Elder Cat Sudden Limp

[coniferously]

Hello all.
I currently am living with 11 cats, 10 males, all ranging from 1-5 years, and one female, who we believe is about 14 or 15. Give or take a couple years. This post is about her.
Her name is Tidi, first of all.
So the story goes.. last night I was woken up by her screaming. This isn't unusual as the younger boys like to try to play with her, and she won't have it, so this tends to egg the boys on and it can get more rough than I'd like it to be. Anyway, I ran downstairs and rescued her, brought her to my room, and went back to sleep. Well, this morning, I noticed a scratch on her nose; a battle wound from earlier in the night. Not a huge deal, I just felt really bad for her. Well as of an hour or so ago, I noticed her growling more than usual when the other cats weren't super close to her or even when they weren't near her at all. I also noticed she didn't want to move too much, which seems typical for her being an older cat, but the growling was throwing me off. I could sense something wasn't right, and then as soon as she stood up, I saw she wasn't putting any pressure on her hind left leg. She can lift it, it isn't paralysed or anything, but she will not put any pressure on it. She was fine just yesterday and never limps even in the slightest. I carried her back upstairs away from the other cats after I noticed the limp. We have her in the bedroom now with us and the door shut. My boyfriend is buying a heating pad as we speak, in hopes it'll help for the time being. Anyway, I tried to examine her leg, but to no avail. Even the TINIEST touch makes her growl a little bit and she pulls it away. I'm talking like even a tickle and she won't have it. And it's basically her whole "foot" from what I could tell. I wasn't able to make any progress higher up on her leg either so I don't know where the pain starts or ends. Her paw didn't look swollen to me, though, and I didn't see anything in her foot. All my cats are indoor cats so I don't believe she could have anything in her foot like a thorn. She still purrs and wants pets from her dad and reaches her paws out for more when he stops, which is totally normal for her. She has been using the litter box normally and eating normally. I haven't seen her go since we discovered the limp, but that was very recently. She's currently in her favourite drawer resting. She crawled up into it, growling the whole time, but she did it. (It's a large drawer built in to the side of our bed. She crawls in from underneath the bed.)
So yeah, that is my story as of right now. I'm not sure what to make of the situation and don't want to freak out too soon before I have an idea of what's wrong. Could it be a tear of some sort? Any ideas are welcomed.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! She needs to get to the vet as soon as possible. The growling means this is serious major pain she's in.
If you need, there's an article with info for help with vet bills. I'll get the link for you when I'm at a different computer-on my phone now.

 

[coniferously]

Hi! She needs to get to the vet as soon as possible. The growling means this is serious major pain she's in.
If you need, there's an article with info for help with vet bills. I'll get the link for you when I'm at a different computer-on my phone now.

Since we have separated her from the boys the growling has ceased. Unsure if she was just doing it to keep them away or what. She always, ALWAYS growls when she's around any of them. TiDi was found outside by my boyfriend's brother years ago, before I even knew him, she was already declawed and spayed. I don't think she's ever been to the vet since they've found her probably nine years ago. We just adopted her back from his sister less than a year ago, so she's a newer cat to me, but has lived with my boyfriend and his brother previously. I guess my point is she's never been to the vet since probably her first owners and I am somewhat scared to take her seeing as I lost a five year old cat a little over a year ago at the vet due to her anxiety. She basically had a heart attack. And I'm scared it could happen to Tidi, especially with her old age. I'm just at a loss what to do. I don't want to stress her if it isn't anything major. But I also don't want to risk waiting and making things worse.

 

[Furballsmom]

Even the TINIEST touch makes her growl a little bit and she pulls it away. I'm talking like even a tickle and she won't have it. And it's basically her whole "foot" from what I could tell.

That was what got my attention. I so absolutely understand your concerns.

Are you anywhere that has a home-visit vet? Can you call a vet and talk with them about this? She needs to get in anyway, she's in dire need of a checkup and dental.

Try this, besides diffusers and collars, there are sprays, wipes and treats, depending on how broadly and intensely (?) you'd want to extend the benefit of calming products.

Some cats such as my Big Guy are completely unaffected by Feliway, but there are other products with different ingredients such as L-Tryphophan and casein.

Vetri-Science's Composure is one to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has one, Pet Naturals also has one I believe. Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course amazon and chewy, also there's Petwishpros.

There are a couple of current discussions about calming items, here's the link to one thread. Post #6 in this has a link to the second discussion.
Calming Treats?

 

[coniferously]

This is her now. Her top back leg is the one that she's limping on. It seems to be resting on the heating pad a bit. We left the room for a few minutes and came back to find her laying on the heating pad, so cute. It's on a very low heat, so no worries there. I just want to make her comfortable.

 

[coniferously]

That was what got my attention. I so absolutely understand your concerns.

Are you anywhere that has a home-visit vet? Can you call a vet and talk with them about this? She needs to get in anyway, she's in dire need of a checkup and dental.

