Arthritis?

Sometimes in the morning I put Taz out of the room and close the door because he drives me nuts wanting me to feed him, but it's too early.
Last Thursday I kicked (not literally of course) him out of the bedroom and then when I went to leave the room he must not have heard me coming and I hit him with the door. (:(I'm a bad mommy) Later I noticed him limping pretty bad. Within the next couple days he was fine....no limping. But now I am noticing him limping (on the same leg) off and on, usually after he's been laying down for a while. He still has his spastic moments, like just now, he was limping, this is what prompted me to make this thread. While I am typing he just ran like a crazy cat down the hall. :eek:
At first I thought maybe I bruised him by hitting him with the door. But now I'm thinking maybe it's arthritis. :confused: He is 12 years old. Can a vet diagnose arthritis? Or would it just be a guess on their part? And if it is arthritis, there's nothing I can do about it, right? I mean, it's only bothering him occasionally and it's not hampering his life....yet.
Any advice will be appreciated.

If the limping is a sudden thing that just started after getting hit with a door then it could be something like bruising, pulled muscle, or a damaged tendon.

Arthritis generally is a gradual thing and is usually most noticed after the animal has been laying down for a while, jumping up, and climbing stairs.

Either way a visit to your vet is in order because it sounds like your cat is experiencing pain and they will have the right meds to help him feel better. Don't try to give asprin/tylanol/motrin to him. Most of those are toxic to cats.

BTW until you can get into your vet's office, I'd keep your cat's activity to a minimum in case it is some kind of damaged tendon, more activity can cause more damage with those.

Oh and at 12 yrs old it is possible for arthritis to start. Ask your vet about getting some glucosamine for cats (Cosaquin, Dasaquin etc).

Good luck.

I Am Thinking Arthritis As Well As I Think That You Would Really Have To Hit Him With The Door Fairly Hard To Do That Sort Of Damage To Him

The Good News Is That There Are A Lot Of Good Meds For Arthrisitis As Senior Smokey Had That In His Back Legs, And He Was Basically Pain Free Till His Passing Due To His Gels.
And He Was Going On 24!!
WE ARE SENDING OUR PRAYERS THAT TAZ IS NOT IN PAIN, AND WILL BE ALL RIGHT.TAZ IS A BIG FAVORITE AT THE LUCKY FOUND PET PARADISE HOTEL.

well, it's hard to tell when it's just last week. years ago, zephyra got her head stuck under behind the stove :eek: scared I pulled her her by her only leg and lifting at the same time - I pulled too fast because it was SO heavy and was afraid if I made a little mistake move her head would get smashed. I took her to the vet on the same day for any damages, vet felt it was a sprain then xrayed to make sure, just a little tendon tear but told me to not worry and let it heal on own - "cats are usually good at that," so she limped for about two weeks and as you see, is extremely fine now.

again, words wouldn't do justice of how hard it hit him and he's 12 so I'd wait around for a bit to tell if it's arthritis as long as he eats, teases zoee and does some spastic zooms with his cute sag lol.

bad mommy? yes, you are! afterall for posting this too!! :rolleyes: :p

Thanks for the replies, advice and suggestions. :)

Yeah Gina, I know:p, I didn't want to make a thread, but I was curious about arthritis and if a vet can diagnose it. (I could have just asked my sister, a vet tech. :rolleyes: )

I think I'm just going to see how he does, since I can't take him to the vet until next week anyway. He seems perfectly fine, running around like usual. I'm probably just feeling a bit of guilt (for hitting him with the door) and just being a paranoid meowmie. He is my one and only heart cat.....EVER.

Thanks again you three! :D