Can anybody tell me what caused this?

[whoopdeedo]

First of all I want to thank all of you for your help. There was no fever--but there was a slight swelling around the joint of her right hind leg, and the swelling was warm to the touch. The first vet did take an x-ray and said there were no broken bones. The second vet did do bloodwork, or so he said, but he claimed he got the results back in less than 30 minutes. I always thought it took longer than that to run tests--but I might be wrong.

Lyme disease didn't even occur to me, but it is a possibility as we do have deer ticks around here. I've had a few that were crawling on me that I've had to kill. We always put Frontline on our cats during the spring, summer and fall, but she still could have gotten bit by one.

I.R. is doing great right now (knock wood), and no we haven't taken her back to the vet. I'm afraid it might stress her out too much. We've been tempted to take video of her and show that second vet--but with his attitude, he'd probably just tell us she's doomed.

It's amazing how cats can come back from something this bad and realize they have to do things differently now. Since she can't jump onto my lap anymore, she tries to climb up the chair to where I'm sitting. She only gets started before I notice her and pick her up and put her on my lap.

Again, thank you for your help.

[moosmom]

I'd definitely get her tested. I never thought of that. But since she is exposed to them, never hurts to be on the safe side and, have peace of mind.

Please keep us posted.

[Cataholic]

Good. Lord. Almighty. I am stunned, and so thankful you had the sense that you did to not have her PTS.

Is there ANY way you misunderstood what they were saying? I am blown away by this.

My first guess was an abscess. I would have her tested for Lyme's disease (though not sure she would still be with us if it were that, as I thought that was a bit more fast acting)...but, a full visit by a competent vet is in order.

Good luck!

[mrspunkysmom]

First of all I want to thank all of you for your help. There was no fever--but there was a slight swelling around the joint of her right hind leg, and the swelling was warm to the touch. The first vet did take an x-ray and said there were no broken bones. The second vet did do bloodwork, or so he said, but he claimed he got the results back in less than 30 minutes. I always thought it took longer than that to run tests--but I might be wrong.

Again, thank you for your help.

Doctors rely too much on those tests. Tests are not 100% accurate. And infections can become systemic. Please find a competent vet. and good luck and best wishes for I.R.Kitty. I like that name, too.

[Lizzie]

First of all I want to thank all of you for your help. There was no fever--but there was a slight swelling around the joint of her right hind leg, and the swelling was warm to the touch. The first vet did take an x-ray and said there were no broken bones. The second vet did do bloodwork, or so he said, but he claimed he got the results back in less than 30 minutes. I always thought it took longer than that to run tests--but I might be wrong.

It depends on the test. At my vet, they can run a general blood test in-house. It will show blood counts basically - if the cat is anemic, if they have a high white cell count which could indicate infection, etc. And, of course, FIV/FeLV. Anyway, that test can show results in about half-an-hour. In that one small way, the second vet might have shown some sense.

I didn't think of Lyme Disease, it wouldn't occur to me because I live in an area where we don't have to worry about it.

While posting this, I just remembered my Seshat who fell from a high cat climber and landed badly. She jarred her back. I took her to the emergency vet where they didn't realize she had a problem with her back but bound up her foot because they thought she'd fractured a toe. It took a couple weeks of seeing her spasming in pain and yowling when she moved in a certain way for a third vet to tell me what was wrong with her. I remember that the condition did get worse for a while before it eased up, but it took months for her to be back to nearly normal and more than a year before she had no symptoms at all. This was a long time ago so no vet suggested pain medications, as they would today.