Can someone please give me advice.....injured kitten!

It looks a bit swollen, the doc wouldn't really set it until the swelling went down. Just keep it drinking water and immobilized until your vet gets back,

reply to post by SkyWatcher13

First of all,no matter how good your intentions are,please do not try and splint your Kitten's leg yourself,there may be complications such as damaged ligaments,floating bone splinters etc,it is VITAL that you have a veterinarian asses the injury,I understand that you may have financial difficulties and wish to have your own vet attend to your Kitten,but in the event of an accident like this,the Kitten needs to be attended to ASAP as they can go downhill very very rapidly indeed,even if the Kitten does not seem to be in distress and appears to be eating and drinking OK,this can change literally from minute to minute,if there are no pet aid organisations in your area whom you could contact for help and you really have to wait for your own vet,then you will really need to stay with the kitten constantly until you can get her to your vet,but really she would benefit from treatment now.

PS if she is purring alot,that can be an indication of a cat in great pain,purring isn't just reserved for when a cat is happy and content.

reply to post by Night Star


Thank you. I appreciate you thinking of us. And that's ok about the money. I wasn't expecting money anyway when I started this thread, just advice and reassuring words. And I got both so I'm happy.

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by SkyWatcher13

 

U2U me.

If you still need 100 bucks I'll call the vet and give it to them. (My credit card)

Way to go Beez!

Star for a truly nice person!

Wish I could be of more assistance in some way but I'm "between jobs" just now & live in NZ.

Still, thumbs up to you.

reply to post by nake13


I'm not going to splint her leg. I have already figured out that it's too risky. I am taking her to the vet first thing in the morning. She seems to be doing better as each hour passes. She is eating and drinking very well and using the bathroom normally. And she even got up to try to chase a bug, although she gave up on that mission pretty quickly. But I can tell she is becoming more lively, a lot more than she was this morning. The best I can tell, she is only purring when I pet and lay with her.

I do fully understand that taking her as part of my family, she became my sole responsibility and under normal circumstances I would have had her at the vet immediately. But we just moved last week, actually I'm still getting settled in my new house, and it costs so much to move....rent, deposit, water & electric changed over, plus all the other little moving expenses...basically it drained me of all of my money. And none of the vet offices that were open today would accept a payment plan or a post dated check.

Thank you so much for your advice.

reply to post by SkyWatcher13

I'm so glad that she is doing well,hopefully she will just need minor attention when she gets to see your vet,but,to add to what Beezer has graciously already said,if money is a problem,don't hesitate to ask I would be more than willing to help out should your kitten need it.

reply to post by SkyWatcher13

Normally I would be mad that an animal is not getting needed treatment,but in this case knowing the circumstances I would say that as long as the kitten is eating and drinking well, she should be fine until you can get her to your vet.Good luck.

My advice is take her to the vet in the morning. As far as the pain maybe try orajell. She'll be fine till the morning. Hope everything works out well! Keep us updated!

reply to post by SkyWatcher13


As long as you are reassured, I think waiting is for the best.
Your baby is resting and doing what animals do when they are hurt.
She will feel more confident and comfortable with a familiar doctor.

Our regular vet's office has a nights and weekends setup in an adjoining building.
We ended up taking our girl there...cannot remember the reason...but the over-night vet was not the most confidence-inspiring, shall we say.
Tried to give me medicine I knew wasn't right for our dog. Thankfully, our regular vet happened to be coming on duty and we waited for him to start his shift.
But, the bill was almost double what it would have normally been.

Positive thoughts for your kittens speedy recovery

Beezer that was a friggin awesome gesture. To the OP dont sweat it too much the cat should be fine. Often animals in the wild break their legs and survive in harsh conditions so a kitten resting at home should be cool.

reply to post by Dimithae


Believe me, I'm mad enough at myself for not being able to get her the treatment she has needed since last night. This incident has taught me a valuable lesson....I'm going to start a pet fund either at my bank or get pet insurance or both.

Just a little back story, I rescued Loli and her sister, Maya, (same litter) from an irresponsible cat owner and found good homes for the remaining 3 kittens from the litter. I original plan was to only take in 1 (which is Maya) and find homes for the remaining 5 (momma cat included) but when I couldn't find a home for Loli, I took her also. The owner of the momma cat was my next door neighbor at the house I just moved out of and he was going to drop the kittens off somewhere....UGGGHHHHH!!! But momma cat and all of her kittens have new homes now. But I do feel awful that I rescued her and now she's suffering in my care. It was definitely not how I intended things to be. When I first took Maya and Loli, I took them to the vet for their shots, then two weeks later I took both of them to be spayed.

Not trying to get an award here, just letting you know that I am a good & responsible pet owner. I love my kitties! And I know you weren't implying anything negative by what you said, but I did want you to know how I came to have my injured kitty in the first place.

reply to post by salmoneggs


Yep Beezer rocks!

