Cats move easily and gracefully and always land on their feet. However, as these animals age, changes in the joints may occur due to aging. Quite often you can notice that a cat is limping on its hind legs or dragging them. This problem is very serious and requires timely treatment.
Understanding the reasons for a pet's lameness is quite difficult, especially if the animal goes outside freely, where it is impossible to follow the cat. Possible reasons for this violation:
- injuries to the spine and hind legs;
- urolithiasis disease;
- stomach pathologies;
- constipation;
- neurological disorders.
If the cat is limping hind paw after a fall, the cause may lie in a bruise or sprain. After assessing the damage using x-rays, your doctor will suggest several treatment options. It may be necessary to immobilize the paw to speed up recovery, but for minor bruises the animal knows what to do, so no specific measures are required. An alarming symptom is lameness on both legs or refusal to move after a fall. This may indicate severe damage to the spine due to impact. hard surface. In this case, the cat should be hospitalized.
Urological disorders and urolithiasis can also cause lameness. If a cat feels pain in the kidney area, it begins to drag its paws or tries to minimize movement. It is recommended to observe the behavior of your pet. If there are urological problems, the animal experiences difficulty urinating, and particles of stones may remain at the bottom of the tray.
Lameness with stomach pain
A common cause of lameness is stomach pain. Prolonged constipation, inflammation of the gastric mucosa or intestinal obstruction are all dangerous pathologies that require an urgent visit to the veterinarian.
With constipation and intestinal obstruction, hard feces can cause short-term paresis and paralysis. If a cat behaves lethargically, refuses food and water, drags its paws, or does not want to move at all, the only thing a loving owner can do is take the animal to the clinic. It is strictly forbidden to force feed your pet or try to give the cat any medications to normalize digestion.
Neurological disorders
If, after sterilization, the cat limps on its hind legs, drags them, or lists to the side when walking, a possible reason lies in nerve damage during surgical manipulation. In this case, paresis and paralysis develop.
If paresis is caused by impaired muscle tone due to anesthesia, injections of muscle relaxants and drugs that improve nerve conduction are used for treatment. You should definitely undergo a neurological examination, which includes:
- Spinal cord examination.
- Checking the activity of tendon reflexes.
- Assessment of the supporting ability of the hind limbs.
These examinations analyze the severity of the neurological disorder and determine the location of the affected nerve.
In cats after castration, lameness may be caused by disruption of the urinary system due to improper intervention. You can suspect such a violation by the behavior of your pet. Alarming symptoms: excessive thirst and lack of urination, soreness in the tail area, inflammation of the scrotum. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis after examining the animal.
Old age of animals
The most common causes of sudden lameness in pets are natural aging of the body, aggravated by the presence of excess weight. Immense love for a pet leads to violation of feeding rules, which negatively affects the health of the tailed friend.
A fairly common problem for older cats and cats is arthritis or arthrosis of the hip joints. The pathology is caused by loss of elasticity of cartilage as a result of metabolic disorders, lack of vitamins and microelements, or heavy load on the joint. The disease can affect the joints symmetrically, then the animal limps on both legs or drags them. If the cat does not step on its back paw, only one joint may be affected.
Only a veterinarian can confirm or refute the diagnosis after x-raying the diseased paws. Treatment depends on the cause of the disease. Dietary nutrition is indicated for obese cats and obese animals. If there is a lack of vitamins, the doctor will recommend useful supplements to the feed. It is imperative to prescribe chondroprotective drugs that restore the elasticity of the cartilage and the mobility of the joint capsule.
Cats are distinguished by their activity, which sometimes causes them to suffer. Their excessive mobility can cause injuries of various origins. If you notice that your cat is limping on its front leg, then you need to contact a veterinarian and undergo an examination.
Cat lameness can be caused by many things and can cause the animal significant discomfort and pain. The disease can be permanent or occur periodically, for example, only in the morning or evening. Causes of lameness in cats associated with injury are as follows:
- dislocation of the paw during games;
- splinter in the fingertips;
- sprain;
- fracture;
- claw damage.
