...I was trying to send a photograph but not sure if the attachment function is working
Yes , give it another week - let him rest and more importantly - you rest and let time do it's thing
I'm not sure you can upload an image here
if after thins week things have not improved - then seek to have an Xray done (don't worry yourself over surgery )
hoo you succeeded :)
his left paw is the one affected
yes :)
I can see what you mean - Lets do the cage rest then for the coming week and see. it could be the excitement of play is not helping the progress of recovery
this is how he keeps it, a bit forward although he was jumping on cousions here and not on the floor
ask for some more pain relief from you vet and cage rest for 5 days to a week (as long as you can hold it ). after which if still no better then Xray would be our next step.
ok, thank you, XXXXX XXXXX how this cage rest will work out but i won't be playing with him for a while :(
thank you Dr J
sorry :( but its for the best - I promise
I wish you all the best (both of you) . and please let me know how you get along
thank you again
He is really sweet :)
my pleasure
beautiful blue burmese :)
indeed :)
Have a quite evening , the both of you :)
and again - feel free if you need my help again
all the best
ok, will do thanks again and good evening