My kitten is injured!

[DawnMac1984]

My poor kitten is limping and won't put weight on his hind leg. We're hoping it's minor and he'll be ok within the next couple of days. Is there anything I can do to make his life a bit easier? Maybe help him heal a bit faster? I feel bad for him, the poor little guy. :(

[Lyka_01]

feel so sorry about him...I guess full support and care will be ok...that makes him feel better...hope he will get better soon...

[curegal421]

The best way to know if its minor or not is to take him to the vet, he might need x-rays to see if maybe his leg is broken or fractured...cats are really good at hiding when they are in pain so we as humans need to make sure that they are not...I guess you can wait a few days to see if it gets better but im just wondering what if it gets worse...Make sure he is eating and drinking if he is still acting like his usual self then there shouldnt be a problem waiting a few days to see if heals...I wish you best of luck, keep us posted :-)

[uwllv88]

his usual self then there shouldnt be a problem waiting a few days to see if heals...I wish you best of luck, keep us posted :-)[/QUOTE]

Has he been outside or is he strictly indoors? If there is a chance he could have gotten hurt outside I would get him to the vet asap as you need to know if it's broken or not. Does it hurt him when you touch his leg? Is he eating /drinking / eliminating ok?

[special]

I recommend taking him to the vet.

[e1beth1]

Do you know what caused the limping? On an adult cat I would say what a couple of days and so how they are doing but kittens can break leg bones very easily. I would definately suggest a trip to the vet, especially if you don't know exactly what caused it.

[lindsayanng]

actually, just to put this into perspective.. cats do NOT limp unless somerthing is SEVERELY damaged.. and if he isnt even putting ANY pressure on it, there could be a bad break, or something stuck in his foot, like a sliver.

My cat disappeared one day and was gone for two weeks.. someone found her and we brought her home. She looked skinny and ragged, but wasnt limping and was not crying out in pain, so we waiting till monday (the next day) to take her to the vet.

The vet did an xray and saw that her PELVIC BONE WAS SPLIT IN HALF, DETATCHED FROM HER SPINE AND TENDONS WERE THE ONLY THING HOLDER HER BACK END UP.. and she NEVER limped.

Since you cat is showing obvious signs of pain, the best thing to do would be to get to the vet and get an xray to see where the issue is.

I dont mean to sound rude, but did you know it is illegal to not provide veterinary care to an injured animal that is yours? I dont think a lot of people know this, but if an animal under your care is visibly injured, and you see it and do not get it proper care, you COULD have your animal taken away and be fined, and possible jail time..

[MustLuvMutts]

You should take the cat to the vet. It's probably fine to wait a day/24 hours to see if it's improved, but if it doesn't seem 100% normal again, you must take him in. If something is broken, the bones could start to heal, which is VERY bad. The bones will heal that way and he may never be able to use that leg again.

[kyukidojen]

I, like most of the other people who've responded here, believe you need to take your kitten to the vet. They are so good at hiding pain. If you're able to observe signs of pain in this cat, something is definately wrong.

Sometimes people wait because while they wouldn't want to deprive or hurt their animal, they're concerned about the cost of a vet visit. The truth is, the longer you wait to treat an injury, the worse it gets and the more expensive it will be to treat.

Some perspective:
We had a foster cat with a recent spay incision that looked just a little bit... off. Not red or weeping or oozing or bleeding, but a little swollen. It felt a little warm, and she seemed a little uncomfortable. We were told to wait until morning and call for an appointment. We did. The vet the rescue we were fostering for said since she wasn't acting too terribly sick we could drop her off any time and they'd get to her either that night or the next morning. We didn't listen - even though his fee would have been very low or maybe not even there at all. We took her to the vet we use for our own cats. She had a very large abcess forming under her incision. It needed to be drained, she needed antibiotics, fluids, and they had to culture the bacteria to verify what it was. The total cost? $89. Had we waited until that evening, we were told, she would have split her incision open. THe infection would have probably caused her abdomonal wall to split, resulting in evisceration (intestines on the floor, basically). She likely would have died, and if she didn't, would have required surgery and weeks of specialized care. And she didn't seem very sick at ALL.