Cat's Broken Leg

[iGuest 3]

Hello,

I think my male cat's front left leg is fractured somehow and is unable to take weight on it at most of the times. He is able to take weight on that leg only for a while and is also going outdoors for sometime. I have heard of cat's excellent powers of healing by itself. Do i need to show him to a vet or will his injury heal by itself.

 

[sheepdog 10]

Let me say first, I am not a cat person. Since I am allergic to them, if it was my cat he would just have to heal on his own, because I couldn't physically handle the cat to tape up the leg.

He might heal on his own, but the process would be long, drawn out and probably quite painful for the cat. The leg really should be stablized to prevent further damage and to start the healing process. It won't heal back if he is constantly redamaging it. If he is an indoor cat he stands a better chance of recuperating than an outdoor cat would, but even indoor cats jump around enough that he could still continue damaging the leg.

Are you even sure if the leg is broken? You should be able to feel it and tell for sure. It might just be a bad sprain, or even a cut on his foot that is making him limp. If it's a cut or a bite on his leg, it will heal ok if you just keep the wound clean.

 

You can make a pretty good splint and cast with a product called Vet Wrap. It's a self sticking elastic wrap. Popcycle sticks make good splints. We had a dog break a front leg once, we wrapped it up this way first, then took it to the vet, when the vet saw it he said he couldn't do a better job himself with it, so sent us home.