Cat fell 5ish stories.

BKtje

Hi folks, just looking for some advice.

My 11month old kitten just fell off the roof of our apartment building onto the lawn below (5ish stories). She appears to be alright physically for the most part as she is walking around and even jumped out of my arms. There was some minimal bleeding around the tail/leg area (not sure exactly from where) but apart from that a visual once over shows nothing out of the ordinary and all limbs seem to move normally without visible pain.

Not surprisingly she's a bit shell shocked and very quiet and refusing to eat and ignores attempts at playing from the other kitten. All normal enough I guess after such an event.

What has me slightly worried is that when I brought her up to the apartment she immediately went to the litter box and did her business (which I checked for blood, all clear). She now returns to the litter box every so often and tries to go and then gives up after a few seconds and walks off but will usually return to try again within 30 minutes. Is this something I should be worried about?

I'm at home tomorrow so plan to survey her but am wondering if that could be something serious? I'd planned to give the vet a shout in the morning but am wondering if I should find one that answers the phone this evening (already after 10pm here). I'm not too concerned as she seems normal enough but I wonder about internal damage.

Any opinions advice highly appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: I realise any advice/comments supplied will not be very accurate since no one can examine her but just looking for general opinions really.

Stheno

I'd be contacting a vet asap

Nody

Definitely take her to the vet in the morning directly rather then calling them and I'd suggest one with xray capability; cats are good at hiding their real pain and the fact she continues trying to go indicates that most likely something is wrong. My friend's cat done the same fall twice (don't ask...) and ended up with bone fragments that had to be removed and lost several teeth months later due to the fall to to damage to the jaw bone (landed on feet).

BKtje

Alright cheers folks, I'll start making some calls and hope one answers the phone.

VonVix

I wouldn't speculate if she's okay or not to be honest, especially as we're a bunch of Joe Soap's on the internet there's only so much we could say without seeing the cat face-to-face and physically examining her.

Cats have a great knack for hiding how they feel. I'd be taking her to the vet first thing.

Pumpkinseeds

I'd be straight to the vet. Maybe it'd be a good idea to fast her in case she needs any surgery. As everyone has said, cats are excellent at hiding pain until it's at crisis point. I hope all goes well.

Pumpkinseeds

Any news on puss today? Fingers crossed all goes well.

BKtje

Have an appointment later today. She "seems" ok. While rubbing her she went on her back so I could rub her belly like normal. Also let me rub her limbs etc without and visual discomfort. She's still very silent but did purr a little earlier.

She's also alert and watches flies etc (though should would have been yammering and chasing them before). She's very lethargic though, hopefully it's just from shock still and nothing more serious. Hopefully vet can allay fears!

Thanks again folks for concern and advice.

BKtje

Just back from the vet and got the all clear. Nothing broken nor any sign of internal injuries. Got some pain killers for next two days but all looks good. Just have to ensure that she drinks and eats properly.

Thanks again all, much relieved! Now to fix how she got out!

Pumpkinseeds

That's brilliant news.

youtube!

Cats are bloody amazing creatures, I mean 5 floors and no damage, Incredible reflexes!

endacl

youtube! wrote: »

Cats are bloody amazing creatures, I mean 5 floors and no damage, Incredible reflexes!

More elastic tendons, low body weight, and well sprung joints.

CaoimheSquee

Cats are bloomin' amazing!

RainyDay

That's one of the nine down so. Great to hear that she's OK.

Bruthal

youtube! wrote: »

Cats are bloody amazing creatures, I mean 5 floors and no damage, Incredible reflexes!

Not so much fast reflexes that s needed for fall protection, but they have a great reflex action of righting themselves so they land feet first.

They splay their legs which combined with low bodyweight, slows their fall somewhat. Spring like, shock absorbing legs. Most survive falls from good heights even onto concrete, that would easily kill us, dogs etc. A fall onto grass and they are often unharmed. Overweight cats probably don`t fare as well though.

aonb

As a person new to cats, very interested to read here that cats are good at hiding pain. I hadnt known that. I do know that hens too conceal illness. The differences between cats/dogs is fascinating - do most dogs SHOW pain/injuries (to their owners) - or have I always owned wimpy dogs??

VonVix

aonb wrote: »

As a person new to cats, very interested to read here that cats are good at hiding pain. I hadnt known that. I do know that hens too conceal illness. The differences between cats/dogs is fascinating - do most dogs SHOW pain/injuries (to their owners) - or have I always owned wimpy dogs??

With dogs it's in part a personality thing, I think. A dog (labrador) belonging to a friend of mine got a nasty large cut on his side after slipping and hitting a sharp edge, he needed staples, but when it happened there wasn't a peep out of him, still running and acting the maggot.

