Outside cat with broken leg.

[minutel]

I am pretty sure that our outside cat has a broken leg. He seems to be getting along alright but I am afraid of is healing wrong. Is there anything that we can do? The vet is closed until after the holidays and I seem to be the only one worried about it. My mom says there is nothing we can do but is there anything we can do? He doesnt seem to be in pain or anything. My step-dad will more than likely not let him stay inside so is there anything at all we can do?

[Tigerkitty]

There are always emergency vets open over the holidays, get this kitty to one of them ASAP. A broken leg can be fatal to an outdoor or stray cat if left and not treated.

[minutel]

Not in this town. Im from a very rural place. I am actually not sure if it is a break or not. He has taken all of the hair away from the site. He walks on it a little but usually hops but he does stand on it when he is standing still. Could it be something else?

[catlady2006]

You need to get that cat to an emergency vet asap. Your regular vet should have the phone number of an emergency vet on its answering machine. You need to keep this cat inside until its leg heals. Even if your dad objects. You can keep him in one room with access to a litter box, food & water. Cats that live outdoors don't live as long & have more accidents. If you can't take him to an emergency vet & keep him in one room 'til his leg heals, than perhaps you need to find him a home that can.

[minutel]

i really dont want to sound mean but if i take him to the vet, he will stick me with a 300+ bill and tell me he needs to have surgery which will be even more expensive.

[birdy_birdy9]

like my family always says if you can't afford the vet then you can't afford the pet. call you vet they will have an emergency number. it isn't the best thing to have out door pets

[pattie]

i really dont want to sound mean but if i take him to the vet, he will stick me with a 300+ bill and tell me he needs to have surgery which will be even more expensive.

You have NO business even having a cat if this is your attitude.
Animals are a commitment and that includes healthcare.

I lost 2 cats this year to illness (lymphoma and hyper thyroid....just couldnt get either one under control)
I worked with the Vet and did everything I could to save them. Even learned how to give injections to hydrate one of my cats. I would give anything to have Wiley and Alex back.

These kinds of posts REALLY upset me. People...if you can't afford to properly take care of your pets, you should NOT have them in the first place.:mad:

[Tigerkitty]

These kinds of posts REALLY upset me. People...if you can't afford to properly take care of your pets, you should NOT have them in the first place.:mad:

I've got to agree here, it really sounds like you don't want to take the cat to the emergency vet because of the cost, rather than you can's find one.

"I can't afford it" isn't a valiad excuse, my husband and I both took second jobs to pay our cats vet bills when he was diagnosed with liver cancer. Many vets are willing to set up payment plans for you.

What you should do is contact a shelter, tell them it's a stray that you've found and you're not able to pay for the vet bills, and ask them to take the cat off your hands and get it the medical attention it needs.

Think about how much pain you would be in outside in the cold, alone, with a broken leg, and how you'd feel if your parents said "sorry we can't afford to bring you to the hospital" same deal.

[tlpiper]

Sorry but I had to pipe in on this one.I'm 51 and have had pets all my life.Right now having 6 cats and 2 dogs(most strays) I have to disagree about not having pets if you can't afford them. If I waited to get animals till I could afford them I would not have any now nor would I probably ever have had them.But some of my pets were taken out of abusive situations and I'm quite certain they are better off now,but in the same sense I can't always afford to get them all the shots and meds they need.Vet costs around here are sky high and most vets will only accept maybe a postdated check,and not set up any payment plan.So what I'm basically saying is I thought this response was somewhat rude. Were all animal lovers that try to do the best we can.

[rstowe]

If you own a pet, it is your responsibility to get the health care it needs - especially in a potentially life-threatening case. Try to set up a payment plan with a vet but this cat needs a vet ASAP! If you don't want to take the cat to a vet because of cost try to find a home for it that will - even if this means a shelter or rescue org.

tlpiper - there are always organizations that provide low cost shots and meds. Where I live a vet goes to a pet store once a week and offers free shots and meds for people in this situation. Please get all your animals up to date on their shots - not being up to date is extremely dangerous for your pets. Congrats on the rescues but just giving an animal a home is not enough - you have to do everything that is needed for these animals.

[tlpiper]

rstowe Sorry but I disagree. We don't have any vet that does such charitable deeds,in fact our local shelter will not even accept strays that are roaming the streets for some stupid political reason,so we have ferals all over the place.My cats are not all up to date on their shots but they also don't go out.My oldest just passed at almost 19. Everyone has the right to their opinion and I admire anyone that is an animal lover.I will always feel that any body that can give an animal a chance at warmth and love is admirable also.

[KittyKat05]

i really dont want to sound mean but if i take him to the vet, he will stick me with a 300+ bill and tell me he needs to have surgery which will be even more expensive.

