Rattling sound when purring after being hit by door

[smosmosmo]

I was closing my closet door (which is made of heavy wood) when my cat ran right in front of it - she wasn't hit super hard, but it wasn't really a light blow either. What's worse is that she immediately ran into the other room and started vomiting up some spit, then some food she'd eaten earlier. I gave her a few dry treats and an Inaba Churu after that, but noticed her purring sounded off and had a sort of rattling undertone to it. She doesn't seem in pain when I pet her sides and can walk fine, but her energy level is lower and she'll nip at me if I try to keep petting her. I also noticed her wheezing a bit when getting up.

My anxiety levels are insane right now so I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but she does sound a bit out of breath all of a sudden. Could she be seriously hurt? She got hit on her right side by the door and I'm afraid I caused some sort of internal injury. I'm really worried right now - can anyone offer input on what could be going on?

 

[Norachan]

It could be anything from bruised ribs to broken bones or lung damage. None of us here on TCS are vets and even a vet couldn't tell exactly what is wrong without seeing her.

I suggest you take her to the vet for an exam as soon as you can. If she is injured the sooner you get her to the vet the cheaper and easier it will be to treat her. Injuries become more complicated if left untreated for any length of time.

Can you get her to a vet today?

 

[di and bob]

You could ask for an xray (much cheaper ) than letting them do a CT scan. With the wheezing, if she is not better within one day, I would get her in. That indicates there is SOME kind of damage, most likely a broken/cracked rib which really they cannot do much about, but tell you to try to keep her quiet and give her some pain meds. She could be just bruised, and it is difficult for her to breathe fully, but only a vet could really confirm that. As long as a cat is eating/drinking/using the litterbox, everything is usually OK, a hurt/ sick cat will quit eating and hide away.......

 

[smosmosmo]

Update: It's been about 15 hours since this happened and she's been acting more normal throughout the day. About an hour or two after she was hit with the door, she ate a normal amount of food, drank, peed and pooped. She seemed kind of mad or avoidant last night, but today she's back to soliciting treats, sleeping in her usual spots, running around and yelling (her normal routine). She was kneading in one of her favorite spots earlier and I noticed her purring sounds a lot better. I've been petting her along her sides constantly and she doesn't seem to react negatively to that, either. I was going to take her to emergency vet tomorrow morning if she still seemed unwell, but she seems to be doing a lot better today, thank goodness. I felt horrible after smacking her with that door...

 

[di and bob]

If she is getting back to normal, that is a VERY good sign. She was probably bruised. Make sure she is getting plenty of water. Cats are tough, they bounce back. Any improvement is positive. I'm so glad she is getting better!