Help Please!

[minoucat]

hi
there's a cat i've been taking care of ever since he was little(his mom left it in our back yard)
so he's not always around but he always comes back
and it's the only pet i've ever had so i really don't have that much info about anything
so the thing is the other day i've noticed that one of his legs has swollen up
i didn't know what to do so i just give him food and thought he wouldnt go anywhere since his leg was like that and hoped it'd get better
but later i went back to him and he was gone
2 days later he came back and his leg now is pulled up or something and has big black dots on his paws and this time he wouldnt even come close and he went away again
i'm really worried i don't know whats wrong with him nor what should i do??

 

[mewcatmew]

If the cat is that uncomfortable, would it be possible to bring it to the vet? It is hard to tell what could even possibly be wrong without pictures. Are the black dots growing from the cat, or are they something foreign stuck to the cat? Does it look like an infected wound? Was the cat possibly in a fight or injured? If it is just the leg, I would imagine there is some sort of injury that happened, and a vet probably needs to be seen. It could be broken, infected, or who knows what.

I don't know how friendly you are with the cat, if it is purely a stray and if you can go near the cat or not. I would be scared of predators if the cat was outside during this. If you can get him somewhere safe, that would be the first step. Do you happen to have a picture of the issue?

 

[lilin]

I couldn't even begin to narrow it down for you, but you definitely need to take him to the vet if you're about to entice him. The swelling and loss of functioning is worrying to me.

 

[animallover07]

It sounds like he could have gotten into a fight with another animal. I'd get him into the vet. That is definitely going to be your best option. If he won't let you get close I'd try to get one of those cages that can help you trap a cat, luring them in with food. A lot of people do this with ferals to TNR them. You could call a local shelter and see if they would be willing to let you borrow a live trap just to get him in to be seen. I suspect he is only not wanting you to get close because he is in pain so the live trap may be your best option to help him get in to be seen.