An animal may also limp due to a specific disease:
- osteochondrosis. Occurs mainly in old cats. In this case, pinching of the spinal cord roots occurs. Touching upon cervical region, pinching leads to lameness of one front paw or both. The older the pet, the more severe osteochondrosis will manifest itself;
- elbow dysplasia. Mainly affects purebred cats. The disease manifests itself in youth and only intensifies over the years. In this case, the lameness affects either one of the front legs or both at once;
- arthritis or arthrosis. Occurs in older cats and leads to inflammation of the joints. With this disease, the cat limps on its front or hind legs. The animal begins to limp gradually. Osteoarthritis can affect older animals and overweight cats;
- osteomyelitis. Characterized by partial destruction of bone tissue. The disease can affect any of the four limbs. It mainly affects cats under two years of age. Osteomyelitis is typical for Persians and related breeds;
- infections, such as calcivirus. In addition to limping, the animal may experience nasal discharge, oral ulcers, and fever.
Your pet may not be able to step on his front paw due to damaged nails. This happens as a result of a fall from a great height or an impact. The claw can break if someone steps on the paw. This causes the animal great discomfort and pain.
There is another reason for lameness related to the disposition of the animal. For example, if you accidentally stepped on its paw and crushed it under a door, the animal will begin to limp demonstratively, expressing its resentment. The main thing is not to pay attention to this, and after a couple of hours your pet will get tired of playing and stop pretending.
If you notice that the cat is really suffering, immediately take him to the veterinarian to eliminate the possibility of complications.
Symptoms of lameness
An animal can limp with varying degrees of severity. Some slightly twist their paw when walking, others cannot step on it at all. Observe your pet, conduct a visual examination and run to the doctor if you notice at least one of the following signs:
- the cat cannot walk at all or moves with difficulty;
- after touching the paw, the cat pulls it away and begins to whine;
- refuses to go outside, especially if you have to go up or down stairs;
- the animal does not stand on its paw;
- with a fungal infection, a trace of dermatophytes is visible on the paws.
In addition to physical signs, your cat may lose appetite, become tired, lethargic, or irritable. If you forcefully examine a painful limb, the cat may hiss and even claw you.
Diagnosis of cat lameness
What to do if you find a cat with lameness on the front or back leg? First, do not delay visiting a veterinary clinic or office. If the cause is an infectious disease, then delay in treatment can cost not only the animal’s health, but also its life. During the visit, the veterinarian will perform the following diagnostic measures:
- will look at the patient's medical history (if any). He will conduct a survey of the owner, find out whether the animal has had any injuries recently, and find out about the presence of accompanying symptoms, in addition to lameness;
- visual inspection of a limping cat. It is necessary to understand how serious the lameness is, the location of the most painful area of the limb, and the presence of abnormal places in the structure of the joints. The doctor will look at how the animal moves, runs, stands;
- neurological examination. It is carried out to exclude damage to the central nervous system, muscles, brain or spinal cord, because lameness is not always caused by orthopedic problems;
- radiograph. It will help you see the presence of cracks, tumors, growths and other problems inside the limb.
You may also need to take tests of synovial fluid, general blood and biopsy, and urine. With the introduction of the dye, studies of the spinal canal are performed - myelography. Contrast radiography or arthrography (injection of dye into the joint) is done using the same method. Ultrasound, MRI and CT may be prescribed.
Treatment of lameness in cats
When you have decided on the causes of lameness in the front paw, it’s time to start treatment. It can be simple and done at home with the help of medications, for example for a minor sprain or dislocation. More serious illnesses are treated in a hospital, and surgical intervention is possible.
Drug therapy
In the case where lameness is associated with a splinter or other foreign body getting into the paw, treatment consists of treating the wound with a simple antiseptic. But first the splinter is pulled out so that swelling and inflammation do not occur. As a rule, no complications arise, the wound heals within 2-3 days. Along with painful sensations, lameness will disappear. Fractures are not uncommon in active cats. If the animal breaks its paw, you should try to immobilize it before arriving at the clinic. At the hospital, the cat will be examined and a bandage or cast will be applied.
