Need info on cat with dislocated hip

[kathrynmw1]

I have a cat that recently got a dislocated hip. The vet put it in place and wraped it in place. In two weeks (yesterday) she took it off. She said it didn't work and the hip was not in place.
At this point to put the hip back it would require another surgery.

Due to the fact that I have already spent more than I could afford on the injury and the first surgury that also needed to be done, I chose to not do the second surgery. I felt that I would need to put the cat down so it would not suffer in pain.

Here's the part I don't understand. She said not to put him down, that some cats can do just fine with their hip out. She said give him a chance. I don't understand how this can be. Has anyone ever heard/experianced this? She said as long as he's eating and going to the bathroom then he's not in pain. Does this sound right? Is that realy how you know if an animal is in pain or not? I can't imagin that having your hip out doesn't hurt.

I'm at a loss as to what to do. If my cat realy can live like this and not be in constant pain then I don't want to put him down, however, if I were to find out that I kept him alive while he suffered, I couldn't live with that.

I welcome any help, thoughts, or advice.

Sincerely,
kathrynmw1

[critters]

Believe it or not, it DOESN'T hurt. Jazzy's hip has been out since before I got him, probably at least 6 years ago now. It wasn't fixable, and life went on. He's a tiny bit pigeon-toed on the left, and he bunny hops on the stairs, but otherwise you'd never know there was anything weird. They can form a "false joint" around it; in fact, this is exploited when vets do a Femoral Head Osteotomy on an arthritic kitty and remove the ball of the joint altogether.

Kitties are TOUGH critters; forget about it, and you'll soon forget about it!!

[kathrynmw1]

Dear Critters and Jazzy,

Thank you so much for your responce. You have put my mind at ease. I wish the vet had explained this to me, instead of saying give him a chance. She made me feel guilty for not wanting him to suffer, but didn't give me the info I needed to put my mind at rest. Seems like my vets are always away when emergency strikes.

Sincerely,
Kathy and the recovering Charlie

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

My son's cat was hit by car years ago. She had a broken pelvis. How she crawled all the way back to the house and up 5 stairs to the front door remains a mystery. Doc had her for a week. I got her back, no surgery no nothin. He crate rested her for a week. She was out of alignment for the rest of her life, but she did just fine. It is so frightening, but they are resilient little creatures.

[humberwendy]

My cat too has a dislocated hip as of a little over a week now. My vet too said he would be fine. Problem is he's an outside cat (with shelter and a heated doghouse) but before he never stayed on the back porch now he hardly gets down. There is a little jump from the wall up which he now climbs the wall instead of jumping. I'm so afraid he's in pain. He limps pretty bad and moves slow. I too asked about putting him down because I can't bare to see him suffer. I'm fine with starting him on Cosequin for future arthritis but he acts miserable since he can't run and hunt. Am I being a bad pet owner? What about the pain?

[BendyMom]

a very very verylong time ago i took in a cat who had a dislocated hip. the vet tried to re-locate it but it woudl not stay. we kept her confined for a few weeks so any soft tissues coudl heal adn after that she did just fine.
Within the past year I took n a cat wth a badly broken pelvis. She was kept on crate rest for six weeks, it has healed and she gets around fine. her main limp is caused by her busted Achilles tendon, her hips are ok.

for a person a dislocated hp is extremely painful, but our hips are very different since we are bipedal. a hip injury for us throws off not just out hip but out entire stance, so it affects our spine, everythng. Quadrapeds can cope with hip inujuries much more successfully.

If this were my cat, i would keep her confned in a large crate for a couple weeks to see how she does, just n case. This would let everything heal up, give time for any swelling to go down. If she is in pain she won't want to be very active, or she will avoid using that leg. If you see her using the leg and being active, she is ok. Pat her and stroke over the hip, see how she responds. If she yells or jerks away or swats you then you know it's sore.

Glad you found us

[humberwendy]

Thanks for the reply. He's an outside cat so my vet didn't seem too keen on him staying in a crate. He's really doing his own job of protecting it by only getting down to go to the bathroom. He's eating well and is on amox for any infection that might be involved. He's just been my buddy since we moved here he was #3 to show up..I'm now on #6..yes I'm the "cat lady" around here! My vet has been really kind by neutering 2 males for free and him discounted. Luckily only 2 were females (I didn't get any discount there considering 1 was pregnant). I'm one of those overprotective owner's that believes if you take in any animal it's your responsibility to do whatever is needed. They all have a large doghouse with a heatlamp and I have another one on the way. He has been confining himself to that house. You have relieved some stress off of me by your response. Thanks for the help!!

[critters]

I've had a fur with a dislocated hip and another with a completely mangled pelvis, and both were fine eventually. It's possible for a vet to do a FHO (Femoral Head Osteotomy, I think), which is removal of the head of the femur (the ball of the hip joint) if necessary, but neither of mine had that. I think Jazz's dislocation pretty much did that itself. They both bunny hopped on stairs and sometimes when running, but it was extremely hard to tell that anything had happened to either one otherwise. It'd be nice if you could crate your boy, or at least keep him inside until he reaches the recovery point, but I'd expect him to be fine eventually.