Hello. I have a 3yr male old tabby. I think he hurt his leg this morning. I don't know how, but I did take him to the vet because he was sort of aggressive and then he went to sleep beside me and I tried to move him to see his paw, and he wouldn't wake up. The vet said that all his signs are ok, and there's no sign of a broken bone, but have to keep an eye on him for other kind of strange behaviour. My main concern was if he got sting by something. I just got home from the vet and noticed he's also tearing. Can a cat be in so much pain that he'd actually cry? He behaves as if he was really hurt, but there are no signs of anything, no visible cuts or swelling or temperature... nothing!! He did limp once when he was younger but it was different. He had every possible testing done but ended up spending so much money. It turned out that he had an infection and we treated it and was ok. But the money was sooo much!! Is there anything else I should be concerned about??
I would really appreciate your help.
cat limping and... crying?
Re: cat limping and... crying?
What is he doing that makes you think it's his leg, is he actually limping on it?
What do you mean he wouldn't wake up?
What do you mean by tearing? Do you mean discharge from the eyes or something else?
Did the vet check for bites or abcesses? If not, why?
Any chance kitty fell from something?
Is he allowed outdoors? If so, see a new vet and ask him to check for abcesses, and, keep him strictly Indoors ONLY! If he was allowed outdoors, anything could have happened, so the leg needs to be checked further (for puncture wounds, abcesses, etc)
What do you mean he wouldn't wake up?
What do you mean by tearing? Do you mean discharge from the eyes or something else?
Did the vet check for bites or abcesses? If not, why?
Any chance kitty fell from something?
Is he allowed outdoors? If so, see a new vet and ask him to check for abcesses, and, keep him strictly Indoors ONLY! If he was allowed outdoors, anything could have happened, so the leg needs to be checked further (for puncture wounds, abcesses, etc)
..........Traci
Re: cat limping and... crying?
I'm so sorry - your poor cat. Take him for a second opinion and get an xray asap. I had a cat with an injured tibia - after lots of tests and different opinions from doctors the vet prescribed Prednisone, and I kept him confined to a room where he couldn't jump or run around for two weeks. Please don't leave it - I know it costs money, but imagine the pain your poor cat is in. Please take him for a 2nd opinion asap, and xray may be able to better diagnose any deep damage. I agree that all cats should be indoors only, it's too dangerous outdoors for a kitty.
Re: cat limping and... crying?
Thank you for your replies!! My cat is a strictly indoors, the only place he goes outside the house is with me to the laundry (we live in a triplex) and that's it. It is a bit dirty in that basement and I just noticed there are a few glasses of something that broke. My cat is ok now. The only thing that did frek me out was the fact that when I tried checking his paw after he came to sleep beside me, he was kinda holding his leg (which is normal... I guess), but he seemed sort of rigid in his body. Then I tried lifting his head so he'd wake up, and he wouldn't open his eyes, then I actually tried opening his eyes and he wouldn't let me. I felt him with a lot more muscle tone than normal all over his body, as when he gets really nervous. That lasted for probably 2 min. Then I called my vet right away and went to him. By the time we were about 3 blocks away from the house he started walking again and looking everywhere as he normally does. My vet suggested that it could have been a seizure?? I don't know, he only said to look if he's urinating and defecating ok, drinking and eating, and he looks completely fine to me now. Im a little confused. 
Re: cat limping and... crying?
oh yeah!! and I forgot, to answer your question of crying.... yeah it was actual discharge, but it also lasted probably half hour after we came back from the vet.
Re: cat limping and... crying?
If your vet suspected in the least seizure activity, then get him back for testing RIGHT AWAY. You need to determine his organ function, etc. If this was a seizure and another one occurs, it could be detrimental. Complete bloodwork should be done to determine vital organ function, rule out viral disease, etc. Seizures are NOT to be taken lightly, they are very serious and need to be diagnosed and treated appropriately!! If they are untreated, they will continue to occur, with each one becoming worse and worse, the severity becoming worse, and only proper veterinary treatment can prevent them or lessen the severity. Some seizures can cause coma and even death and if you don't recognize seizures (they can be mild to severe), you're taking chances with kitty's health and life. Get him tested right away.
..........Traci
Re: cat limping and... crying?
[quote="paschat"]I'm so sorry - your poor cat. Take him for a second opinion and get an xray asap. I had a cat with an injured tibia - after lots of tests and different opinions from doctors the vet prescribed Prednisone, and I kept him confined to a room where he couldn't jump or run around for two weeks. Please don't leave it - I know it costs money, but imagine the pain your poor cat is in. Please take him for a 2nd opinion asap, and xray may be able to better diagnose any deep damage. I agree that all cats should be indoors only, it's too dangerous outdoors for a kitty.[/quote]
Hey paschat!! So sorry for your cat!!! I hope he's ok now!!!!
Hey paschat!! So sorry for your cat!!! I hope he's ok now!!!!
Re: cat limping and... crying?
[color=darkblue]Hi Traci. The vet said to just look him closely, which I have been doing. Is there anything characteristic of a seizure that could help me know whether it was or it wasn't a seizure?? Im the only one who saw him. After mentioning that it could've been a seizure he also said he didn't think it was serious and Joey didn't look he just had one. So I sort of felt releived in that sense. [/color]
Re: cat limping and... crying?
