The causes of a cat limping can be very varied:

✓ Bone fractures, dislocations, or muscle tears

✓ Swelling of the limb due to a bite

✓ Wound on the pads

✓ Infections in the extremities

✓ Nail injuries

✓ Spinal cord and spinal cord injuries

✓ Osteoarthritis

✓ Tumors

Unless it's due to trauma or infection, it's rare for a cat to go to the vet for lameness. Cats are very good at hiding pain to avoid becoming prey. Even if they are protected at home and have no predators, it's a survival instinct.

Osteoarthritis is one of the main causes of lameness in dogs. Osteoarthritis also occurs in cats, but it is rarely diagnosed because obvious lameness is seldom observed in cats with the condition. It primarily causes behavioral changes. Identifying these changes is important for diagnosing lameness in cats.

These are some of the changes in the cat's behavior:

✓ Stiff gait

✓ He is calmer than usual

✓ He no longer explores like before

✓ It no longer jumps to places it used to.

✓ Does not climb walls

✓ Urinates and defecates with difficulty, sometimes outside the litter box

✓ Slower when going up or down stairs

The veterinarian will take x-rays to check the condition of the joints.

The treatment mainly includes analgesic-anti-inflammatory drugs, special diets and weight control.

More about osteoarthritis in cats

A blood clot (thrombus), usually originating in a diseased heart, breaks off and blocks arteries, often in the caudal aorta, affecting the hind legs. It causes acute paralysis, intense pain, absence of pulse, and cold extremities. With a serious prognosis, it requires emergency treatment.

The incidence of hip dysplasia in domestic shorthair cats is low, just over 5%, but reaches 20% in purebred cats. The most prone breeds are the Himalayan, Maine Coon, and Persian. Diagnosing hip dysplasia in cats is not straightforward. The degenerative changes tend to develop later and are less pronounced than in dogs. In cats, radiographic changes affect the acetabulum more than the femoral head, which is often unaffected.

Most cats respond to non-surgical treatment with a combination of environmental changes, physical therapy, medication, and weight loss. If these changes do not adequately relieve the cat's pain, two surgical options are available: femoral head and neck excision and total hip replacement.

The photo shows a dislocation of the right hip.

Click below on osteoarthritis in cats to read more