On the flip side there's a Cocker Poodle mix I know who will screech his head off if you so much as bump into him too harshly. I think it's also a matter of knowing what your dog is like and how they handle themselves.

Cats are generally silent/relaxed creatures, so it can be hard to spot the minor personality changes that may occur due to pain or any other particular issue.

Pumpkinseeds

aonb wrote: »

As a person new to cats, very interested to read here that cats are good at hiding pain. I hadnt known that. I do know that hens too conceal illness. The differences between cats/dogs is fascinating - do most dogs SHOW pain/injuries (to their owners) - or have I always owned wimpy dogs??

It's in a cats nature to hide pain, to protect themselves from predators I suppose. A few years ago we used to have a bed at the top of the stairs for Felix, he loved it there. Long story short, he was spending lots of time there and we didn't think much of it, until he stopped eating. Took him to the vet and his temperature was so high the vet said we could have lost him if we'd left it another 12 hours or so. That day the basket got moved downstairs and I always err on the side of paranoia if I think anything is off with any of our 4. We'd no idea he was really sick.

aonb

This is why I was so pleased to learn on here that cats tend to HIDE pain/injuries. I usually know when my dogs are in pain/ill/trouble. My dogs will come to me if there is a thorn in their paw - holding it for me to fix - Pepper used to come to me flicking his tongue at me when he had gristle stuck in his front teeth, to wrench it out - my young dog was going nuts with gristle from a bone stuck in his teeth & let me open his jaws last night, to do the same thing - and gobbled the bit of gristle so quick he could have taken my fingers with it He was so happy afterwards, and jumped all over me saying thanks!!!! I have a lot to learn when it comes to Tux... she gets into habits so quickly - this week, Ive been going back to bed for a few mins with a cuppa cos hubby going early to work, she jumps in the bedroom window & lies on my chest rumbling under the duvet - soon as his car pulls out

Cuddlesworth

Your actually pretty lucky he's a kitten and fell from such a large height. 2-3 stories would probably have done far more damage to him.

Bandana boy

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Your actually pretty lucky he's a kitten and fell from such a large height. 2-3 stories would probably have done far more damage to him.

Eh
He did fall from both 3 and 2 stories on his way down from the 5th !

BKtje

It was actually 4 and a half as the roof slopes down and the ground is slightly higher where she landed

Few days on and she's as happy as she's always been. She's as thick as two planks though but oh so cute because of it

Dord

My kitten fell 4 stories a few months ago. I think he was 11 mths at the time.

The only damage was a claw that got broken as he tried to grab on when he fell. Otherwise he was mostly just winded and shaken up. Brought him to the vet and he stayed overnight to make sure everything was OK.

Most painful part was the vet bill. :pac:

Aglomerado

Dord wrote: »

My kitten fell 4 stories a few months ago. I think he was 11 mths at the time.

The only damage was a claw that got broken as he tried to grab on when he fell. Otherwise he was mostly just winded and shaken up. Brought him to the vet and he stayed overnight to make sure everything was OK.

Most painful part was the vet bill. :pac:

That was really lucky. I had a scare when my cat fell from a second storey window back in April.
She fell onto concrete and dislocated a hip! Thankfully no surgery needed as 6 weeks' cage rest helped her to form a "false joint".

She's grand now racing me up and down the stairs. But I notice she's not able to scratch behind her left ear as well as she had been.

Vet bill the worst part...for the xrays alone!

alibab

Cats hide it so well . My girl had a perforated abdomen and pus in her stomach a few months back she got attacked by a another cat and she was small and skinny I was standing there happened so quick . Only for went off her food was acting normal but also a bit lethargic.

It was only when went to vet he thought a simple absess buy when he opened her got a shock and needed major surgery and a drain in situ for a week etc. She used 5 of her nine lives . Lucky to be alive .

Still didn't learn her lesson and goes looking for trouble but is learning now and only stays in her own garden

RainyDay

Aglomerado wrote: »

But I notice she's not able to scratch behind her left ear as well as she had been.

As your punishment for putting her into a cage for six weeks, it is now your job to scratch behind her left hear on demand in perpetuity.

Aglomerado

RainyDay wrote: »

As your punishment for putting her into a cage for six weeks, it is now your job to scratch behind her left hear on demand in perpetuity.

Have done so!
I am a willing slave!

Shivi111

aonb wrote: »

This is why I was so pleased to learn on here that cats tend to HIDE pain/injuries.

They do hide pain/injuries very well, but be warned, they can also be very, very clever about them!
My girl hurt her back leg a few month ago, vet said a muscle strain and all would be okay. I felt so sorry for her limping around that I kept giving her treats. After a couple of weeks I was worried that the limping hadn't gone away, until my sister noticed that she was walking absolutely perfectly until I came in, at which point she would limp over to me, look pathetic and be rewarded with treats. Big faker.