Cats: it takes up to 3-6 weeks for a sprain to heal?

Question

i posted last night that yesterday my cat fell off the fridge and hurt his leg, i managed to come up the a way to get him to the vet, they said that it isn't dislocated. that it is a minor leg sprain.  the vet says that it wil tale 3-6 weeks for it to heal, he also said that he may not want to eat or drink much. 

i forgot to ask him how long he will go without eating. he is still growling every time he moves he will eat a little, but i cant get him to drink. any ideas on how to do this. a cat can only last a week without water. it takes 3-6 weeks for his leg to heal, if he won't drink till he feels better then what. how do i get Water into his system without hurting him.

again he is a 15 year old black and white male. rescued from an abusive home, the vet said to continue to keep him in the dog kennel until he starts using it more.

my question however is how to put water into his system. please.

Gothic Chick · Accepted Answer

i know its hard sweetie. he will be okay. what you really need to be concerned about is if he stops going to the bathroom. is the litter box near him? if not try butting one near him. maybe even a short tray that he can easily climb into. this may make it easier for him to go. 

also, get him a dish With food and water, put it up to him, if you have to use an eye dropper then do so. i have taken in many injured cat where the vet has told me to do this. for right now, everything is going to have to be brought to him. don't let him try to walk to it.

good luck and my prayers are with you.

menykats · Answer

I don't think you should worry that he won't drink water now.  If he gets thirsty, he will drink. If you have him in a kennel cage now, just put a bowl of water in there with him. 
When the vet said it would take 3 to 6 weeks to heal, that is probably true. But that doesn't mean the cat won't be walking on it for all that length of time.  As it heals and stops hurting, he will begin to move around more.  I had a cat with a broken pelvis and the vet said he would take about 6 to 8 weeks to heal.  Within a couple of days, he was eating and drinking again, and after 1-1/2 weeks he was beginning to walk gingerly.

Dalia M · Answer

Aww, poor kitty. What you can do is get a syringe and put the water in his mouth little by little until you think he's drank enough. Cats can go very long without water, and you'll notice that they rarely do drink water.
You can also try giving him moist food.  If he doesn't want to eat any at all, feed him Pedialyte with a syringe, that will keep him alive until he is better.
If he is hurting, he may not really want to clean himself either, and I've read that a cat will let itself die if it's dirty, so wipe him down with an unscented wipe or a damp cloth.

Trending News

Cats: it takes up to 3-6 weeks for a sprain to heal?

3 Answers