Gordon the barn cat is lame on his right fore

[Foxglove]

Gordon is a feral that lives in my barn and has for about three years now. I trapped him in a city where he was causing trouble attacking small dogs and spraying patio furniture in an apartment complex. I thought I’d trap/neuter/release but Gordon never did the release part, instead taking up residence in my hay mow. I have a feral colony of 11 that live at neighbors’ outbuildings. Only Gordon is allowed in the barn and shut in at night. He has learned the drill. He catches mice often, proven by the mousy gall bladders I find on my barn floor. He eats the rest, I assume.

About two-three weeks ago, I noticed Gordon limping on his right fore. While aggressive, he does allow me to touch him very carefully and slowly. I felt his shoulder, fore leg, paw pads and almost got to the dew claw when he indicated that was enough touching. Since then, I have been able to do that daily --he’s still reactive in the dew claw area —

• No heat
• No swelling
• No wound
• Seems aggravated by jumping down the ladder to the mow. Profoundly lamer after doing that.
• Eating normally
• Seems healthy
• Still doing cat patrol around the barn to keep the other ferals in line.

I am reluctant to take Gordon to the vet as it is $200 for an exam and in his case would likely mean anesthesia which would be more. The one and only time Gordon was anesthetized, for neutering, he nearly died, the vet said, as he “did not react well,” to the anesthesia and was profoundly over due to wake up --only did so 4 hours after he was expected to revive.

And there’s the fact that he seems healthy enough except for the lameness . . .

Thoughts? Can I acquire an antibiotic or analgesic for him OTC? Suggestions on what to do?

Photo of Gordon:

[Simkie]

Unless he’s been examined by the vet within the last year, there’s no veterinary client patient relationship, and it would be illegal for a vet to prescribe anything. They’d need to examine him.

No heat and no swelling means infection is unlikely. It also means something like a big fracture is pretty unlikely. So, a strain of some sort is possible? Or fracture of something small? Even a torn nail.

For those, a vet would examine, perhaps radiograph depending on what the exam shows. Perhaps prescribe some pain medicine, and advise limiting activity for a period of time.

Can you limit his activity? That would be a very reasonable place to start.

He’s a handsome man!

[2DogsFarm]

My guess is he strained/sprained that dewclaw toe.
IIWM, I’d let him go on as normal, unless the limp worsens or any sign of infection appears: swelling, heat, change in behavior…
If any of that pops up I’d probably bite the bullet & get him to a vet. They do have means of restraint that don’t require sedation.
& for the Handsome Gordon

[luvmyhackney]

My barn kitty pulled something in her front leg jumping from the barn rafters to the aisle way, I did a video call with the vet and he gave me some meds for inflammation, but otherwise told me to let her be.

She healed just fine on her own accord and would have murdered me if I tried crating her. She hung around the barn and is fine now.

Might not be much a vet could do. Barn cats hate to be caged and are difficult to treat.

[chestnutmarebeware]

My late kitty, Teddy, started limping badly on one front leg. He also had no heat or swelling, so I was afraid he’d broken it somehow while he was outside (he was allowed to go out for a few hours if I was home the whole time).

Took him straight to the vet (who clearly knows cats better them me!) for an x-ray. Instead she shaved his leg and showed me the two bite punctures that he must have gotten in a tussle with a feral at passing through. A quick antibiotic shot and a rabies booster (it was nearly time for his annual shot), and he was good to go. The limp went away about 24 hours after the antibiotic shot.

[BatCoach]

Very well could be a strain. One of my friendly ferals starting limping terribly, no heat, no punctures, and she x-rayed clean and was diagnosed with a strain. Vet gave some pain meds and I was able to keep her safe inside for a few weeks while it healed.

Vet said that the good thing about cats is that unlike horses or dogs, they are amazing at resting an injury if they feel safe. She was right as rain in a few weeks and is back to scaling trees and chasing mice.

Agree with Simkie that if you could limit his activity a bit he might self-heal just fine.

Since Gordon already has a safe space I would say let him be

[Limitless]

Were you able to check his toe beans? One of my cats was quite lame and I found he had a cut on his pad. There wasn’t much to do, really, but keep an eye on him and wait for it to heal - which took several days. He was not staying in the house and resting, despite several conversations with him that it would be for the best.

[Foxglove]

@Limitless I will try to look at them --Gordon is reasonable up to a point, and unfortunately for me, I don’t know when that point is. I learned a long time ago to only pat him behind the ears to mid-back --any place else evokes a hiss/scratch. And he’s quick. I have been daily working down his shoulder, to leg, to paw --felt the toes, except for the dew claw --that’s his boundary right now --maybe this evening he’ll let me look at his toes . . .