My cat has gone and broken herself...

[bluequeen]

So I get home yesterday and notice my cat is severly limping. First thing I do is flip her over and look at her incision (was spayed last wed) looks good so it's not that. After sitting there and watching I notice it's her front leg. Spoke to my friend that's a vet tech, did a joint test and noticed it seems to be in her knee (if it's a knee on a cat lol) She said I had two choices, take her to the vet get some metacam for the pain or leave her for now and see what happens.
My guess is she's pulled something jumping up, I felt around on it pushing and proding and didn't get any crazy reaction so I would assume there is a good chance it's not broken, there is no swelling and only a little bit of heat. I'm just stressed cause I hate seeing her like that not being able to walk, it breaks my heart!!
I won't be home until tomorrow after work now so I made the decision to lock her in a bedroom, highest thing she can jump on is a bed, put food, litter and water in there. I feel bad locking her away from the other cat but it's the only thing I could think of to limit her movement.
Anyone else experienced something like this? How long do you leave it to see whether it's just a pulled muscle or joint?

[Love4himies]

I thought Metacam was not the best thing for cats. Will have to go back and do some research.

Snowball had a pulled muscle in his back leg that took a few days to heal. It was bad enough that he took to hiding in the closet for a day.

[Love4himies]

Here it is:

http://www.metacamkills.com/

[krdahmer]

Fagan my youngest boy, has something very similar if not the same.... the first time he did it, it was quite traumatizing for him and me, and it was just a simple hop off the table. He landed wrong and his knee cap slipped out of place (luxating Paetella, if you're googling). I rushed him to the vets and at first she wasn't sure what had happened and cruciate ligament and surgery did come up.... but after some cage rest (1 whole week) and xrays that showed no visible injury she diagnosed him with a luxated paetella. This was in part caused by the depo-medrol shots he was getting for a skin issue (a side effect I was unaware of until then). Since that incident, he has had his knees (both sides) go in and out on him, when it happens he just lays still (usually on a cool surface like the basement floor- smart little man) and is back to his rambuncious self in 5-10 minutes. We haven't had an issue for at least 6 months now as over time he's learned his limits and is much more aware when he jumps up or down off furniture, also he has lost some weight which also makes a big difference when they have weaker joints.

The first couple of times it happened after the vet visit one, I did put him on cage rest for a few days each time, but eventually it just became no big deal and would right itself faster each time.... now when it does happen, like I said he just lays still for a few minutes and stretches his leg a bit (like he figured out how to pop it back in all on his own).

You should definitely get a vets opinion to make sure it's nothing more serious (the ligament one is serious and sometimes requires surgery) and if it happens again like with Fagan, look into something like glucosamine and chondroitin to help beef up the joints.

that she's a fast healer!

[sugarcatmom]

My cat injured a front leg jumping off the arm of the couch a year ago. I took him to emergency because I wanted to make sure nothing was broken (he wasn't putting any weight on it). Turned out to be just a re-aggravation of his arthritis. What really helped in his case was a combo of oral Traumeel a few times a day (I dissolved a pellet in sterile water and used dropper to get it into his cheek pouch), as well as some warm compresses with Epsom salts.

Do stay away from Metacam, as Love4himies pointed out. There are much safer painkiller options for cats, such as Buprenex.

[krdahmer]

Thanks SCM... I forgot all about Traumeel, we used that here too! I bought it in the liquid form and added it to water to syringe into Fagan's mouth too. (I've also used it for myself when my back acts up!)

[bluequeen]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

I thought Metacam was not the best thing for cats. Will have to go back and do some research.

Snowball had a pulled muscle in his back leg that took a few days to heal. It was bad enough that he took to hiding in the closet for a day.

Yeah I remember on her spay thread that I put up a couple people had said metacam wasn't the greatest either.

My first assumption is it's a pulled muscle, she jumps up and down on things all the time and maybe her body is just a bit on the weaker side because of just having the spay last week? I'm kinda going on my experience with horses, stall rest (or bedroom rest in this case haha) if they are hard to walk, if problem persists or doesn't get better after a couple days it's time for the vet. If problem starts to lessen within a couple of days chances are its a pulled muscle or joint issue and is clearing up on its own. Only easier part about horses is I can cold hose a leg that is injured, cant' so much do that with a cat, I don't even know if she'd let me put something cold on it but like I said there isn't much swelling.
She's not completely avoiding all weight on it, limping alot when she walks, it's 50:50 when she's sitting sometimes she'll hold it up sometimes she won't. Was sleeping last night and stretching out like usual so I have no idea...I guess I'll give it a couple days, if she's still as bad tomorrow when I get home after being locked up then I guess we are headed to the vet..

[14+kitties]

I have two here who have also sprained/strained their legs. I have found a few days of rest does a world of good. They are back to their regularily scheduled program as soon as they feel they can move right.

[bluequeen]

I have vet wrap at home but I dont' know if there is any benefit in wrapping it up? If I do she won't be able to bend her knee so I 'm not sure how happy she'll be with her mother either...She's been confined since yesterday so I'm anxious to get home and see how she is!

[catlover2]

If it's a strain or pulled muscle, usually putting something cold on it for 10-15 mins. several times a day helps...little bag of frozen peas works well. If she will tolerate it sitting in your lap, good. If not, wrap her snuggly in a towel, with sore front leg out and hold her that way. Depending on her age a strain or pulled muscle should heal in a week, longer is she's senior cat. Otherwise, vet should X-ray to rule out any broken bones.

[14+kitties]

Originally Posted by bluequeen

I have vet wrap at home but I dont' know if there is any benefit in wrapping it up? If I do she won't be able to bend her knee so I 'm not sure how happy she'll be with her mother either...She's been confined since yesterday so I'm anxious to get home and see how she is!

I can't see any benifit to wrapping it. She would probably work on getting it off anyway. If it's just a sprain/strain she should be right as rain soon. My guys limped for a few days then seemed fine. Once in a while after that for about two weeks I would notice them limping if they did too much/played too hard.