Swollen hip 7yr old male

[Ashanti]

Hi my 7 year old makes hip is pretty swollen in one area and he's also limping. He does put some weight on it. Noticed it about 2 days ago. It doesnt seem to be improving. I've set him up a comfy resting place on my bet with stairs to get up and down food water is near with the litter box on the floor. Vet seems to be closed for the holiday. I've been putting a cold pack on the swollen area a couple times a day for about ten mins wrapped in a cloth. Will call the vet monday if necessary. Any other suggestions? What if anything should I be doing diffrent? I feel terrible that my boy's hurt and I dont know how it happened. He's also indoor only.

 

[fionasmom]

First Aid for Limping Cats

This will give some directives for home care in the meantime. Since he is indoor only, this is a little more of a mystery. Do you have any idea what could have happened inside that caused this, if it is an injury? Since it is not improving, you are doing the right thing to go to the vet with him as home care only goes so far. Please let us know what you find out.

 

[Ashanti]

Thank you. The only thing I can think of is that he went to jump up and missed the mark. Fell off the empty litter bucket he was laying on. Got into a cabinet and knocked things onto himself or landed odd after a jump. As far as I can tell it's likely not broken or dislocated as he moves it some and scratches. But its sore enough that he's hesitant to move around much. I also recall acidentaly bumping his backside a bit and it clearly hurt. I feel horrible about that. He also went to jump to where the food and water usually is shortly after I noticed his hip and he missed hitting the already injured hip. It wasn't a long fall but perhaps it was enough. Anyways I'm doing my best to care for him. I wish I knew exactly what happened. The swollen area is pretty soft he does tolerate me touching it gently. Wish I had a bit of something I could give him for the pain. I'm off to read the article. I'll update as I get info.

 

[fionasmom]

I think that the article says to confine the cat, comfortably, so that he cannot continue to jump or run until you get him to the vet.

 

[Ashanti]

Yes. He's not intrested in running around or jumping right now. He uses the pet stairs to get on and off the bed for the litter box. Otherwise he's laying on my bed sleeping or looking out the window. His food and water are sitting on the window sill so they're within easy reach. He's usually a bit of a lazy cat in the winter.

 

[Ashanti]

Yes. He's not intrested in running around or jumping right now. He uses the pet stairs to get on and off the bed for the litter box. Otherwise he's laying on my bed sleeping or looking out the window. His food and water are sitting on the window sill so they're within easy reach. He's usually a bit of a lazy cat in the winter.

 

[Ashanti]

My boy seems a bit better today swelling on his hip is down a bit I think and he's walking a bit more normally to me. Going to continue to monitor him.

 

[di and bob]

Good idea. After applying ice to bring the swelling down a little, you should begin applying heat. This speeds up the circulation to the area and aids in healing. More ice at this stage would hinder circulation. A heating pad set to the lowest setting and covered with a small fleece blanket would be great. the best would be to get a cat heat pad or bed, usually made by K&H on Amazon and other sites. They use VERY little electricity, I have used them for years and my cats absolutely love them. All the luck!

 

[Ashanti]

I don't have any extra money to buy anything. I do have a heating pad I use that can go from just warm to feeling like its blazing. He tends to get hot easily so I will not be able to do it long and will need to watch him closely when applying heat. Now it feels like his whole hip swelled up. Going to see if there's a number I can call for care advice or if our reg vet will give him a quick look today. He also got up and went to the litter box perhaps that caused more swelling. Could be my mind playing tricks too.

 

[Ashanti]

Also my net may go out for a bit while I get up the money to pay the bill. So if I dont respond to messages or update for a bit that's likely why.

 

[di and bob]

I'm so sorry.....,.Just make sure your heat pad is on LOW, you don't want to hinder healing.

 

[Ashanti]

I'm so sorry.....,.Just make sure your heat pad is on LOW, you don't want to hinder healing.

True.

 

[Ashanti]

Tried a bit of heat on his hip. He seemed to like it and fell asleep. I'm cautious as I'm not sure of his exact injury.

 

[Ashanti]

Ok. We went ahead and got a vet appt for as soon as we could which is Wed. I feel like he should be seen sooner since he's not really getting better at this point. He's saying about the same. But that is what it is. I wish I knew that this wasn't a serious injury that hes hiding like a fracture or dislocation or something. Anyways doing heat in short bursts and crying because I cant do anything else.

 

[fionasmom]

Ask for a cancellation if one comes up at your vet's. Do what you are doing and try to keep him comfortable which you clearly are doing successfully.

One thing I found out about human heating pads....and, yes, I have used them on cats so I am not saying that you need to go out and spend money....is that they do run up the electric bill, so use it for as long as you see fit, then turn it off.

 

[Ashanti]

Ask for a cancellation if one comes up at your vet's. Do what you are doing and try to keep him comfortable which you clearly are doing successfully.

One thing I found out about human heating pads....and, yes, I have used them on cats so I am not saying that you need to go out and spend money....is that they do run up the electric bill, so use it for as long as you see fit, then turn it off.

Mine has an auto shut off of one or two hours. I only use it on him for five or ten mins as he gets too warm otherwise. Yes he's doing ok lounging on my bed being waited on with everthing he needs pretty close to him so he spends a lot of time snoozing.

 

[Ashanti]

My boy. Resting.

 

[Ashanti]

Today my boy seems a bit better he moved his leg when I tickled his toes. Touching his hip directly often get a leave it alone growl in return but not much else granted at the growl I move my hand. I'm concerned about 2 things. He feels very warm and he hasn't pooped since the day before yesterday as far as I know. He's eating wet food well he doesnt want dry starting today and pees a few times a day. The vets office wont open again til Monday but if it's an emergency I can call and they will meet me at the office for a couple hundred dollars plus treatment costs. No idea how I would cover that. So any ideas?

 

[Ashanti]

Today, he's about the same. No poops, he's eating a bit, drinking and getting around about the same. I picked him up to straighten things and clean up a bit, and he was not pleased, he meowed like it hurt, so I put him quickly back down on his bed. He seems okay now. He doesn't feel as warm today as he did, so I think that's good. I'm concerned about the no poops. If he hasn't pooped by tomorrow I'll call the vet when they open for advice as I'm not sure what else to do. I'm hesitant to get him up and moving around with his unknown hip injury even if that would help his constipation.

I wish there was something I else I could do besides a bit of heat therapy food, water lovins and waiting. I'm scared I'm going to lose him in a horrible way right now. I know logically that there's a lowish risk for that, as he seems pretty stable, actually. He'll probably do something shortly that will let me know he's okay right now and will be fine. He's good at that, actually. It's like he knows I'm worried/upset, so he shows me that he's okay.

 

[fionasmom]

You still have the vet appointment on Wednesday? He is peeing enough during the day? If he is inactive and eating less, it might explain the lack of poop, or possibly it is painful for him to stay in that position so he is bypassing trying? Do you think he has a fever which is not out of the question since we don't know the exact injury. I do agree that moving him around might not be a good thing to try without knowing what it might be doing to him.

If I were you, I would call the vet on Monday morning, unless this all takes a downturn and you have to ask for an emergency appointment, and discuss all the symptoms and see if they can fit him in sooner.