Another problem for Sherlock

[manonthemoon2]

Following his CT scan showing a bone fracture we did as best we could for 4 weeks, stopped him from jumping and chasing about.

So the 4 weeks passed, 2 days before we went on holiday (Friday) we let him have freedom. Then half a day later we noticed he could not put weight on his foot and although he wasn't appearing to be in pain he didn't like us touching his foot. I thought he might have been stung whilst out in his outdoor area but wasn't sure what to do as it was so close to us travelling to Italy.

Our daughter said she would look after him with her and even had a cage to put him in so he could rest. Anyway off we went, we phoned our daughter every day to get updates and by the following Tuesday she said he hadn't improved so made an appointment with the vet for Thursday. Once again they xrayed him (he must be a nuclear reactor by now) and found the hip joint had completely come out. It wasn't a dislocation that they could pop back in as it had been a week since he had done it, an operation was required to shave some bone to make it fit back into the correct place. Imagine our horror with ourselves for not acting sooner.

Tomorrow he returns to us and has to stay "suite à notre conversation téléphonique, voici les consignes post-opératoires pour votre chat SHERLOCK.
Sherlock doit rester au repos STRICT pendant au moins 1 mois. Le pansement doit rester en place pendant au moins 3 jours, s'il tombe après ce délai, il faut désinfecter la plaie matin et soir jusqu'au retrait des points. Vous devez prendre rendez-vous dans 15 jours pour retirer les points.
Sherlock doit rester enfermé dans une pièce jusqu'au contrôle radiographique à prévoir dans 1 mois. Il ne doit pas sauter (par exemple sur un lit ou un fauteuil)."

I think that is pretty much a telling off but now I'm wondering if I can lift him onto the bed so I can cuddle him.

Why me? Why do I end up with a gorgeous cat that has so many problems, no one could feel more guilty than me as his start in life being so wrong. I'm not even sure from that message whether he can walk around as long as he doesn't jump.

The Vet basically made our daughter feel on edge by thinking that we are doing this on purpose to hurt Sherlock as he couldn't understand how the day we let him be "free" he does himself another injury.

[Blaze]

@manonthemoon2 - don't beat yourself up about it, you have enough to contend with. The vet wants to be sure you understand which is why he's expressed himself in straight simple terms.
The problem with a big cat like a Maine Coon is that they can outgrow their strength when they're young. You can bet your vet has heard of similar problems with MCs.

The vet is saying is that Sherlock needs to be confined to one room (where he can't jump onto anything) until he has an x-ray in a month's time. He needs complete rest, no freedom, just as if he were in a cattery, but of course as many cuddles as you want to give him. I would avoid lifting him at all except when you have to go to the vet. It will be hard, but it's important that Sherlock avoids any kind of movement than can damage the repair. He should only be walking, lying down and doing his natural business.

Give him a huge cuddle from me. I don't think for a moment the vet thinks you're trying to hurt Sherlock, he's just trying to emphasise how important it is that he has complete rest and that includes not picking him up ! You'll be able to do that later.

[Pathca]

Some of my family are going through similar with their dog who broke her leg on Easter Sunday,it was pinned and them she had screws in her feet to enable her ankle joint to stay flexible She can’t jump ,climb stairs run etc .Outside for five minutes every two hours, My cousin moved into the down stairs bedroom with her in case she needs to wee in the night
The also discovered that the super duper insurance only covered part of the cost
I am sure the vet doesn’t think you are deliberately hurting him ,they probably feel sorry for you

[exile]

I agree very much with what @Blaze has written. No lifting. If you lift him up you need to be 200% sure he cannot/will not jump down. When you want to cuddle him, lie down on the floor with a cushion or two. He deserves lots of cuddles and I know you have lots to give.

One of ours is driving us to distraction. He will hobble around on three legs. Examination of the "injured" leg gives us no clues as to what is wrong since he does not seem to be in any pain. The vet can find nothing wrong either. Half an hour later and he will be walking normally and of course you can be sure that when he goes to the vet he shows no symptoms whatsoever. But then on getting home after a few hours he will be back to doing a three legged hop around. Whatever it is does not stop him jumping up or down.

