Vet hit her nerve.

Just yesterday I took my two cats to the vet for their yearly shots. Both are perfectly healthy (and majorly spoiled) cats, but they're as different as night and day. One is as nice as can be at the vet, she just stands there and lets them do whatever they need to. The other gets scared, and growls and hisses. I know that cat, so I know that any damage she could actually inflict on the vets wouldn't be much at all. She acts tough when scared, but she's still the pushover I know and love.

Still, the vets don't want to take any risks, and I understand that. The scared cat is only two years old, so she's only been to the vets once before. The first time she went, they put a towel over her front so she couldn't bite or scratch and left her bottom out to give the shots.

This time they put the towel completely over her and gave the shots blindly under the towel. The vet had no idea where the needles were going.

At the time, I trusted the vet to know what he was doing. We've been going to that place for a long time and never had a real problem. But once we got home, I found out that my cat couldn't move her leg. We rushed her back (while I sobbed the entire way) so they could look at her again. When we came back, they literally dumped her out of her carrier and onto the floor where they poked her with a stick to get her to (try and fail to) run across the floor of the closed room. She couldn't, her back leg dragged the floor.

Turns out the vet hit a nerve while blindly giving her the shots. He said that her leg was numb, she couldn't feel it, and that's why she couldn't walk. I asked him if she would ever get the feeling back in her leg, and he said he didn't know.

So my question has two parts to it. Firstly, (and most importantly) is there honestly any chance if her leg getting better? He said he didn't know, but he sounded very doubtful. And secondly, did that vet treat her poorly? I think he did, and I'm so scared for her.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I can't answer your second question, as to whether or not your vet treated her poorly.  I wasn't there, but I do know that cat bites and scratches are not only painful they can result in severe and sometimes dangerous infections.  Bartonella Hensellae (cat scratch fever) is one of the more serious consequences of scratches from cats.  

If your cat is that bad perhaps your vet can give you tranquilizers to pre-treat her for future veterinary visits.

Did your vet give your cat a course of prednisolone to help with inflammation surrounding the affected nerve and for the nerve itself?  Most of these nerve needle accidents result in nerve bruising, or partial damage and do ultimately resolve.  If she shows no improvement soon (once she has been on prednisolone)  please take her to a veterinary neurologist for evaluation.  Acupuncture may also help.