Treatment of degenerative changes in the limbs and arthritis in cats is carried out with the help of drugs that restore the elasticity of cartilage, for example, Ketofen. It is prescribed both in tablet form (1 tablet once a day) and in the form of injections (1% solution). Medicines can only be prescribed by a veterinarian, after carrying out the necessary diagnostic measures. If pathological changes in the joints are caused by excess weight and impaired metabolism, the animal is prescribed a diet to reduce body weight.
There are cases. When it is impossible to determine the exact cause of lameness. In this case, the animal is prescribed to minimize physical activity and is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. Painful sensations are relieved by No-shpa, Papaverine, etc.
If lameness is caused by an infectious disease, then the root cause is eliminated first. Diseases like calcivirosis are treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics in combination with immunostimulants, anti-inflammatory drugs and vitamins. This is necessary to protect the animal’s body, which is already weakened by the disease. The doctor may prescribe a weekly course of Flemoxin at a dosage of 12.5 -22 mg per kilogram of weight.
Surgical intervention
The duration and intensity of treatment depend on the type of disease and its advanced stage. For example, osteomyelitis disappears with age, but osteochondrosis, arthritis and arthrosis can become chronic. In this case, constant dulling of painful outbreaks with anti-inflammatory and painkillers will be required.
When lameness becomes severe, surgery is required. Depending on the situation, the doctor may decide to replace the affected joint with a prosthesis.
If the kneecap is dislocated, if timely treatment is not carried out and the disease progresses to stages 3 and 4, surgery is prescribed. The same applies to osteochondrosis. At the beginning of the development of the disease, medications are prescribed. If the lameness does not go away, but only progresses, surgery will be prescribed to eliminate the pinched nerve.
Prevention of lameness
Some cats, due to their natural predisposition, may suffer from lameness. Proper maintenance of the cat can avoid its occurrence or at least reduce the intensity of its manifestations: protect it from injury, adjust the diet, adding more foods with calcium and vitamins.
If you want to know whether a kitten will limp in the future, study its pedigree. Perhaps this is due to heredity and does not pose a danger to the health and life of the animal.
Cats that have crossed the border of old age, as a rule, move little and therefore begin to limp due to atrophy of the limbs. Play with them more often, provoking them to take active actions.
To prevent splinters from getting into your paws, do not be lazy to clean the room as thoroughly as possible, making sure that there are no objects lying on the floor that are potentially dangerous to the animal.
Lameness in cats is not that uncommon. If nothing else bothers your pet other than this, then it is quite possible that in a couple of days the situation will return to normal. If you see that the cat has become restless and has been limping for a long time, then professional help is required.
The article presents general information on this issue, as well as how the problem is solved in different cases. Only after examining a four-legged patient from a veterinarian can you get accurate advice on how and what to do for treatment.
Why does a cat limp on its front leg and what to do?
Lameness in cats is quite common and there can be many reasons for this: trauma, dislocation, fracture, sprain. Inspect the paw and, if no injuries are found, take it to the veterinarian. If there is a wound, treat it with an antiseptic and bandage the paw. Until your pet's complete recovery, his paw should not strain.
Why does a cat limp on his hind leg after castration, an injection without visible damage, how to help
During surgery or an injection, the doctor could have touched a nerve, which is why the cat is limping. This can continue for three to five days, without outside intervention. If the lameness does not disappear, then consult a veterinarian for examination.
The cat is limping and doesn’t eat anything.
The only reason a cat doesn't eat is because her paw hurts. She may have a dislocation or even a fracture. Take him to the doctor. If this is a sprain, and the cat still does not want to eat, then force feed it through a syringe, because it will not have the strength to fully recover.
The kitten is limping and won’t let you touch its paw, won’t let out its claws, what is it and how to treat it at home
The kitten injured its paw, but won’t let it be examined only because it hurts and is afraid that you will make it even more painful. He thinks right! You can only expect an examination from the owner, and the veterinarian must treat lameness and the injury itself.
