Swollen Cat Paw

[jesssil]

I've been letting my cat, who is a little over a year, out side during the day to have some fun, explore, and cool down since it is very hot inside and we live on the coast of MA. Normally if we see her outside, she'll run away, like she's playing a game. But i found her laying on my porch around 6 pm today and her front right paw was a little swollen. I tried to look at it but she wouldn't really let me. She kept it to herself. When she walked around she wasn't limping, she was putting weight on it, but it seemed like a little less weight than normal, as she was leaning towards the other side when she was sitting. In about a half hour it got progressively worse and it's swollen to double the size. I've laid her down on my bed and she seems very lethargic. She keeps her swollen paw out in front of her face and keeps licking and biting at the side of it. I don't believe she cut it, since I don't see any blood. I'm unsure of whether I should wait and take her to the vet tomorrow or to see if the swelling goes down. I don't know what she did to it, if she got bit or stung, if she sprained or broke it, or if she cut it and it got infected. I know that if she broke or sprained it that the best the vet could do is to give her some pain medicine if she needs it, they can't do much else. I just would like to hear of any other things she could've done to it, or any advice anyone could give. I'd be very appreciative of any help.

[evewisewoman]

Hello there,
I agree with AnnieBrooke's comment. I would definitely take her to an
emergency vet as soon as possible, especially as her paw has doubled
in size and she is lethargic. Not judging, but cats are safer inside than
outside. She could have been stung by a stinging insect or bitten by
a venomous creature. Get her to a vet asap. Don't wait. This sounds
urgent and your kitty may not show it , but she is in distress. Please
help her by providing important medical attention. Eve ( mother of
Sammy the Cat)

[MYoungAtHeart]

Sophia Loren, my 5 year old, fell off the top of the couch and broke a little bone in her paw and that swelled up to double the size also.  I got her wrangled and carted off to the vet immediately and they did give her a pain shot that lasted a week but any fixing of the bone was going to have to be done by an orthopedic vet.  The vet and I met with Sophia and he went over the x rays and said there were 2 ways to help Sophia, one was surgery to repair the bone with no promises of it not happening again, and the other option was to crate her for 6 to 8 weeks and keep her from jumping and hurting the paw further.  I picked the crating method and made a big deal out of buying her a little pink cage and loading it with food, water and treaters.  

It took 8 weeks of watching her and limiting her activities, it was like trying to keep a 2 year old child under control, but she is not limping or acting like it bothers her now at all.  She is a totally indoor cat, there was no way I could have kept an eye on her if she was inside/outside.  

It is never too late to take your kitty to the vet.  Even my ortho vet said if the crating didn't work, they could still try to fix the bone a couple of weeks after the accident.

I do hope you will get your kitty to the vet.  I agree with the other poster that being outside like she is, it could be anything that is causing her paw problem.

M

[AnnieBrooke]

Swollen to twice its normal size suggests strongly a trip to the vet.  Even an emergency vet.  She might have been bitten by something venomous.