# Comforting a cat with a broken leg



## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

My cat Cream is 16 years old, so he is hardly a kitten. He is a very healthy cat, right up until his leg got broken. His left hind leg is broken, he is on pain meds, and the cast covers his entire leg. The vet said that he will heal fine, but it will take 6 to 8 weeks. 

Here is the problem, Cream can't walk, can't even stand. The cast probably weighs as much as he does, so he takes two steps and falls over. Naturally he does that whole "Yeah, totally meant to do that! I wanted to sleep right here the whole time!" He can't even use the litter box on his own! He sleeps on puppy training pads on his favorite seat on the couch (he doesn't try to jump down or even walk, so we don't have him confined at all). We give him food and water often, bringing the bowls to him. He lets us know when he needs to use the litter box. 

He has gotten really needy, he cries when someone isn't right next to him, sometimes he needs them touching him. He sleeps between my parents at night, crying when he needs something. We hold him and take him on walks through the house, we take him outside to lay in the sun (highly supervised, since he gets upset when we are more than an arms length away). He really seems to enjoy the walks and the trips outside. 

Is there anything else we can do to make him comfortable or help him figure out how to walk? I know that the only thing that will really help is time, but I just want to do anything I can for the poor guy until he gets this heavy cast off!


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

oh, i'm so sorry to hear that. my cat is sixteen, and it seems like they start getting more complicated. 

i honestly don't know except for maybe a little cart thing they use for paraplegic/amputee pets? there are videos on youtube of them, and you could probably figure out how to make something. as far as litter, i don't know. i'm sorry.  my cat got a bladder infection last week and decided the litter box is evil so she's going on incontinent pads by the toilet. and you can buy the cheapest human ones for much less than the puppy pads. go to allegro medical. you can most likely buy in bulk if you need them for 6-8 weeks.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

oh, poor Cream! Zipper fell down the stairs last year and broke her breast bone. Nothing the vet could do about it except give her morphine for pain. She stayed on an outdoor cushion in the "gym" room where the litter boxes are with her head by the water bowl and food bowl. Missy (my avatar) was so upset about it we let her in to stay with Zip to comfort her. We carried her up and down stairs for weeks after that.

You can buy little wheels from Home Depot or Lowes or any home improvement store and fashion a small cart to set her rump on. She may not take to it though so you must may need to carry her around for awhile until she gets up enough strength to do it herself.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Oh boy, I feel for you and Cream. My 19 yr old cat, Tommy, broke her left hind leg 8 weeks ago yesterday and just got her splint off today! It was a looooong 8 weeks, I'll tell you, and she's still got healing to do. Her orthopedist prefers splints to casts, so that is what he used for Tommy. She was able to walk with it, but she spent about 99% of the last 8 weeks lying down under pieces of furniture to stay out of the traffic lanes of the dogs. As a result, her muscles in that leg are badly atrophied, and her break didn't calcify as much as I'd hoped. If she had been wearing a full cast, instead, I doubt if she could have gotten up or walked on her own, either.

I think it is important for your cat's circulation and for the muscles in his other legs that he be able to move around. Ask your vet if it would be beneficial to help him walk a short distance several times a day by slipping a long sling under his belly (like a wide necktie, maybe). You could then hold both ends of the sling and help support his weight while lifting him to his feet and holding the sling up while he walks. He might even let you take him to the litterbox that way and support him with the sling while he eliminates.

Poor boy. Which pain med is he taking? Tommy needed a low dose of Tramadol for a month after her break.

Laurie


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

We try to help him walk. With our help, he has been able to use the litterbox most of the time. He tries to scoot towards it when he has to go, so we pick him up and help him sit in it without falling over. (he doesn't go very often, but when he does...)

As far as the cart, I think that might freak him out worse at the moment. Next Tuesday, he is going into the vets again, I am hoping that they will swap out the cast for a splint. Originally they thought that they could get away with just a splint. That will hopefully help with the walking.

His medicine is Buprenex, which makes him sleepy. He is happiest after a good long nap. 

I included a picture of him, this is from a few years back. I honestly don't know how old it is, but he doesn't look much different.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Poor little sweetie pie  I hope those weeks go by fast.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

HI Morgan, I agree with laurie about the sling option, it would definitely help with Creams muscles...With animals, just like with us, use it or lose it! I had a broken leg a few years ago and I could'nt wait to be healed, I started clumping around as soon as possible. If Cream is luckey enough to get a splint, keep an eye out for him wanting to chew on it!
Keep us posted and send us a new picture of Cream, cast and all!