The kitten has a limping paw and a swollen paw, what to do and how to fix it
Examine the paw. Treat the wound and bandage it, but not too much. In this condition, take him to the doctor, as the kitten could have broken a paw or torn ligaments.
The kitten is limping on one paw or the other after vaccination
There are two options: either the doctor touched a nerve, or this is a side effect of the drug (depending on the type of vaccination).
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poor cats that are limping
Cats are particularly mobile. This may also result in some injuries. If a cat is limping on its front leg, the owner should definitely find out the cause of the problem and provide quality treatment to the animal. Without this, there is a high risk that the damage will not go away on its own, and the pet’s condition will continue to worsen. The owner can determine on his own the reason why the front paw is lame only if there are external signs violation of the integrity of the limb. In other cases, only a veterinarian can make the correct diagnosis.
Causes
There is one non-pathological reason when a cat's front (or back) paw is lame. It occurs if the animal has an artistic streak and a touchy character. Such a cat, if the owner even slightly stepped on his limb or slightly pinched it with the door, and everything happened without injury or damage, immediately uttering a very loud cry, begins to limp on the injured paw, demonstrating with all his appearance that he is a victim.
After examining the limping paw, the owner does not detect any pain or signs of damage. The animal will demonstrate an abnormal gait for another 2-3 hours, after which it will stop the performance. The main thing at this moment is not to feed the cat treats, as otherwise it will get used to this method of extortion.
In other cases, the cat's front paw is lame for pathological reasons that require treatment. The following several diseases and injury are the main factors causing front paw lameness:.
- Injury. The most common reason why a cat limps on his front leg if he walks freely on the street. Lameness does not necessarily occur due to a severe injury, such as a fracture or dislocation. Impaired movement of the front paw can also occur due to bruises, cuts, splinters and sprains. During an external examination, you can detect a wound or swelling that causes the front paw to limp.
If a cat suddenly limps, then in 99% of cases there is an injury. If it is simple, then nothing needs to be done, and it goes away in 2-3 days. The most serious damage occurs to a kitten if it is attacked by a dog. If the animal begins to limp gradually, there is no talk of injury. - Osteochondrosis may also be the cause of a cat's lameness. The disease occurs in older cats. In pathology, pinching of the spinal cord roots occurs. If this pinching affects the cervical region, then the cat has one front paw or both paws lame. It is very difficult for him to stand on them. It is impossible to completely cure the pathology, and therapy is exclusively supportive in nature. The older the pet, the more severe osteochondrosis will manifest itself, causing more and more pronounced lameness. Often this is the answer to the question why a cat is limping.
- Elbow dysplasia. The disorder occurs infrequently and mainly in especially purebred cats, whose external appearance is much more important than health. This disorder begins to manifest itself in young cats and only intensifies over the years. Such individuals should not be bred, since the pathology is hereditary and is passed on from parents to offspring. The left or right paw is lame, or both at once. The pathology begins to manifest itself most clearly when the cat is two or three years old.
- Arthritis or arthrosis. Diseases that occur in older cats and lead to inflammation of the joints. The pathology affects the fore and hind limbs equally. Lameness increases gradually. Treatment for this disease is predominantly supportive. There may be periods of complete elimination of symptoms and their subsequent reappearance. The cat's lameness does not disappear completely. If therapeutic measures are not taken, the pet’s condition will only worsen and it may completely lose the ability to move normally.
- Osteomyelitis. Occurs in cats less than 2 years old. In pathology, partial destruction of the paw bones occurs with the development of a purulent-inflammatory process. The cat has a limp front leg, both legs, or the back legs too. The disease is especially common in representatives of the Persian breed and animals bred on their basis. The main assumption regarding the causes of the disease is genetic predisposition.
If a cat or cat is limping on its front leg, urgent measures must be taken to eliminate the problem. The longer a visit to the veterinarian is postponed, the more money will need to be spent on treating an already advanced disease. The veterinarian will take an x-ray of the front paws and, after identifying the cause of the pathology, prescribe the necessary treatment. The front paw of cats is especially functional, and therefore when it is lame, the pet experiences serious difficulties and cannot continue to live a full life.