[manonthemoon2]

I agree very much with what @Blaze has written. No lifting. If you lift him up you need to be 200% sure he cannot/will not jump down. When you want to cuddle him, lie down on the floor with a cushion or two. He deserves lots of cuddles and I know you have lots to give.

One of ours is driving us to distraction. He will hobble around on three legs. Examination of the "injured" leg gives us no clues as to what is wrong since he does not seem to be in any pain. The vet can find nothing wrong either. Half an hour later and he will be walking normally and of course you can be sure that when he goes to the vet he shows no symptoms whatsoever. But then on getting home after a few hours he will be back to doing a three legged hop around. Whatever it is does not stop him jumping up or down.

Could be he knows how to fake it?

We had a lurcher many years ago that yelped whilst out walking. We couldn't detect anything and noticed when we weren't obviously looking he didn't limp. When he knew we were looking he limped.

Weird are pets aren't they

[Blaze]

Could be he knows how to fake it?

I doubt it though I can understand that sometimes it looks as if they might be. Our Aussie has had elbow dysplasia since birth but we only found out when she was 6 years old. Several previous visits to our local vet revealed nothing and it wasn't until we visited a specialist in Angers where she was scanned that we found her elbow cartilege was worn down and she had very bad arthritis in her elbows. She's now 14 and with careful dieting and limited exercise, she lead a "normal" life. She limps from time to time and she can be stiff in her elbows when getting up from lying on her bed. However, at meal times, she's a 14 year old puppy, jumping around like a 2 year old. Same when we let her out first thing for a pee - she rushes off down the garden without a care in the world. She looks as if there's nothing wrong with her most of the time, but we know this is not the case...

Animals don't manifest pain in the same way we do so sometimes it can be difficult to know that they're hurting.

[Sparkle]

@manonthemoon2 so so sorry to read your post and the distress Sherlock is causing you and himself. I do understand. We had 14 months with our cat's problem and as difficult as it was there was little cuddling or picking up. Inside we were crying for her. She was so restricted having been used to doing her own thing especially as she was a wild kitty when she arrived. We decided to let her have space and do what she could do whilst under harness and collar and being locked in overnight except when she cried to go out and OH got up several times during the night to put on her leash and walk her around the garden and then walking her around the garden throughout the day - exhausting both of us. However, she got on with it and didn't complain just now & again when we were trying to put the collar on (got round that one with collars that have stud fasteners rather than ties) 8 months now since her problem cleared up and we now have the most talkative, lovable cat who is constantly by our side either in the house or the garden. So all I can say is maybe try to step back a little, have faith and be prepared for the long road back to health. Sending you, Sherlock, and the puss a big virtual of course hug.

[hughnique]

Sparkle, I can identify with you on the tiredness front, since our baby chased the cat and did herself a spinal problem we have been in two minds as to where we go from here. Twice we have taken her to the vets with a view to having her put to sleep and twice we have been persuaded to give it time, from a dog that was dragging both her back legs, and falling everywhere she has come on significantly, she is still a bit wobbly at the rear end but she gets along quite well, hopefully she will keep improving, albeit at ten years old we don't expect a puppy to be re born. She is in her twilight years but if she can get another couple, and not in pain so much the better.

[Sparkle]

@hughnique well that's heart warming to hear. It takes time to heal being animal or human but I don't think us humans deal very well with our animals with problems as they cut us to pieces whilst we try to do everything in our power to help them. I'm sure your dog will recover albeit perhaps more slowly than you'd wish and possibly not 100% but with the love and attention you give her she will be OK I'm sure and if she's happy then you're happy too. Please keep us posted as to how she gets on.

[manonthemoon2]

My baby is recovering well, in fact he is raring to go.

He's been in the cage with very short visits out to stretch his legs.

He has tried a couple of times to jump on the bed, I've managed to stop him. He is getting very rattled in the cage, and has been rattling at night in the cage, which is in the bedroom.

Anyway, hopefully progress is in process. Here is a photo of my baby