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## JungliBillis (Mar 20, 2013)

Awww poor Cream! I hope he recovers well and quickly. What you are doing for him is so sweet. It sounds like he is indulging himself in getting spoiled


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

My ex husband's cat broke his leg. He was in a cast for a LONG time. All we could do was keep him comfortable. 

Li'il Antony was VERY VERY clingy right after it happened as well. He always wanted to be held. 

I didn't know better back then and I probably wouldn't do this now but I used to put a tiny bit of brandy in some warm milk at night to help him sleep. He would zonk out and stay quiet until morning.

We put a gate on the first step to keep him from going upstairs (we worried he'd fall back down).


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

So far, Cream hasn't really shown any interest in the stairs. He scooted away from us after he used the litter box (we changed from regular clay litter to feline pine because the vet said regular litter gets caught in the cast) and he does NOT like it! He scooted towards the stairs, took one look at them, and went "Yeah, I'm just going to lay down now...." He isn't left upstairs without supervision, just incase, but I'm still glad that he hasn't shown much interest in them.

My parents might be ready to put brandy in warm milk for him. This will be the third night that they won't be getting any sleep! Such a needy little kitty


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Oh yeah, for the litter box my brother made a little handicap ramp for him. We tried putting bricks on the outside but he'd fall off the edge so the one my brother made had sides... it was like a little chute he could walk up and then there was a brick on the INSIDE for a step.


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

Good news! Cream is starting to figure out this whole walking thing! He isn't great at it, but he can figure out how to get himself around. He used to whine horribly before it was time for his pain meds, but now he doesn't whine at all. We are still giving him the pain meds in the evening. I think that his ability to walk is related to him not having as many pain meds. The biggest side effect is dizziness, so it makes sense. Naturally, if he appeared to be in pain, we'd go right back to it.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Great news! I think Cream is in good hands! 

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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

*Update on Cream, could be worse!*

Cream (16 year old cat with a broken leg) went back to the vets today for his third check up. They determined that the cast had slipped and they were going to re-cast him, we were supposed to pick him up tomorrow.

When they removed the cast they found that his bone was now sticking out of his skin, and he has an infection. So, they decided that the best thing to do is remove his leg. It simply isn't healing correctly, and the other option would be intensive surgery, he would have pins in his leg, we'd have to keep him confined, and his healing time would take forever. Plus, whenever there would be muscle atrophy to fix. We went through something similar maybe 8 years back with another cat's leg injury. Dressing changes twice daily, irrigating it once a day in the bathtub (he still has Vietnam style flashbacks if you take him near the bathroom!), multiple surgeries to make try to fix the problem...we'd rather not put Cream through that. Duo was still young, and he healed quickly, Cream wouldn't.

So, he is staying at the vets tonight, his surgery will be tomorrow, and then soon we will have a 3 legged cat! He should be coming home either Friday or Saturday, they want him there in case anything should happen. As soon as the incision heals, he'll be back to his old self...except that he might fall over more. :roll: I swear, for a cat, he has never had a sense of balance! At least now he'll have an excuse.

Anyone know any changes we could make that will help him be more comfortable when he comes home? He already has a bed, shallow litter box, and food/water close together so we won't have to walk far from one to the other. How will he scratch his right ear now?


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Poor Cream, to bad this wasn't discovered earlier. ..
But it is amazing how well three legged cats and dogs can get around!
I'm in agreement with you in this case, it would be really hard on him at his age, to try and save the leg...


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

I am so sorry to read that Cream's leg didn't heal. It's going to be more difficult for him to adjust physically to having only one hind leg at his age, since the other hind leg is likely to have some arthritic changes already. It's important that you start giving him a good joint support supplement to keep his other leg joints as healthy and comfortable as possible so that they can take up the slack from the missing leg. The veterinary orthopedic surgeon that I use for my own animals highly recommends the joint support product, Dasuquin, which he feels is the most effective on the market.

