Harri is lame....

[pookyandjo]

Hi all... i have to say that I am horrified that i have to post a health query with regards to Harri seeing i have only had her for a few days but i am beside myself at the moment...
David and I went to a 50th birthday party last night and Cait stayed at home to do homework and babysit Harri..
When she went to bed at 10pm Harri was aseep on my bed.. when we got home at 1230 am.. I couldn't find her... I had to give her some antibiotics for her cat flu..( I took her to the vet yesterday because she was sneezing and had a little bit of gunk in her eyes.. the vet gave her the first dose.. and said to give her a second one late in the evening and from then on once a day until the course was finished...she also gave us some powder that i have to sprinkle on her food)

We couldn't find her at first... but eventually did hiding in the bottom of our wardrobe.. i gave her the meds.. and then popped her on the floor to see if she wanted a drink or something to nibble on and she was holding her left paw up..when i stood up to walk away she cried.. so i got down on the ground and gave her a little nudge to see if she would bear weight on it and she wouldn't..

I dont know what happened... cait said she was fine when she went to bed so she has obviously got up to mischief and fallen/landed the wrong way... or got her paw caught in something.. (we have some plastic coated wire shelving units in our wardrobe... and i know George and TW always climbed on them... maybe she did tat and slipped whilst her left paw was in one of the holes... i really dont know im only guessing..)

Anyway.. by this stage it was close to 130 am... so we went to bed... she slept on me all night... NO PURRING AT ALL... but she did sleep right under my chin...

I got up at 5 to see if she wanted to use the tray... and she wouldn't.... wouldn't eat or drink either so i took her back to bed and decided that first thing we were going to the vets.. so 9 am we were at the vets and we were home by 945.. they saw us right away

The examined her paw...The vet said there was nothing major broken..but the problem was in the "wrist" area of her paw... she said that there are lots of tiny bones.. and that even if something was broken it might not show up on an xray.. because they grow so quickly at this stage... all she recommended in the first instance was rest...
She gave Harri a metacalm injection and said rest for the 24 - 48 hours... to see how it goes... if there is no improvment then they will xray and go from there...

She said that also as i dont know what caused her to be in pain that it could be a sprain and nothing broken at all.. they did give it a very good examination though

Harry has spent all day since then in the carry basket sleeping... she has been up this afternoon and used the tray, has eaten and taken some water... 20 mins ago she even was sharpening her claws on the kitchen mat.....
she appears to be bearing weight ok on it... but then she'll hold it up again as if it's sore...

I know the metacalm will last for for a minimum of 24 hours... but does anyone have any experience with this sort of injury.. we have let her out of the basket for short periods.. as she cant sit in there all the time... and we are making sure she does no climbing... or jumping... not even from the couch to the floor...

Any ideas or suggestions?

Im just so worried that she has done some permanent damage...

Sorry this is so long.. but i wanted to ive you the full details

Thank you all

Jo and Harri

[smudgley]

The problem is that the metacam wil mask the pain. So she will probably weight bear & appear happy, but until the pain-relief wears off you won't know if she is still in pain.

Hopefully it won't be anything serious, but all you can do is keep her quiet & monitor her.

[dinahsmum]

Aaaargh!
Hopefully she is just a wimp (being a baby) and the injury isn't that serious. Their bones are nice and bendy when they're tiny, so hopefully it's a 'sprain' rather than a break.
Poor baby - get well soon vibes from across the globe

[Elaine]

Poor baby, I think all you can do at this stage is to rest her and see how she progresses. Hopefully after a few days of rest she will be fine again xxx

[dandysmom]

Agree with all the above advice. Poor baby, hope it's a simple sprain and she'll be fine soon...do let us know. Healing vibes from the States also, and a cuddle!

[Leesy]

Yes I agree with all the rest of the advice just try and keep her as quite as possible so that she can rest it properly and not damage it any further, think it is more than likley a sprain and will get better soon, sending Harri lots of healing vibes to get better soon Xxx.

[angieh]

Poor little poppet - I agree with what the others have said. Try to get her to rest as much as possible. It is a good sign that she's eaten, drunk and used her tray. I'd just keep doing what you're doing. (((HUGS))) for your and a gentle chin tickle for Harri.

[pookyandjo]

Hi all,
What a day i've had...good news... horrifying news and then better news...im feeling drained and exhausted...
the good news is that Harri is weight bearing still on the left leg.. but today she decided that she wasn't going to eat or drink.. and this morning she seemed more congested so i rang the vet at the RSPCA and organised to take her down to be checked.. (she is still on the antibiotics and Lyciene (sp) powder..)for the cat flu...

I took her in.. the vet felt her glands and siad they were very swollen.. he started to take her temperature and when it got to 39 deg he pulled out the thermometer and said.. "she has a temp" and then proceded to tell me that there was nothing that could be done.. he said that sometime with high temps they will give metacam but because she had some the day before for her foot she couldn't have anymore... i asked him how i should treat her at home and he said syringe feed and if she is no better in 48 hours we would have to maybe have her PTS!!!

I was horrified...and in tears... i left there came home blubbering...David was wondering what was going on...i told him and he said."get on the phone to our vet and see what they say.. which i did...
I should point out at this juncture that because she was adopted from the RSPCA... and that she was in a pen with lots of other kittens some of whom had the cat flu... i had to sign a document that i would take her to them for treatment until they decreed that she was well enough not to attend there anymore..

Anyway... i rang my normal vet and he said bring her in right away... he took her temp.. (properly this time) 40.1 deg.. and yes her glands were up and she has a small ulcuer on her tongue which would be causing her pain.. i filled him in on what had been going on... and he said that there are a few different strains of cat flu and one of them causes inflamation in the extremities... her lame leg might have been due to the flu and not an injury that we hadn't witnessed... he said that the other vet was wrong to say that she might have to be PTS because she wasn't anywhere near as bad as what he had thought she would be based on my intital call to him. He gave her a temgesic injection.. and gave me 6 syringes of temgesic to be given orally over the next 3 days, one each morning and night... she has brigtened up A LOT since her injection at 5 pm and even had something to eat... not much ... but a little is better than nothing and she has had a little to drink as well she is running around like a kitten should and was helping (annoying ) Cait whilst she was doing some study after dinner by batting her pencils across the timber floor..

We still have to get her over the flu.. and it will take many days but at least she is getting some pain relief now.. and at least there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her leg...

Well that's about it from this side of the pond... i'll keep you up to date with how she's getting on

Jo, George and Harri

[yola]

Wow Jo - ever thought about buying shares in your vet practice?? Only kidding; but this must all be costing you a fortune. Having said that, I'm delighted that Harri seems to be perking up and that your own (trusted) vet's prognosis is a much happier and more positive one.

Hopefully she'll settle down in the next few days without any further health setbacks.

[Leesy]

Oh Jo what a day you have had with little Harri, they don`t half know how to worry us don`t they , but we love them all the same.
So glad she has perked up from the visit to your own vet, and the prognosis certainly sounds alot more positive.
Sending Harri lots of get well vibes to a speedy recovery ,
give her lots of lovely cuddles and chin rubs please from Me, Maxi & Maisy Xxx.