Try this, besides diffusers and collars, there are sprays, wipes and treats, depending on how broadly and intensely (?) you'd want to extend the benefit of calming products.

Some cats such as my Big Guy are completely unaffected by Feliway, but there are other products with different ingredients such as L-Tryphophan and casein.

Vetri-Science's Composure is one to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has one, Pet Naturals also has one I believe. Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course amazon and chewy, also there's Petwishpros.

There are a couple of current discussions about calming items, here's the link to one thread. Post #6 in this has a link to the second discussion.
Calming Treats?

That's true. We could try to calm her and take her in somewhere. I honestly don't want to take her to my vet because it's a walk-in and they aren't very thorough usually. I wouldn't want to go in and they just throw pills at us so we leave sooner. They're very reasonably priced and great for neutering and spaying, but I've been pretty unsatisfied with their feedback for when my cats have been sick. But yeah I'm watching her breathing and she seems to be breathing normal. She's not crying or anything. When she limps around she isn't crying or growling. Is there any chance she might have just hurt herself trying to run away from the boys? Like tore something? It's just so strange that it suddenly happened. As I said, she's never limped before. She jumps well for her age, she's lovable and sweet and craves attention, eats normal, potties normal. It's just so weird.

 

[Furballsmom]

A really bad twist while trying to get away,? Poor baby, and a scratched nose too...what a sweetheart!! I love the photo, thank you for posting it!
I'm wondering if diffusers might help calm your population of felines down, or separate her to give her a break.

 

[coniferously]

A really bad twist while trying to get away,? Poor baby, and a scratched nose too...

I wish it was JUST a scratched nose. I am hoping it is just an injury from something like that though. I don't want it to be more serious, obviously. I just want her to be comfortable and hopefully show signs of getting better. Of course my bedroom door doesn't actually shut properly so we have to barricade ourselves in here so the boys don't barge in. Needless to say they are being very annoying at the door right now. I just don't know how I'm going to go about keeping the door shut when we leave for work tomorrow. We have a second room that does close, but she likes it in our room so much better, and again, I want to keep her comfortable. She seems to be moving her hip fine, like her joint up at the very top, it seems just her back foot is bothering her. I wish she would lay on her other side too, because as of right now she has her right leg on the heating pad and the left one is just up.

 

[Furballsmom]

What a crew, the boys! ...a bungee cord or something?

 

[coniferously]

What a crew, the boys! ...a bungee cord or something?

Hahah. It is quite a crew, let me tell ya.. and we don't have a bungee cord. We do, however, have a laundry basket full of clean clothes in front of the door. A bungee cord would help though. So we could keep it closed from the outside. However I have a bunch of way too smart cats.. they'd end up undoing it somehow.

 

[coniferously]

She ate a little bit of her food. She at least made an effort. However she won't get up to eat. I had to lay the kibble in front of her. And she is growling quite a bit when she tries to stand or change positions. She heard the heat come on and she always lays in front of the register, so she tried to leave the heating pad to go towards the register and she kept growling and then decided to stay put. I'm at such a loss.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh I'm sorry!! Yeah, she needs to be seen by a vet, this isn't good.

 

[coniferously]

Oh I'm sorry!! Yeah, she needs to be seen by a vet, this isn't good.

Like emergency clinic? I'm at work until 2pm tomorrow. Should I not go in? I think we have to make appointments at other vets that aren't walk-in, so I don't know how soon we could get her in there I know when we took my cat Theodore to the emergency vet for a 106 fever, we waited so long in the room and I know they know what they're doing but it still scares me when they take them away and all that. I'm just scared of what they'll say. I hate this, I'm shaking so much.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh hon I'm truly sorry this is so stressful for you! But, yes, as soon as you can, her not wanting to move to the heat is a really big concern.

 

[coniferously]

She just got up out of her bed/heating pad and sounds like she's in the litter box now. I hear no growling or crying. That's a good sign at least.. I hope. I hear her digging around at the moment. Still no growls. And now it seems she has crawled back into the drawer on the side of the bed. I'm just going to let her rest and see how she is in the morning. I don't wanna bother her anymore.

 

[Furballsmom]

Whew!! ...good point. Sending loads of good wishes and hugs!!

 

[epona]

I'm sorry, one of my cats has arthritis, I think it's important to have a vet evaluate what is going on with your kitty, in case some treatment is needed. Best of luck

 

[coniferously]

So update on Tidi.
We have not taken her to the vet because she is on the mend indefinitely. My sweet angel is able to walk and jump now and is walking to her bowl to eat. She isn't holding her leg up anymore when she walks. This morning she was limping a bit, not holding it up at all, just limping, and now my boyfriend said she seems to be walking entirely normal. We are going to keep her secluded for a couple more days, despite her wanting out so bad. She basically spent two days resting in a memory foam cat bed atop of a heating pad on a low setting. I'm not sure what helped her but she has made a complete turnaround and I couldn't be more thrilled. She still has some healing to do but I definitely expect a full recovery within the next few days

 

[Furballsmom]

Thanks for the update!