I cannot even believe that you went on a pet forum and posted such a thing. Most vets will work with you, not all but most!

[tlpiper]

I hate to keep jumping in,but honest to god guys,the vets around here demand payment at time of service or at most accept 1 post dated check for 2 weeks after service.I'm not exaggerating.I just had a $600.00 surgery done on my cat with pyometra and cysts.Thank God husband and I had credit cards.Years ago we had a local vet that would take a look at my animals anytime of day or night,and then would say pay me when you can.Those days are long gone!!!!! If you people out there have one that works with you,you are very lucky.

[rstowe]

Sorry piper that none of your vets are willing to work with you; especially when the costs get above 500 bucks. We spent 2500 on our Rottie when he got sick and used the credit cards as well (we ended up dealing with 3 different vets, so spreading the costs around was going to be confusing).

How's your cat doing that had the surgery?

[tlpiper]

Thanks rstowe, shes doing well.Healed real fast and purrs constant,and even getting along with the others better. Guess shes in a better mood with no more pms.

[rstowe]

Glad to hear she's doing well. The pms comment is too funny!

[marg]

I was curious to see how the cat is doing. Could we please have an update.:)

[Tigerkitty]

I've got to say piper your vet sounds horrible. I've never come across a vet that wouldn't work out a payment plan. You obviously ran into one that does it for the money, not for the animals. I'm sorry :(

[tlpiper]

unfortunately my original vet retired and the guy that bought his practice is a good vet but he is definitely more about money.The other vet would always let us make payments.I just took the cat with the pyometra to another local vet because he is cheaper,and he is the only vet that takes Friends of Animals spay/neuter certificates,but with the complications that was a $600.00 price tag.Wonder what it would have been at the expensive vet? In all fairness I can't say all the vets in this area are not reasonable because I have not been to them all(and I think there is 6 of them)but 4 I know do not take payments.Anyway,heres hoping it can get back to being all about the animals welfare and health(yeah,right)

[rstowe]

Too bad most vets (just like human docs) are all about the money and the level of care received is down as well.

[lodylee]

Some People Out There Have Children And Pets And This Age In Time Its Hard To Make Ends Meet So I Dont Think Its Very Fair For Someone To Put Another Person Down Who Cant Afford To Take Their Pet To The Vet... We Do Our Best To Take Care Of Our Animals Because Someone Cant Afford To Take A Pet To The Vet It Sure Dont Make Them A Bad Person And You Have No Business To Put Someone Down Because They Cant Afford A Vet Bill

[jailyha]

I cannot remember the last time I could afford a bill that my cat cost me. So it is silly to say if you cannot afford a pet you shouldn't have one. Kids medical bills are cheaper for crying out loud. Never have I walked out of a vet with less than $500, the majority of people don't have that kind of cash laying around.

Minutel: Do you have a local shelter? The bills of local shelters are alot cheaper than regular vets and typically they will do a little "added" care at no cost. They often don't see it just simply as an industry like other vets do.

Unfortunately any time a cat limps you need to take him to a vet. He might not have a broken leg but he could have a fight abcess ect. Anything could cause an infection in the bone with can lead to amputation or God forbid death. The sooner you take care of it the cheaper it will be for you too. If you love this little guy, (which I don't think you would have joined a forum for answers if you didn't) then you gotta just suck it up and max the credit card. And if you truly can't then he needs a home that can help him.

Whatever you do DO NOT let him outside. And injured cat is serious prey for any other cat, dog, wolf, hawk ect. Keep him in a room.

[corvid]

Minutel
I agree with most posters --that if you AND your family (whoever is living with you) can't take care of any pet properly it should not be part of that household. Maybe if you explain to your dad that pets are like family members and sees your concern he might make some changes. Ask him what he would do if it was you that had a broken leg. Leave you out back to be eaten by ravages because you couldn't fight for yourself?
I see you have a kind heart and would do what you could but it appears you aren't equipped to care for a pet properly. If you have a rescue in your town I would take your cat there where it can receive proper care and into a home that can better handle a pet's needs.

[squashynose]

if you can't afford to properly take care of your pets, you should NOT have them in the first place.:mad:

So then...
Say there's a dog or cat in a shelter that has 1 hour left before it's PTS 'cos it hasn't found a home.
Do you leave it there to die? 'Cos you never know if it'll get ill or injured and cost you any sum of money into the thousands.
Or do you take it, save it from being killed, and give it a life in a loving home, and hope nothing happens?

I have a dog and cat, neither of which are insured. I can afford to feed and house them, get them their shots and medical care. But how do I know that they wont cost me, say, £5000 next year?

Everyone here saying if he can't afford it, get rid... How much exactly is enough to afford a pet?