My 9 year old 6.5kg cat came in just over 2 weeks ago and laid on the floor. He then got himself into his radiator (not on) cradle. I went to lift him and he bit me which was unusual. I took him to the vet but they could not find anything wrong on palpation. He would not walk for them. They prescribed metacam. I have been back twice and it is thought he has a torn ligament. He sometimes cries, can hobble but limps. One vet wanted to x-ray but I did not want him given an anaesthetic when no bony injury was suspected. He spends most of his time lying down and I am carrying him up and down stairs. How long should a torn ligament take to heal and am I being stupid in not having the x ray?

Hi my cat injured himself last night. We took him to the vet today and they said the ligaments in his back leg are ruptured. They said that he would need surgery but because of his age it may not work. What would be the chance of recovery,he is 10 years old.

My dog ran into a barbwire fence and now has a small tendon hanging out of her leg. I don’t see this getting repaired, she still can flex her leg. It is at the first bend probably was connected to a toe? She is a black lab. The piece hanging out is about 3 inches. How long before the tendon dies? Should we wait until it dies to snip or should we snip now? I am keeping her comfortable with aspirin and benedryl. Any other advice?

My cat is a sphynx cat. She will be 12 in December. She is in exceptional health and has great blood work. However, she has trouble walking and feeling comfortable. When she was a young cat when we took her to homes with tile or hardwood floors she sometimes would limp and pull up her right paw. I mentioned it to a vet during a visit asking if maybe she had an old injury. The vet said he didn't see anything wrong. We have lived in a home with wood floors for 3 years now, and I'm thinking this has been a contributing factor to the rapid decline. When she sits upright her front paws begin to roll outward. When she walks she flicks her paws and her paws roll. She walks on the heels of her paws now. When she sits she flicks her paws and pulls them up and tucks them under her chest. She chews her paw pads. She limps sometimes. Her gait is abnormal. I took her to the vet and then to an orthopedist surgeon. He said it looks like lax tendons and he has seen this in cats who have been declawed. She is not declawed and she has had no injuries that we know of. The orthopedist said there was nothing he could do to help her. I can tell she is going to get to a point where she can't walk. She is perfectly healthy in all other aspects of her life. I MUST find a way to intervene now. I don't know where to go or who to talk to.

My cat started limping for a few years (she is a little overweight) and today she couldn't walk normally at all. Every time she tried to put pressure on her back foot, she would growl loudly in pain and would try to lift it up, growling even more. We took her to the vet and they told us she had a torn ligament in her knee that needs to be fixed surgically. That surgery is between $2000-2500 and we really can't afford that. Is there other way to fix this? She is in a lot of pain, can't even move from it, and we're desperate. I don't know if I should trust the vet as, here, they are known to only advise surgery in order to make more money.

Well my cat came home limping from his right hand and next day his paw was huge and swollen he was clearly in pain I looked for any signs of a thorn or a sting nothing found I made an appointment to see the vet for next day by the time I took him his whole arm was swollen from the paw all the way to the shoulder they shaved his leg and it was all red with whitish dots so they said they had to drain and made not an incision but cut a huge triangle in the paw between his thumb and wrist i could see tendons or ligament I don't know exactly what it was but it looked like 2 thick white strings the bandage came off and when I came home he had chewed on those strings then I made a better bandage he could not break and healed but after that he kept limping and his paw look stiff compared to the other hand and he cant flex it when he stand looks like he cant put much weight on it and the wrist doesn't flex like the left side

My cat Hen was born with a strangulated & withered right hind leg and the last third of her tail; as she grew, the leg and tail segment simply fell off - no blood, no pain, she just crawled to her mother to nurse and her leg and tail stayed put. As she has aged, she adapted well to her, um, compromise; when she slow-walks it's obvious she's impaired (a chicken-like bobbing, hence her name), but she can run as fast as her siblings by raising her stump, pointing her shortened tail in the direction she's moving, and going fast. She's an admirable cutie, but there's an emerging problem: her accommodation - the stump and tail movement for balance and direction has caused chronic tendon contraction, likely from overuse and atrophy of the remaining thigh muscle. My veterinarian is recommending physical therapy at this time, and possibly an NSAID for associated pain (it clearly hurts), but I wondered if a tendonectomy is in order, or even removal of the remaining stump? I'm not eager for her to go under the knife but I hate that she suffers when this occurs about once or twice a year.

10 days ago my cat suddenly began limping badly and not able to put his back leg down. I took him to the vet and after extensive xrays, scans exams etc it has been determined that he has ruptured his Achilles. They gave me Metacam and sent me home for two weeks cage rest. I am to return in a few days to determine the next steps. After a few days I decided that I had to let Ted out of the cage because he was showing signs of depression, not eating, drinking or going to the toilet. He wouldnt eat any food with the Metacam in it and I am unable to put anything in his mouth - so he hasnt had any since the first few days. I let him out for a little while in the morning then in the evening. He started to put a little weight on the leg and occasionally use it. As the days went by I thought it was best to leave Ted in my bedroom throughout the day and over night. He seems much happier however the leg still isnt working properly. Some times he can put it down and other times he is limping badly. He goes back in a few days for a decision about an operation. I am struggling with the idea of him having this operation and then spending a huge amount of time caged - then physio. After seeing him go through just a few days caged - I dont think we can do this. Is there any chance of this getting better on its own - without the surgery?

Lucy injured her left leg while playing 5 years ago. Since then I’ve noticed occasionally she’ll not walk normally but then readjust and appear fine. Fast forward 5 years to last week, she was running through the house stopped and turned around with her right leg bowed out like a chicken wing. She was in pain and unusually biting and hissing. I took her to the ER where they took x-rays and said she had patella luxation in both legs, the left with some arthritis probably from the injury years ago. They recommended very expensive surgery on both knees. I shopped around for another vet, who said they couldn’t get a complete picture from the x-rays and recommended a second photo shoot. This vet saw a torn CCL in the left leg (old injury) and a luxating patella in the right leg (grade 3). Since last week, Lucy appears to be back in her normal spirits, although with some lameness and an occasional chicken-winged right leg. The vet recommended to me to first take care of the CCL then address the other leg. Lucy is an 18-pound chunker and I’m a little worried about which leg to start with to ensure optimal recovery. The vet did not express concern about her weight and recovery. Any additional insights?