# Cat's fracture isn't healing



## dragon2125 (Mar 20, 2005)

I don't know what to do. My cat fractured his upper hind leg about 6 weeks ago and when we took him to the vet they gave us a choice of either a pin or splint. We chose the splint as we couldn't afford to have the pins done. When we took him in today to have the splint removed, they did an x ray and apparently the fracture has not healed, and has in fact gotten worse (almost a complete break now). I don't think that's normal, and even the vet was puzzled by it. Did my vet splint the leg wrong, or does this kind of thing happen often? I have no idea how to proceed with this, I just want my cat to get better. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

The issue with splints is they do allow some movement of the bones if the patient is too active or bumps the area hard. 
What is is the vet recommending now? Pins? An ortho referral?
Did the vet have you keep him restricted to a crate or other small area to protect the splinted area?


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## dragon2125 (Mar 20, 2005)

They never mentioned that we should try to restrict his movement... I guess they figured he wouldn't move a lot. Of course, 2 days after the accident he was trying to chase another of my cats around. We normally keep them apart but the vet suggested this would be a good time for the injured one (the one who attacks the other) to get used to the other cat.
So anyway.... The vet is suggesting pins now, but they want to do a blood test(?!) first to see why he isn't healing. One theory they have is that maybe he's not getting enough calcium... Umm right.. My cat would bankrupt an all you eat buffet, so I don't see it being a calcium issue...
On a side note, apparently every time we took him in to have the bandages/splint changed, they let him walk around without the splint to evaluate his progress.... I personally don't see that helping the situation, but maybe that's just me....
They also mentioned that they're not sure if the pin would work, and that if it doesn't they may have to amputate. Am I dealing with an incompetent vet here?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Poor kitty!


> They never mentioned that we should try to restrict his movement


 8O 
I've never heard of a vet not having you crate the cat for at least a couple of weeks or keep him confined and quiet in some way after a fracture.
I would definitely get a second opinion.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

I'm with nanook on this one.

It would not be unusual for the vet to check weight bearing when they changed the splint. It would be a way to check the healing process without doing an xray.


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## dragon2125 (Mar 20, 2005)

In retrospect it would have made sense to keep him relatively confined for a while.. Strange it was never mentioned. 
As expensive as it is, I'm really thinking of letting them do the pin, at least they said we could arrange some sort of payment plan. Mind you, if they had offered that in the first place, I would have had them do it to start with and it would have saved my cat a lot of discomfort... For now anyway, he has the splint back on.
I'm just really irritated that the vet is puzzled about why it's not healing. It's their JOB to know these things. If I went to the doctor with a fracture, and he didn't know why it wasn't healing.... 
Would anyone go to a guy like that? This is why I'm thinking about having a different vet do the pin. I'm not sure I trust this vet with my cat anymore.....


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## queen of the nile (Aug 16, 2003)

When you say upper leg, do you mean the thigh bone? If so, the reason the fracture has not healed is because a splint will not work properly in that area of the leg. For a splint/cast to work, it has to immobilize the joints above and below the fracture (ie: if the bone in the calf is broken, you must include the knee and ankle in the cast). So for the thigh, you would need to immobilize the hip and knee. There is no way to properly immobilize the hip, so the fracture site is being continually stressed. This prevents the growth of blood vessels, and the fracture fails to heal.

You need to go to a new vet and get this repaired properly, or a potentially less expensive option if you absolutely can't pay for the repair is amputation of the limb.


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## dragon2125 (Mar 20, 2005)

Ok, not that makes sense. The break is above the knee. Why the **** would they even propose a splint as an option if couldn't be done properly?
I need a new vet, and a lawyer I think. Thanks all


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## Tigonie (May 21, 2007)

Oh my goodness! That's awful. Where do you live? Maybe someone has a vet they could recommend.


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## thecatsmother (Apr 13, 2007)

I had a cat that broke his leg he had pins and a rod inserted then they immobilized the leg [strapped it to his tummy] for 4 weeks I have never heard of splinting a break-ok ribs maybe but not legs

Marie


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## MattH (Oct 26, 2005)

I know when Dorn broke his front leg they splinted it...it was a full break too. He healed up great!!! The little stinker actually got the splint off a week before his time was up....I called the vet up and got into his doc right away...we have a special doc we like... anyways..she took dorn in for an x-ray and she said he was ok...and that was that...

he was pretty active also. they gave him a lampshade to wear also so he would not be able to get it off...but i never made him wear it...he looked sooooooo sad with it on..

he just an active boy now...


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