Cat with rear leg cast, Advice please

[abivz]

Hi everyone, my boy Marie recently fractured his back paw, I took him to the vet, got X-Rays the whole ordeal, they told me it was a small fracture but a cast was needed for 6 weeks, now my boy is very frantic! He was still sedated when he came back from the vet but when the anesthesia completely wore off he started going crazy, I'm assuming because he hates the cast, any advice on what I can do for him to get accustomed to it faster? He loves jumping on things (which is how he broke his paw in the first place) and the cast isn't stopping it, I'm worried that by trying to jump everywhere his injury will take longery to heal or will come off, I don't own a crate, will I need to get one? My budget is quite tight because of this sudden occurrence. Thanks in advance!

 

[LTS3]

A large crate would be ideal to keep your cat from trying to climb / jump / etc. A blogger I kind of follow had a similar incident with her cat a few years ago only it was a front leg that was put into a cast. She bought this crate in the largest size ( 42"L x 28"W x 32"H ) https://www.amazon.com/EliteField-Folding-Outdoor-Multiple-Available/dp/B01HKF4ANU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 The picture she posted showed the crate surprisingly roomy:

 

[AmyFluffyMom]

My cat Tiger had a similar injury.His break was really bad and needed pinned. He was still pretty feral adult and I was a first time cat owner. . . He was the neighborhood stray so I took him in when I saw him limping around. I made a crate out of a baby playpen with a sheet secured to the top. (This was way before Amazon.)

 

[ArchyCat]

Could you keep him in a bathroom with his food and litter? For a few days until he acclimates to the cast? Maybe call the vet to see if his activity is any threat to his leg healing? Maybe the vet could provide a mild sedative or tranquilizer to slow him down?

Keep us updated, please!

 

[fionasmom]

Is he meant to be able to walk on the cast? If so, he might calm down and adapt once he wraps his mind around what is going on. Right now something is just stuck on his leg and his instinct is to get it off. The vet needs to help you with the management of this if it becomes too much. He might need mild sedation, especially at the beginning and a crate would be a good idea. Look for a used one that can be cleaned, post on Nextdoor, social media and see if someone can help you. Maybe you can just borrow one and no money will be involved.

 

[abivz]

Hi everyone sorry for the late reply, to answer your questions, he managed to take off his cast and I had to get him to the vet and have another one put in, the vets advised me to not let him move a lot (especially NOT jumping), he should only be walking short distances, he has to be kept in a small space, I managed to get a kiddy playpen, it’s not ideal but a new crate was very expensive and I couldn’t find anyone who could rent me one, the playpen is quite large actually he’s in it right now adjusting to it, I also got prescribed some tranquilizers from the vet for when he’s going crazy, hopefully it all goes well! I’ll attach a pic of the playpen, he turned it over so it looks funny but he looks comfortable!

 

[abivz]

Not sure why it didn’t post with the previous reply but here he is

 

[fionasmom]

The playpen looks very suitable for him. I am a little surprised that he got the cast off and don't see it as anything that you could control. One of my dogs had a full leg cast once and it was absolutely unmoveable and steel belted....even huge canine teeth could not do anything about removing it.

 

[Kieka]

I've had two cats manage to either twist or take off casts. One somehow wedged it in a spot that allowed him to twist it enough that I was worried he damaged his leg futher. The other cat shook his leg so often that he eventually shook it off.

 

[Julester]

I've had two cats manage to either twist or take off casts. One somehow wedged it in a spot that allowed him to twist it enough that I was worried he damaged his leg futher. The other cat shook his leg so often that he eventually shook it off.

What did you do? My cat fractured his growth plate on his rear left leg and is in a cast. Just home from the emergency vet and have to wait a week to see an orthopedic surgeon for a consultation.

 

[Kieka]

What did you do? My cat fractured his growth plate on his rear left leg and is in a cast. Just home from the emergency vet and have to wait a week to see an orthopedic surgeon for a consultation.

With the cats who took off their casts?

The one who shook it off did so very slowly over a few weeks; he would shake it as he walked and that must have slowly losened it. The day it slipped off was the day before he was supposed to have it removed. So for that one we took him to his appointment and let the vet know what happened. Due to the timing, the vet did a visual check and said we were good.

The other cat who twisted his cast. I took him to an ER vet due to the day and time plus it was at a weird angle. The ER vet removed the cast and xrayed everything. They determined the bone had set enough that as long as we continued crate rest he didn't need to replace the cast.