Cat - broken leg?

Redpunto

Our cat got out my window, three stories up and after a few hours found him at ground level so he must have had a hard landing. Hes holding his paw up but is managing to put some weight on, id rather not bring him to the vets as we've just forked out €700 on him 2 weeks ago for an operation. ANy ideas - could i try wrapping it up myself and see how he goes?

My name is URL

I'd usually say leave it for a day or two and see if it improves, but 3 stories is a fair drop tbh

Maybe leave it til morning and see how it's doing then. If it's managing to put some weight on it now I doubt it's broken

Take him inside and close your windows =p

Ruby Soho

Seriously, if there's even a chance that he fell from that height, you gotta get him to a vet. If that leg is broken, can you imagine the pain he could be in? You can't just adopt a 'wait and see' attitude to broken limbs. If its not broken, great, then at least the poor creature can be given some pain relief anyway. Have you considered other injuries that may have been caused that may not be so obvious? Like diaphragmatic hernias, pneumothorax, not to mention head injuries? Ive seen many thoracic injuries in cats due to bad falls. Cats are very stoic animals, and unless they're in massive distress they tend to mask the pain, and appear to just get on with it, despite the discomfort.
That's unfortunate that you spend so much money on him recently, but, I'm sorry to sound harsh, welcome to the world of pet ownership. Accidents happen, and you have to be prepared to deal with them.
Don't try to wrap it up yourself unless you know what you're doing, you can cause more harm than good to the injury by doing it incorrectly.

Magenta

Redpunto wrote: »

Our cat got out my window, three stories up and after a few hours found him at ground level so he must have had a hard landing. Hes holding his paw up but is managing to put some weight on, id rather not bring him to the vets as we've just forked out €700 on him 2 weeks ago for an operation. ANy ideas - could i try wrapping it up myself and see how he goes?

Christ, get him to a vet. Aside from the leg he could have internal injuries.

Red_Marauder

Whatever you do don't wrap it yourself, you could aggravate a fracture or cause tissue damage. Unless he is walking on all fours in the morning, take him to your Vet. A five minute consult and a radiograph are not going to be prohibitively expensive - I'm sure you'd feel worse if that 700 euro you just spent ended up being buried by the weekend.

The Sweeper

No choice but vet mate. Rather than the leg, there's a big likelihood he has a broken bottom jaw - it's the second thing to hit the deck after his front paws in a fall. Additionally if he's only two weeks after surgery he could have set his recuperation back considerably.

See if your operation vet will be reasonable and allow you a repayment plan.

Otherwise, guys, anybody got details of free clinics or cheaper clinics that will work out payment plans so Redpunto can get the cat treatment and still eat this month?

Jack B. Badd

After taking him to the vet, invest in pet insurance to cover against any future mishaps.

The Sweeper

A note on pet insurance - talk to your vet before you invest, and see if they're willing to do a procedure knowing the insurance company will pay them, not you. Otherwise you pay for insurance for the year and STILL have to pay the vet bills, then claim it back from the insurance company. As himself says, you can't take knickers off a bare arse - if you don't have 700 quid to pay the up front bill, it doesn't matter how much insurance you have...

pukeymcpukerson

dont be a retard.....bring the cat to the vet!! and then get some insurance.... that way your cat wont have to rely on your judgement when it is clearly in pain... the cat could of fractured it humerus, raduis, ulna or scapula or could of dislocated its forelimb.... and thats not even considering any trauma to the soft tissue and ligaments and tendons which go hand and hand with such a fall...
and as for wrappin the cats leg..... why wud vets go to college for 5 to 7 years if your able to bandage the leg sufficiently yourself? there are certain techniques and materials needed to ensure that a bandage doesnt cause any further trauma to the leg such as too tight and cutting of circulation." withering" of the limb as seen commonly in calves where the farmer thought hed do a diy job .... you could have inadequate pressure or uneven pressure and cause problems with tendons.......
so plz PLZ bring the cat to the vet ......... in all fairness he may not even need an xray but at least some pain relief and i assure you.... if you fell that far down you would want some too..