Limping Cat 1-5 Years Front No Trauma

Be sure to check between your cat’s paw pad webbing to make certain there are no thorns, grass spurs, or other foreign objects lodged there. Also check for any split or damaged nails, as these are common injuires in cats. Lastly, check for any areas that may cause pain when gentle pressure is applied. Abscesses, or pockets of infection, are common in cats, especially those that spend significant periods of time outside. The cause of most abscesses in cats is bites from other animals, in most cases, other cats. Abscesses commonly at first present with limping, later progressing to swelling and oozing pus once the infection matures. As such, any visible swelling on an affected limb may be indicative of a mature abscess.

If you come up empty checking all these things, then please refer to the following possible cause for your cat’s limping based on the history you provided. The following disease is an inherrited genetic deformity commonly seen in puppies. In kittens and cats, it is not genetically inherrited, but is the result of malpositioning of the front limb in the uterus prior to birth. As such, the article below deals primarily in terms of canine, but the clinical consequences are just as relevent to felines who have this problem:

Elbow dysplasia

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