The following concerns me:
A typical seizure would involve the following:
Falling suddenly, then thrashing on the floor, kicking paws out or a "swimming or paddling" appearance of the limbs, neck extended back, eyes either open or closed-usually dilated, mouth either open or closed, possibly drooling or froth from the mouth, full body tremors or full body shaking/twitching/spasms (or simply flaccid or rigid muscles with little movement), disorientation, weakness. Any seizure can last a few seconds up to several minutes at a time. The cat may or may not howl or vocalize, usually not. Some seizures occur within seconds or minutes of each other (called "Cluster" seizures). "Petite" seizures are usually of a short-acting nature, lasting only a few seconds or no more than 3 minutes at a time, but can occur again within a few minutes to hours. They may or may not be of a quick recovery, the cat may or may not be disoriented after the seizure. Petite seizures have a slow recovery period and the cat is usually disoriented after the seizure. "Grand mal" seizures are lengthy seizures that last over 3 minutes, are severe, and the cat does not recover easily..a grand mal seizure that does not allow recovery can lead to coma and/or death, although ANY type of seizure can do the same. ALL types of seizures must be attended to immediately by an emergency veterinary visit and treatment because they have the potential to worsen drastically. You should do NOTHING when a cat is seizuring, except toss soft pillows on the floor around the cat to prevent him/her from injuring him/herself from objects or thrashing about and calling/getting to an emergency vet immediately!. Do not handle the cat during a seizure (except for safe and secure transporting in a carrier to the ER vet), because you could do more harm than good, the cat could bite you, fall out of your arms and get seriously hurt, etc)
Some seizures are mild, short acting, but can leave detrimental effects on vital organ function or other system functions. Even if you think a seizure is mild, chances are it can cause considerable damage to kitty's health, and there is ALWAYS the potential another seizure could occur at ANY time. Diagnostics are necessary to pinpoint the cause of the seizure, treat the underlying problem, or, if idiopathic, to treat the seizures, meaning, to prevent them from occuring again. Most seizure patients are treated with medication for life. (unless the underlying cause is identified as an organ disfunction or other problem and treated accordingly).
I'm not exactly sure what you mean. What did he do that lead you to believe he was hurt or in pain? Do you mean that he was listless, not moving, disoriented, or totally incoherent? If so, then yes, it could have been a slight seizure. But, there's a million other things it could have been.algae wrote:He behaves as if he was really hurt, but there are no signs of anything, no visible cuts or swelling or temperature... nothing!!
AND,
I felt him with a lot more muscle tone than normal all over his body, as when he gets really nervous. That lasted for probably 2 min.
A typical seizure would involve the following:
Falling suddenly, then thrashing on the floor, kicking paws out or a "swimming or paddling" appearance of the limbs, neck extended back, eyes either open or closed-usually dilated, mouth either open or closed, possibly drooling or froth from the mouth, full body tremors or full body shaking/twitching/spasms (or simply flaccid or rigid muscles with little movement), disorientation, weakness. Any seizure can last a few seconds up to several minutes at a time. The cat may or may not howl or vocalize, usually not. Some seizures occur within seconds or minutes of each other (called "Cluster" seizures). "Petite" seizures are usually of a short-acting nature, lasting only a few seconds or no more than 3 minutes at a time, but can occur again within a few minutes to hours. They may or may not be of a quick recovery, the cat may or may not be disoriented after the seizure. Petite seizures have a slow recovery period and the cat is usually disoriented after the seizure. "Grand mal" seizures are lengthy seizures that last over 3 minutes, are severe, and the cat does not recover easily..a grand mal seizure that does not allow recovery can lead to coma and/or death, although ANY type of seizure can do the same. ALL types of seizures must be attended to immediately by an emergency veterinary visit and treatment because they have the potential to worsen drastically. You should do NOTHING when a cat is seizuring, except toss soft pillows on the floor around the cat to prevent him/her from injuring him/herself from objects or thrashing about and calling/getting to an emergency vet immediately!. Do not handle the cat during a seizure (except for safe and secure transporting in a carrier to the ER vet), because you could do more harm than good, the cat could bite you, fall out of your arms and get seriously hurt, etc)
Some seizures are mild, short acting, but can leave detrimental effects on vital organ function or other system functions. Even if you think a seizure is mild, chances are it can cause considerable damage to kitty's health, and there is ALWAYS the potential another seizure could occur at ANY time. Diagnostics are necessary to pinpoint the cause of the seizure, treat the underlying problem, or, if idiopathic, to treat the seizures, meaning, to prevent them from occuring again. Most seizure patients are treated with medication for life. (unless the underlying cause is identified as an organ disfunction or other problem and treated accordingly).
..........Traci
Re: cat limping and... crying?
Thanks Traci for the info. Yeah no, this doesn't look like Joey at all!! That seems to be a lot more dramatic. My cat was limping as if hurt in his paw. But he is very veeeery spoiled, so when I tried to check him out because he just kept pulling his leg, so I wasn't able to see if he had something hurting him. When he lied down beside me, he fell asleep, and then I tried pulling his paw to see it, but he was sleeping. When I tried a little harder to get his paw, he kinda held it tightly, and got sort of rigid and still with his eyes closed. Although he did have a very very slight tremor AT THE TIME I touched his paw. Then I started talking to him to let me see his paw closely and sort of cuddling him but he wouldn't open his eyes (sometimes he actually does that), the only difference was that I noticed that his body was kinda tight, as when he gets nervous. Don't know why but it sort of freked me out because I moved him quite strong and didn't want to open his eyes neither. Although he fully trustes me and I can do whatever and sometimes he won't even look at me if he's tired or feels lazy. There was no dissorientation, drooling or padling what so ever. None of the symptoms you mentioned. That's probably why the doctor said he thought it wasn't anything serious but keep an eye on him. If he had another kind of weird behaviour, then take him to the vet again. I will be at home 24/7 for the next week anyway. So if I see anything weird, I'll take him flying!! 