[PrettyPaula]

so i just got back from the emergency vet, £400 poorer and with my little baby angel cat Poppy with a severe leg fracture. She is a house cat so i have NO idea how she has done this.

i have left her in the surgery over night and i have to pick her up at 7.30am (6 hours! gah!) and take her to the regular vet for further treatment (another £600 or so) luckily i am insured so we can claim it back.

Im worried sick about her though, and as some of you know, we leave for a two week vacation on Monday. Our friend Sammy is looking after our hosue and cats by living here while we're gone and im so worried about putting this on her. Poppy will have surgery tomorrow by the looks of it and then need 2-3weeks recovery time of being in a confined space.

im so worried.

[Apple Cheeks]

My first instinct would be that someone grabbed your kitty by the legs and unintentionally hurt her.

Have any kids been over to your house recently that maybe could have rough-housed with your kitty cat?

Other than that....is your kitty an older cat? Could she have injured herself falling from a really tall shelf or other high spot in your house?

[FB]

I've never had a cat with a broken bone, but have had pet calamities and know how wrenching they can be. I'm sorry. Our chihuahua lost his eye recently and I know about worrying over your furry one.

Is there a way your budget will allow for her to be boarded while you are away and she heals? If not, pets are pretty resilient. You could always sequester her in a small room (bathroom) in order to give her the quiet she needs and have your friend let her out for a bit of attention at night.

[auntie g]

Awww, poor baby! I've never had a kitty with a broken bone either, but l also have had my share of worries with my furbabies over the years. I hope she heals up quickly!

[kaplods]

I have had a few pets with budget-busting injuries, but my only personal experience with a pet's broken bone, was a cat with a broken toe and it didn't even need casting.

My high school boyfriend's grandma's cat had repeated tail fractures. That cat was always getting her tail caught in something. She was primarily an indoor cat, but did get some evening outdoor time, and some of the accidents were outdoor ones (or getting her tail caught in closing doors - she'd try to jump through a doorway as someone closed the door and a couple times she got her tail caught in the door before the person realized she was there). Once she got her tail caught in a car motor (lucky she didn't get killed as she was sleeping under the hood of the car in the garage). When I "met" her, her tail was missing about an inch, and in the three years I dated the boy, the cat's tail got shorter and shorter until she looked like a bob-tailed manx.

[LandonsBaby]

my kitty broke her leg right after she was born. she fell down off a bale of hay. her mommy didn't take care of her so we took her to the vet and fed her, etc. that was about 10 years ago and she's been okay. her leg twists out a little and as she gets older, she limps more. right now she lives with my brother but as she ages more, i may have to do something with her. not sure what though. my vet told me not to move her (i moved to to the city and left her home in the rural country).

[WaterRat]

When I was a kid we had a cat that broke it's leg. It was a cat that went outdoors so we never knew how it happened. Instead of a cast the vet used a splint that was shaped kind of like a lamb chop.... It was on the inside of the leg, and I forget how it was attached, but after a few days that cat was running again.... Looked really silly, but it healed up fine and we had the cat for years afterwards.

[SoulBliss]

Oh! Your poor kitty. She is lucky that you are giving her such good care. Could someone have possibly stepped on her accidentally?

[Kofarq]

Hi, PrettyPaula! I had a dog who broke her leg by getting it caught under a fence, panicking, and standing up to get away. She stood up while it was still under the fence and broke her back leg. Maybe something similar happened to your kitty. I'm sure she'll be better soon. Best wishes!

[GatorgalstuckinGA]

I'm a vet and i see lots of fractures. Surgery should be fine. As for post care, you'll need to keep her confined and minimize exercise to prevent stress on the fracture. She may have jumped off something and landed wrong, had some thing land on her, or if she is older have a pathological fracture due to underlying bone issues. Surgery should go fine. Hang in there. Most do very well.

[ars]

I'm sure she'll be okay. Cats are very resilient! I work for a vet and in the past 4 months we've had both a 16 and 18 year old cat come in with severely fractured legs. The 18 year old boy healed beautifully (especially considering his age and concurrent medical problems) and is getting around with no problems (and hopefully crossing fewer streets). The 16 year old was more recent, and she still has on a bulky splint (owner couldn't afford surgery), but she is is doing great also.

We had a young kitty patient here last year who jumped from an upper story window and just crushed both front legs. He was in for his vaccines last week and you'd never know anything like that ever happened to him.

Paula, so sorry to hear about your angel. I'm really glad you have someone to stay w/ her while you're on vac. Hopefully, she'll be up and jumping into your arms when you get back.

[chickybird]

Awww, sorry about your little furball! I hope she feels better soon. The bathroom idea sounds good. Maybe you could examine your house and "baby-proof" it? Look at it from a baby's point of view--that's what we had to do about our 3 cats, ha ha!

[PrettyPaula]

okay guys, update and big thankyou for all the replies.

she has broken her left femur, the bone has snapped at the growth plate near her hip bone and punctured the skin slightly.

shes had pain relief and ive just got back from transferring her to the normal vet surgery, the head vet saw (an amazing man) and said its a common fracture in younger cats, but this one was nasty and he didnt feel he was qualified to operate nad give her the best chance of recovery. They have offered to loan me a recovery cage for her and ive left here there to be moniotored whilst they arrange an appointment for surgery with a specialist orthopaedic surgeon about 40 miles from me. When thats arranged i will pick her and take her to be operated on.

the muscle contractions that she is having are so bad the vet cant even feel the break.

she was so pleased to see me though, licking me and nuzzling my hand. i love her so much and im frantic with worry.

the final bill will be around £2000 by the looks of it, thank god i have insurance.

oh and by the way, no mistreatment of her, she was like this when we found her, she has a habit of jumping from the upper hallway to the bottom of the stairs. stupid moggy!

[tamaralynn]

Awww... poor baby. Sending healing vibes kitty's way!

My cat broke her tail bone (near the tip). I feel awful saying this, it was my fault. She was younger and was making a run for outside at some birds almost double her size. I was trying to close the sliding door before she could make it. Well she made it... but not all the way - her kitty scream spooked away the birds My poor Tigger broke her tail 3rd tail bone down from the tip. vet said there was nothing they could do with it. It healed quickly... but her tail has a permanent little "tip" at the end (Vet assured me that it wasn't my fault that she got hurt... it was hers for being so persistant - but I still feel like a monster).

You're lucky to have insurance There isn't a proper pet insurance here in Alberta - I don't know about the other provinces.