And thank you for reassuring me.

Tomorrow morning can't get here fast enough!

Another update, Loli is laying down now but just about an hour ago she took a long stroll around the house, sniffing of boxes and other stuff that still needs to be organized in the new house. Although she's limping, she's really getting around very well.

I know things are tight everywhere, but if you can't afford $100 for a vet appointment, you need to start a savings envelope and put $20 in it every month, because your cat won't be in perfect health its whole life, and you will need to see the vet once in a while, on top of your yearly visits. Plan ahead so kitty doesn't suffer.

Cats are great at hiding their pain, don't forget, its a survival instinct for them. She's probably in more pain than she lets on.

Sorry to hear your kitty was hurt but glad she seems to be coping well. I have 4 cats myself. We keep them indoor at all times. I couldn't imagine how it would feel for a family member to be hit by a car. Have you given it some thought as to making her an inside cat from now on? That would be the safest for her and cats do tend to live a lot longer when indoor only. Please keep us posted on how she is doing. I'll say a prayer for her and you :-)

reply to post by SkyWatcher13


I did not read all of the replies.But i had a cat who was hit by a car a few years ago, her leg was broken in 2 places, we tried to put a splint on but she did not like it at all. Withing 3 or 4 days she was getting around the house just fine. After about 2 weeks she was back to running all over and now you would never even know that her leg had ever been broken. This was at least 3 years ago and we still have the cat and we love her very much!

And BTW she does not go near the road anymore

reply to post by SkyWatcher13


You're very welcome...please keep us updated on how she does, every day if you can! I have my fingers all crossed for her at the vets, and I would totally agree that a little pet fund and pet insurance is the best way to go, and speaking from experience, do both as soon as you can, and read the small print on the insurance. That can make a huge difference on what's covered and what isn't. Not all policies are the same by a long way. My beloved GSD who died in April wasn't covered by his insurance, because it was a new policy that hadn't reached the end of the exclusion period when he was diagnosed, so I had to fund all his vet bills, and they ran into thousands. ( I missed the cut off date by just a few days) Not that I grudge a single penny of it, but it would have made life a whole lot less stressful if he had been covered. Hopefully you will never have to dip into it for another emergency like this one.


Cait x

reply to post by caitlinfae


I agree...plenty of update photo's and letting us know how the little darling is doing as we all love a get well story where the little guy/gal wins

Sorry I didn't update everyone yesterday....it was a very busy and stressful day. Loli did see a vet, but still not her regular vet. I'm assuming our regular vet is on vacation or something because he has not been in the office, isn't answering his phone at the office or home, and hasn't returned my calls. Kind of strange, but I'm just glad I was finally able to take her somewhere affordable yesterday. The exam, xray, pain medicine injection, and a bring home prescription for Tramadol all totaled $85, where the weekend emergency vets wanted $100 just to examine her, $150 for xrays, and then who knows how much for anything else they might have done.

The bad news is, she has to have surgery. Her femur is completely detached from the knee joint! I'm adding a picture of her xray that I snapped with my phone while I was there. This obviously can't be corrected by setting the bone and a cast. She has to have a pin put in to hold the bones together. I am completely devastated and heartbroken. I cried through the last half of the vet visit. My 8 year old son was with me yesterday because he had a dentist appointment after Loli's vet visit and he cried too. We were a mess. We still are. My hands are shaking as I'm typing this.



Here's more bad news....if my regular vet doesn't come back this week I will have to pay in full for the surgery at the vet I took her to because we're not regular patients, this was her first visit there. But the vet said she needs it done this week, preferably in the next day or two. And cage rest in the meantime. The total of the surgery is somewhere between $380-425. The vet was very sweet and caring and understanding, but she said she just doesn't do payment plans for new patients. I think that price is very reasonable, but I have never had any of my animals that needed surgery before so I have nothing to compare it to. But that includes everything, anesthesia, and even the follow up visit in 6-8 weeks to have the pin removed.

Any suggestions on how I can beg, borrow, or steal to get the funds for my sweet girl? I know Beezer offered $100. I feel really guilty taking the money, but at this point I guess I don't have the option to let pride get in the way of Loli's treatment.

That's actually a very good price for the surgery when you account for anesthesia, surgical equipment, time, and recovery. Your costs so far are not too shabby, either. I know none of that makes them vanish into thin air. I don't really think tramadol works in animals (it doesn't do much for a lot of people), but it's better than nothing. And it's safe.

That's absolutely not splint-able. I realize it looks bad, but from the surgery side that's a nice clean fracture to pin. The joint itself is not actually damaged, so that's a huge positive. Essentially all they do is run the pin up the proximal femur and out, then they can drive it all the way back down into the distal femur. With rest, it should heal up just fine.

Don't know if any of that puts you at ease, but there are far worse realities.

If you need additional help, just let me know.