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My cat is limping but will let me touch her paw and doesn't seem to be in pain. What could be the cause?

My cat is limping but will let me touch her paw and doesn't seem to be in pain. What could be the cause?

Updated On March 26th, 2016

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 10 years old

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

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I am sorry to hear your cat is having lameness. Cats are masters at hiding pain and illness so they don't typically scream out unless there is substantial pain there. But limping and a pet not willing to place a foot down is an indicator of a certain level of pain there or else they would put entire weight on the limb and paw. This most likely is not a fracture because that pain would be very evident with her not allowing you to touch it and there would be a substantial amount of swelling there. So that leaves a muscle sprain or ligament partial/complete tear. The key is to localize where on the leg the pain is coming from, look for obvious swelling, and then treat the pet with anti-inflammatory medication if sprain is suspected or do an x-ray if the knee or joint is suspected as the source of the pain to rule out a ligament rupture. Unfortunately there are no safe over the counter pain meds available for cats but your vet has safe products to prescribe for your cat for conservative treatment at the very least to see if this will improve her condition.

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