Cat with dead hind paw

outsourced_ire

Hi guys,

Just looking for some advice, or if anyone can share past experiences...

I have a cat who is about 18 months old now. About 6 weeks ago she had to visit the vet due to stomach upset and was there for 3 nights.

When she came home we noticed she was not walking on one of her hind legs properly. It was almost like she had a dead leg. The leg was very flat on the ground. Occasionally when she sits, or even walks, she knuckles over on the paw and just doesn't seem to feel it. This however does cause it to get quite swollen.

The vet reckons there is some nerve damage there. We've had her on tablets, and weekly check ups, but with no real improvement. Has anyone had any experiences with an injury like this?

Renno123

sounds like nerve damage. i had a kitten with nerve damage to her front paw. they do ok on 3 legs. better if a hind leg is missing than a front paw. does the vet know why all of a sudden this happened?
the vet should really investigate this further

outsourced_ire

Renno123 wrote: »

sounds like nerve damage. i had a kitten with nerve damage to her front paw. they do ok on 3 legs. better if a hind leg is missing than a front paw. does the vet know why all of a sudden this happened?
the vet should really investigate this further

He said it may have been from an injection, but doesn't really know. If it was an injection, I could understand how it would happen but that obviously doesn't help us.

She's doing okay on it I guess but isn't nearly as active as she used to be. It's not nice for a still relatively young cat.

How did your kitten fare after ?

anniehoo

Does she have any feeling in the rest of her leg? Has the vet suggested surgery to see if he can repair nerve function? The problem with "useless" limbs on animals is they end up becoming a hindrance to them in the long run and as harsh as it sounds amputation is often the kindest option.

maggiepip

Im so sorry to hear about your cat and sorry again I dont really have any advice to add but if you dont mind me asking how can an injection cause this? Im a bit baffled as I never heard of that before - is it from the actual needle or a reaction to the medicine?

outsourced_ire

maggiepip wrote: »

Im so sorry to hear about your cat and sorry again I dont really have any advice to add but if you dont mind me asking how can an injection cause this? Im a bit baffled as I never heard of that before - is it from the actual needle or a reaction to the medicine?

From the actual needle I think - it could hit a nerve and damage it I suppose. Could see how it could happen to be honest, it's just a pity her recovery is going so slowly.

outsourced_ire

anniehoo wrote: »

Does she have any feeling in the rest of her leg? Has the vet suggested surgery to see if he can repair nerve function? The problem with "useless" limbs on animals is they end up becoming a hindrance to them in the long run and as harsh as it sounds amputation is often the kindest option.

She does have feeling in the upper part of her leg. I actually think it's really just the paw. In saying that she does knuckle over on her paw which causes a bit of swelling so I'm not sure how we'd handle that long term..

maggiepip

outsourced_ire wrote: »

From the actual needle I think - it could hit a nerve and damage it I suppose. Could see how it could happen to be honest, it's just a pity her recovery is going so slowly.

Oh my goodness I didnt know that was possible - gosh thats really unfortunate... I hope she improves for you - just thought of something -did your vet mention physiotherapy? That could possibly help and there are proper animal physiotherapists out there - maybe run that by him/her.

Renno123

outsourced_ire wrote: »

He said it may have been from an injection, but doesn't really know. If it was an injection, I could understand how it would happen but that obviously doesn't help us.

She's doing okay on it I guess but isn't nearly as active as she used to be. It's not nice for a still relatively young cat.

How did your kitten fare after ?

my kitten died on the operating table unfortunately. it was a long complicated story where the kitten was knocked down and i ended up rescuing it and taking charge of vet bills. poor guy was very ill.
however , had he survived i would have no doubt that he would have been a happy kitty

outsourced_ire

maggiepip wrote: »

Oh my goodness I didnt know that was possible - gosh thats really unfortunate... I hope she improves for you - just thought of something -did your vet mention physiotherapy? That could possibly help and there are proper animal physiotherapists out there - maybe run that by him/her.

Yeah I was thinking this as well. I will mention it next week when she is due for her checkup. The muscle in her upper leg (which she can feel) is even feeling smaller/weaker than the other leg. Sigh.

Renno123 wrote: »

my kitten died on the operating table unfortunately. it was a long complicated story where the kitten was knocked down and i ended up rescuing it and taking charge of vet bills. poor guy was very ill.
however , had he survived i would have no doubt that he would have been a happy kitty

Ah I'm sorry to hear that. I've no doubt he would've been very happy