Cat Went Missing Over 24 Hours, Came Home With Injuries But Not Sure If He Needs A Vet?

[amylouisem]

Hi everyone! So as the title says, my boy Binx went missing. It was very out of character for him as he is very need and glued to my side, he only ever leaves the house for a quick toilet trip and comes back in.

We last saw him on Tuesday night around 8pm, I woke the next day and he wasn’t there which was strange. Then long story short he didn’t return home until around 5am on Thursday morning when I woke up and he was on the end of the bed asleep. Great! I thought however once the sun had come up I could see that a chunk of fur was missing from his top lip and it was all sore, further inspection showed he has also chipped a fang, only off the tip. Further to that, he was weak on his back legs and didn’t do much walking however no visible injury.

Two days later, he is eating, drinking, having the occasional little wander to a different spot and even nipped out to go to the toilet. His lip has scanned over and appears to be flaking. However, when he does walk he’s very easy on his legs and sits down quickly after a little walk, he’s also sleeping/moping ALOT and is not his usual self. For a vocal and cuddly cat, he’s being very quiet, to himself and sleeping tucked behind doors or in blankets.

No my question is, so I need to see a vet? My partner says he could just be in shock, he’s just resting etc. We will never know what’s happened to him. I don’t think a cat fight could cause his tooth to break so we think he’s either been clipped by something or he’s fallen from a height? The fact he is walking makes my partner think it’s nothing too serious, he said if we fell and landed on our leg we’d be sore and want to rest - so Binx would as well! I personally want to take him to the vets.

Just looking for a second, third and so on opinion on the matter! Sorry for such a long post! Thanks everyone!

 

[Kitty Mommy]

Personally, I would take him to the vet. Its possible the injuries are minor but cats are good at hiding serious injuries. I think it would take a pretty hard whack to chip a tooth. I hope he is doing okay.

 

[duckpond]

I would take him to the vet. Cats are masters at hiding injuries and pain. Plus with the chipped tooth, depending on how bad it is the vet may need to do something. I vote please have the vet give him a check. best of luck, and keep us updated.

 

[di and bob]

After two days the point is moot unless he gets worse. The only way a tooth can get chipped is a run in with a car or someone kicked him, both very bad scenarios. As long as he is peeing, pooping, eating and drinking, he should be fine. Check his stools and make sure there is no blood in it, it would show up as black. If he continues to do a little better each day, he should be fine. Try to keep him strictly in the house unless you are out there watching him. Whatever happened it can happen again, you are extremely blessed to have him come home.

 

[amylouisem]

After two days the point is moot unless he gets worse. The only way a tooth can get chipped is a run in with a car or someone kicked him, both very bad scenarios. As long as he is peeing, pooping, eating and drinking, he should be fine. Check his stools and make sure there is no blood in it, it would show up as black. If he continues to do a little better each day, he should be fine. Try to keep him strictly in the house unless you are out there watching him. Whatever happened it can happen again, you are extremely blessed to have him come home.

This is what I’m worried about and it breaks my heart that somebody could have done this to him or he’s been clipped by a car, it doesn’t bear thinking about. I will keep an eye on him, if he hasn’t perked up I will get him checked over when the vet opens for normal appointments. I agree I really am, thank you for your reply

 

[amylouisem]

I would take him to the vet. Cats are masters at hiding injuries and pain. Plus with the chipped tooth, depending on how bad it is the vet may need to do something. I vote please have the vet give him a check. best of luck, and keep us updated.

Thank for your your reply, I am going to wait until Monday rather than get an emergency appointment out of hours which somebody else may need and try to get an appointment then. I’ll post back once we have been.

 

[amylouisem]

Personally, I would take him to the vet. Its possible the injuries are minor but cats are good at hiding serious injuries. I think it would take a pretty hard whack to chip a tooth. I hope he is doing okay.

I am going to get him in on Monday, I don’t want to take up an emergency appointment that somebody else may need. As he is doing mostly okay at the moment other than being a little quiet I think we will be ok to wait. Thank you and thanks for your reply.

 

[sabrinah]

If the chip isn't high up on the tooth I wouldn't be too concerned about it. My cat chipped an incisor many years ago (She was indoor/outdoor for about 11 years, strictly indoor for the past 3 years) and since I was a minor (I've had her since I was 7) I had no say in her going to the vet. My dad is a firm believer in cats not going to the vet. Her tooth is still fine and she has seen multiple vets, none of which find it concerning since the break isn't high up and the tooth is in fairly good shape. She also somehow survived getting a large wound in her side that got infected. I had to hold her down while my dad squeezed puss out of it, yet she still wasn't allowed to go to the vet... Needless to say, she's very familiar with going to the vet now that I have control over it. Anyways, my point is they can make it through a lot. I would just try to clean the lip up a bit and try to get a look at how high the break on the tooth is so you're mentally prepared if the vet recommends surgery to get it removed. That stuff isn't cheap.

 

[Kieka]

I know you already are, but another vote for vet. If it was something that hurt and disoriented him enough to come home days later it deserves a health check and maybe x-rays. My boy did the same but he broke a leg so that's where my thoughts come from. My boy also now has a curfew and wears a GPS tracker, can we say over compensation? I know, but after a fight resulting in surgery and a broken leg a month after I think it is allowed.

 

[cheesycats]

These are the dangers of outside. It is a very real possibility that a cat can loose it a life outside in the blink of an eye. It took my female cat being gone one single night for the first time and she came back with one of her legs almost ripped off. Long story short it was one single time that costed me 3000$. I really don’t advocate for outdoor cats to any extent. If he’s only going out to potty get a cat box and keep him inside. There is no reason to let a cat go outside in my opinion. There are plenty of ways to enrich a cats indoor environment. It’s really just a danger to their life (and other animals that are outside that are being hunted and killed them your cat) and nothing more. Take him to the vet have him looked at and stop letting him go outside and he will live a much longer healthier life.

 

[laura mae]

Have the vet do an x-ray. If your cat was kicked or hit by a car there could be broken bones. The part of your post where you note his quickness to sit right back down after walking is something I'd be more concerned about than the chipped tooth.

We were feeding a stray so he would not hunt the bird feeder. He was gone for several days and came back with what seemed like a sprained leg. He had a fractured pelvis. It wasn't at all apparent it was something so serious. It turns out that cats have amazing muscle structure around their pelvis and even though it seemed extraordinarily bad to my regular vet, the specialist he saw felt that it was a self-heal situation. He had to be kept in a bedroom for 6 weeks and not with anything to jump on, litter close by and food dish not far away. He healed pretty well but still has a funny gait and prone to constipation.