Steph's Leg is Bothering Her *UPDATE*

[spacemonkey]

She's developed an off-and-on limp. No apparent cause, nor can we figure out what exactly is bringing on her limping episodes

It's her right hind leg that's the problem: she'll hold it up and refuse to put any pressure on it (no running, climbing, jumping, etc.) But after a short while, her leg is fine, and she's as active as normal. It hasn't kept her from scaling the shelves to the top of the cabinet, or climbing up onto my loft bed.

There have also been two occasions when she stretched her hind leg out behind her, and something looked "off". Like she'd stretch her leg but wouldn't pull it back right away

She's eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, playing, sleeping as usual

I suppose it's possible she had a fall, though none of us witnessed it. She has also been known to jump down from rather high areas, so maybe she landed wrong. It's the fact that it's not constant, which has me most curious.

Owing to the craziness of my schedule, we can't get to the vet until Friday

Please keep my baby girl in your thoughts and prayers, I'm worried about her.

[Lisa 216]

Oh, poor baby!! That happened to Pepper when she was a kitten. We had only had her a few days, and she hadn't had her second round of shots yet. Since she had been orphaned, I was really worried that something serious was wrong.

The good news is that Pepper was OK in a few days. She had probably been flinging herself off the cat tree too many times and caused a sprain. Hopefully, that is the case for Steph also!

Good luck, and let us know how she's doing.

[spacemonkey]

Thanks! We're hoping it's just a sprain as well...

She did the same thing when she was 8 weeks old, but the limp was constant and only lasted 48 hours. The vet said she had probably landed the wrong way, or wrestled too roughly with her littermates.

This time, the limp is infrequent (most of the time she seems fine), yet has been going on for nearly a week. I tried to feel around a little yesterday, to see if there were any particularly sensitive spots, but I couldn't tell if she was wriggling because I bothered the leg, or if she was wriggling because she hates being manhandled

[spacemonkey]

Hasn't gotten any better; she seems to be acting rather stiff and reluctant to run or jump

We have an appointment with the vet on Friday at 2:40

[spacemonkey]

We've been pounded with a Nor'Easter, complete with unplowed roads and white-out conditions - we're not going anywhere.

I had to reschedule Steph's appointment for Monday at 3pm.

She hasn't shown any improvement; still reluctant to run, jump, climb, or wrestle with mom and sister.

The vet's office was just wonderful - They called, left a message at home, and then called me at work to see if I wanted to come in earlier. The receptionist was very concerned about us driving all the way out there, said not to worry about the appointment. They would be there, of course, but it would make her "feel better" if we stayed safe at home

I'm dissapointed that we're going to have to wait even longer. I so appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers, my mommy-heart is breaking for my little one

[Lisa 216]

That's a shame. Yes, the weather is awful, isn't it? The joys of living in New England!!

I'm sorry to hear that Steph is not better. I'll be interested to hear what your vet says. The limping doesn't sound like what you would expect with a sprain.

[RockysMom]

My cat went thru a limping stage when she was younger and I was worried. We kept an eye on her and about a week or so later she was fine. I think she hurt herself jumping off the sink in the bathroom. Now, at 14 she went thru extra stretching of her back legs, limping etc. The vet said it is her age now and she is on msm for cats. AND back to normal yet again. I did read that if they get a injury early they will probably have troubles when they age with their joints. Just like people. Rocky is handling it fine. Better to wait until monday than take Steph out in the storm. I wonder if she hurts more with the bad weather. Stay safe and warm.

[jennifer2]

How old is Steph?
I hope you get some answers from the vet.
Jennifer

[spacemonkey]

Originally Posted by jennifer2

How old is Steph?

She's 1 1/2, not overweight, and has no other health problems. It's almost as if her leg goes out on her. She'll try running and then she stops and refuses to put any pressure on it. Same thing happens when she tries to scale the shelves in my room (designed for the cats to climb on).

To my eye at least, it appears to be a problem with her hip. I would expect something like this in our 16 year old, not a young and otherwise completely healthy cat.

She's been letting us carry her, and normally she hates to be held. That's definitely a sign something is very off.

[jennifer2]

Hopefully she just sprained something.
I'd personally want her xrayed to make sure there weren't any joint problems. It's not as common as in dogs, but cats can get some of those same problems.