It would be best if you NOT provide Cream with aids to help him get up on furniture. He'll be safest staying at ground level from now on. Even if he used ramps or steps to get up on furniture, he may try to jump down on his own, which could put his remaining hind leg at high risk of serious injury. This is especially true since you describe him as not well balanced even with four legs. You can provide everything he needs at ground level, including you sitting on the floor with him, scratching his right ear. ;-)

Laurie


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

He has gotten used to not jumping up on furniture since he had the cast on, so it shouldn't be too difficult for him to get used to staying on the floor. He does enjoy being held, and had enjoyed it when we put him on the sofa while we were sitting there. The most difficult will be him adjusting to life as an indoor kitty. Thankfully we are headed into fall and winter, and he does like to be inside when it is cold out, but he loves to be out when the weather is nice. We've been taking him out as much as we can (supervised, naturally) since he can't run, but I don't know what we'll do after he figures out how to run on three legs! He HATES collars and gets grumpy the moment you put them on, and he likes to lay in the grass, so the cat strollers wouldn't work either. He'll just have to get used to it.

I wish that they had realized it sooner too. The strange thing was, he was really improving this past week. He was getting less grumpy when we touched the leg, like when we picked him up or when we smelled his toes. He was starting to put weight on it when he walked, so he wasn't falling down as much. He was even spending less time randomly crying. (he has always been talkative.) Everything he did seemed to show that he was in less pain, not more. He didn't show signs of being sick. He didn't sleep more than normal, he was eating well, and he was still energetic. When we smelled his toes, they didn't smell great due to a couple of incidents with the litter box, but they didn't smell bad the way the vet said they would if he had an infection. He threw up twice, but considering that he was adjusting to new dry food, getting soft food every day, and a new thyroid medicine, an upset tummy wasn't exactly shocking. That could even have been before the infection.

Overall, I think if he can adjust to having that heavy cast on his leg, he'll figure everything out with 3 legs. My brother's reaction to hearing about the amputation plan "Now I have to teach him to walk, for the third time!" (we picked out Cream when he was still doing the wobbly kitten walk. We spent a lot of time visiting him before he was old enough to leave mom)

I'll post pictures of Cream when he comes back from the vets office. He will NOT be a happy kitty the first few days!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Oh, poor Cream! I hope he recovers quickly and I do think that losing the leg will be easier than dealing with a cast. Poo baby! He needs extra cuddles (gently). He will get used to not jumping on furniture very soon. He may even surprise you and do the jump/hop up there. Our Zipper has arthritis and cannot jump up on just about anything except the lowest ottomans. We have steps that allow her to get up on the bed and the window perch. Steps are awesome for old or disabled pets!!


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

I figure that, as long as we put him on the couch when we are there to pet him and help him back down, he won't get too upset about not being able to hop up on furniture. 

I'm sure he will surprise us at some point. The first night home with the cast, he couldn't even stand or walk, but somehow he got himself on top of a chair! We can't figure out how and he hasn't done it since then (that we know of).


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

Here is my dad holding Cream up for a pretty picture. He isn't too happy with us because we were keeping him from eating! He came home just fine yesterday afternoon. He is getting around better now than he did with the cast on, although he doesn't like walking. He will cry for us to bring him something, but when we don't jump up and scoot his water bowl two feet closer, he gets up and walks over to it! He isn't having any more litter box problems. When he had the cast he couldn't always get far enough in the box and he would pee over the side. Now he is just having trouble figuring out how to dig with his front paws without falling over. Oh, I mean he TOTAllY meant to do that! 

We have a cone of shame for him incase he begins chewing at his stitches, but the vet said that he wasn't bothering them there, and he hasn't even licked them since he has been home. He HATES the cone, so we'll keep it off as long as he keeping away from them. This isn't the first set of stitches he has had, and he has never bothered them before. The only time he has needed a cone was for when he had an injury near his ear and he kept trying to scratch it with his foot.


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## CatMonkeys (Sep 27, 2012)

Poor little guy. Sounds like he's trying to take advantage of the pity care and laziness when he can  Glad to hear he is improving! He's very cute


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Cream is a Trooper! Keep us up to date on his progress! !


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## Andrilla1 (Jul 29, 2013)

So far so good. He's more willing to get up and move around now. It was soooo sad today though. He leaned over and was trying to scratch his right ear! He must be so itchy, and he can't do anything about it!

He also tried to get at his stitches, so now he has to wear his cone of shame whenever we aren't with him. He is NOT happy about that!

Also, he is much cuter when he isn't half bald!


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