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It is not uncommon to observe a domestic cat limping. Most often, the animal limps on its hind leg. The cat walks with caution, trying not to step on the sore paw, throwing weight on the remaining limbs. Sometimes it even holds its paw suspended, moving on its remaining three paws.
Lameness in a cat can occur due to many reasons.
Lameness in a pet can be caused by many reasons that are invisible at first glance:
- wound between joints;
- dislocation;
- sprain;
- injury;
- pathology of joint formation;
- arthritis or ;
- lumbar back injury.
How to recognize a fracture or bruise of a hind paw
Examination of the hind paw.
If you look closely, mechanical damage becomes noticeable.
The wound may be between the joints or on the inner surface of the pad, between the cat's toes. It happens that during a jump the animal pushes off the surface incorrectly. In this case, joint dislocation and ligament sprain are almost always guaranteed. Cats who are obese and lead a sedentary lifestyle are most susceptible to such damage.
The joints of such animals are poorly developed and with a strong push or sudden movement the risk of injury increases. A dislocation, sprain, or bruise may have slight swelling and be quite painful when pressed.
What to do if your cat is limping on its hind leg without visible damage
When a cat holds its paw suspended and cannot step on it, when trying to examine the limb, this can only mean one thing – a fracture.
Severe swelling of the paw.
Upon closer examination, swelling becomes visible, the paw is hot and painful. A significant reason is pathology in the formation of the joint. When the kitten is still small, the symptom of lameness is rarely observed. The baby's weight is insignificant, which means the load on the paws is also small. As people get older, lameness becomes more noticeable.
Lameness in a cat
Another reason for lameness in a cat is due to diseases such as arthritis or arthrosis. Arthritis appears as the animal gets older. The influence of external factors on the body worsens with age, which makes it possible for inflammatory processes in the joints to manifest themselves.
The older the cat, the greater the likelihood of exacerbations of the disease, which is accompanied by periodic pain and, as a result, lameness.
Arthrosis
The cat is limping on its hind leg due to arthrosis.
Arthrosis by its nature is a chronic, non-inflammatory disease.
It can proceed hidden for a long time, since degenerative changes in tissues, bones and cartilage happens gradually. There are many reasons, the most common is a congenital anomaly of the anatomical structure.
As with arthritis, adult felines are most susceptible, but there are exceptions when the congenital changes are too extensive. Then lameness is observed in young animals.
Traumatic arthrosis
Complex case.
Arthrosis can be traumatic. The cat was injured while walking, there were no obvious symptoms, but over time it was bruised tissues, bones, cartilages begin to rebuild incorrectly. Do not discount lumbar back injuries.
The pet could have been hit during a walk, or it could have landed poorly during a fight with other animals, dogs, for example. For traumatic back injury it is possible that nerve endings may be pinched, which causes discomfort when walking.
First aid for a cat
If you notice that your cat is limping, you need to immediately identify the cause. Having discovered a wound, the first thing to do is disinfect it. If possible, remove hair around the damage and rinse with furatsilin solution.
Limit access of dirt to the wound, apply a bandage and contact a veterinarian.
If you suspect a dislocation, sprain or fracture, provide your pet with maximum rest, give painkillers and cardiac medications, and call a doctor.
X-ray of the hind paw.
The clinic needs to make an X-ray . If necessary, apply a fixing bandage. The fracture is fixed by applying a splint, plaster cast. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs are used.
Arthritis treatment
Treatment of arthritis includes taking antibiotics in the form of a dietary supplement - glucosamine, chondroitin.
Taking fish oil and painkillers. A light massage and daily short exercise are indicated. Animals with arthrosis are provided with dietary nutrition and comfortable living conditions.
Drug treatment – decongestants, anti-inflammatory drugs – in the presence of inflammation. Massage, Minin lamp therapy. For severe back injuries, the prognosis is, unfortunately, unfavorable. The animal experiences severe pain, and sometimes limb paralysis is observed.