And here I thought Wimsey was the sensible one...

[badgerpup]

OK, so Wimsey's been gimpy for the last few days. Took him to the vet right off, seeing as how when I tried to examine him by myself, I couldn't tell "Ouch! That hurts!" from "Knock it off and put me down, dammit".
We (neither my Sainted Vet or myself) couldn't find any sign of wound or swelling. In fact, as the vet was examining his leg, he relaxed, leaned against the vet and purred.
Wimsey, you're a good judge of character...but what the hell is wrong with your leg?:grr:

Two days later and his limp is escalating...he's even holding his paw up when he sits down.
OK, time to push the panic button.
Take him down to the vet's office that's got the X-ray machine, cos he's gonna need the leg X-rayed.
Diagnosis: Well-mannered cat*...with a sub-luxated elbow. No wonder he's limping and it's been escalating, poor boy.
This means $URGERY. Over $1100 worth of $urgery to be precise...:wow:
Fortunately I was eligible for a Credit Line (loan) to cover this...but it's gonna be so hard on both Wimsey and me after he has the surgery.
He's gonna hafta be confined in a crate for 6 weeks or so while he heals. He's gonna go NUTS...and I'm gonna go nuts right along with him. :banghead:

For those of you playing at home: subluxation is when the joint is partially dislocated (in Wimsey's case it was the radius). A cat's foreleg looks very much like a human arm on X-ray except that the bones of the 'hand' are so much more delicate-looking. Very beautiful and intricate structure. This sort of injury is usually caused by a clumsy landing where the weight is taken off-balance on one leg and so knocks the joint out of kilter. I can see where that might happen; Wimsey is 13 lbs of cat. He's a muscley boy...but gravity don't make no nevermind about what mass is composed of when it hits the ground.

*I was very relieved to hear he was cooperative for the x-ray since they don't let 'parents' back there. My monsters are used to having me present when they're examined; I like to think it adds to their comfort level. It does please me when the vet compliments me on how well-behaved my cats are...lets me know I've done a good job with their socialization, even if I'm a crusty curmudgeonly hermit...


:rant:
I DID NOT NEED THIS...I'm just about ready to pull a stunt like the ferrymen in the stories...you know the ones where the ferryman is disgusted with his job and the answer to the riddle is the next poor schnook who comes along and wants a ride across the river- turn the job over to HIM and walk away.

"YOU take this and cope with it. I've had enough."

[virgdem]

1. Just curious...

do they have animal chiropractic practitioners where you live? I don't know if that would be a less expensive alternative, or even if it would work in this situation, but if you could find one, it might be worth your while to have him examined by a vet that does chiropractic. I've taken one of my cats to the chiropractor and it seemed to help her. Keep us posted on Wimsey and good luck with the surgery.

[Why Syzygy]

2. That might be

what my kitty has. He doesn't always hold his front paw up. Just off an on. It's painless.
He won't be getting surgery. Simply not an option. He seems to do better with massage, and a former massage teacher showed me how a human elbow can be repositioned simply by massaging the forearm. In fact, surgery seems like over reaction to that kind of injury. Bones are constructed to fit together in a certain way. What does the surgery do? Break it? I would try the chiropractor way as suggested above.

[badgerpup]

3. Virgdem, Why Syzygy...

:hug:

THANK YOU! :yourock:

I'll look into this IMMEDIATELY...or as soon as everyone gets back from Memorial Day weekend.

I'd bet the rent (and I'm not a betting woman) that Wimsey would MUCH prefer a non-surgical solution...and I know I would.

It's not just the money; the loan covers that OK (although the idea of taking on more debt distresses me somewhat).
It's the idea of him having to be confined in a 4' X 4' kennel for SIX BLOODY WEEKS while he heals...and he's already demonstrating a tendency towards hypergrooming or "psychogenic alopecia" (read: 'he gets stressed about something and licks holes in his fur').

I had one cat (Misha, who now resides by the Bridge) who was notorious for that. We treated it episodically with prednisone...but you don't want to be giving prednisone to a cat who is trying to put himself back together after surgery- it interferes with healing...at least, it does so with humans.

[northernlights]

4. third vote for chiropractic

the love of my life, Jakey, injured his neck, around C3 or 4. Then it traveled down to between his shoulder blades. Then to the lumbar region of his spine.

Vet misdiagnosed as herniated disks. Then I called the big animal hospital to see about nonsurgical treatments. They referred me to a chiropractic vet, who diagnosed as subluxations of the vertebra.

One treatment and his back was fixed. 2nd treatment "secured" it.

(Unfortunately in the meantime his injured his hips, which were already "borderline" dysplasia. I'm still hoping to get serious improvement there with combination sea jerky & other supplements, chiro and swim therapy.)

[Warpy]

5. What they do in humans

is a fast acting anesthetic, usually Versed, and pop the joint back into place. The kitty alternative likely would be the same. The anesthesia and post joint reduction monitoring would be what cost that much. They might even put a cast on him short term to immobilize the joint.

The problem is limiting the kitty's activity afterward because all his ligaments have been stretched by prolonged injury and that joint could pop out again very quickly. We humans are wimps and we respect the pain signals those ligaments give us for the six weeks or so it takes to heal. Cats tend to suck it up and do their usual activities with the pain. That is going to be one very unhappy cat when he's confined.

That he's favoring the leg means it is uncomfortable trying to bear weight on it. You don't want him to stay that way, do you? At least after six weeks in jail, he'll be back to his old self.

[badgerpup]

6. I know it'll be time for 'tough love'...

...and I'm trying to figure a way to keep the poor little guy confined in a place where he won't be going ABSOLUTELY CRAZY from boredom.

This means a table near the livingroom window on which I can set the enclosure so he can at least 'read the paper' during the day...and the other cats can hang out with him in the livingroom if not in his enclosure...Baby Brudder Finnegan will want to wrestle and that'll be a big NO-NO.

It's not like you can just hand a cat the remote and a pile of videos or DVDs...or an X-box and new games...or a stack of books...:banghead:

Maybe I'm just projecting?
The vet said "Oh, cats are resilient", which is nice to know...but I'd rather not drive him crazy from confinement and boredom...



...and I hope he forgives me...

[Warpy]

7. In front of a window is good.

Hanging a few toys in the cage for him to bat at is good. Taking him out for hugs and pets is good.

He's just going to be an unhappy kitty, especially 2 weeks from now when he's feeling better.

[badgerpup]

8. Saga continues...

The Good News...there are animal chiropractors in my area! :bounce: :woohoo:
The Bad News...Wimsey can't get in to see either of them until June 1st...their schedule, not mine.
:grr::banghead: