Broken leg + weird behavior

by HeleneD
(Nicosia, Cyprus)

Dear Dr Neely,

I rescued an abandoned kitten 3 months ago in a park near home.He must be about 3 months and a half now and in perfect health so far - playful, loving, fun and super clean. I have had his vaccination + worm treatment done.

One morning we noticed our kitten was limping - we live in a flat, there are stairs to access the roof, maybe he fell - but he usually goes up and down those stairs with facility and fun.

We took him to the vet: broken leg, no dislocation, our kitten stayed half a day at the vet, was put under light sedative, and we took him home with a cast. Of course he hates the cast which he tries to eat all the time and licks to get rid of it.

He is nervous, trembled non stop for 24 hours (real spasms). We keep him a lot with us, manage never to leave him alone, put his bed just at our bedroom door. He purrs a little, will only eat from my hand (he can't bend over to his plate and even if I put it at his face level he refuses to it). He hardly sleeps because of the cast, just by short phases.

This morning (he came back from the vet yesterday) he pooed and he started to eat his feces. I stopped him gently, cleaned him and put him back in the bed. (he never cleans himself anymore).

Is it because he is traumatized? usually he eats junior whiskas food, and if I cook chicken or beef -plain- I smash some for him. He normally drinks and eats well. Shall I worry he ate his feces? Does he have a temporary trauma because of the vet experience, or does he lack of something?

Best regards, And thank you for any reply you could provide me with,

Helene

Hi, Helene,

Poor little kitten, so traumatic to have to endure a cast so early in life or at anytime for that matter. It is very stressful. However, my experience has been that even cats with casts will continue to eat well and so that worries me. Also, eating his own feces is very abnormal and could indicate that something else is wrong with him.

I would strongly suggest that you return to the veterinarian and have bloodwork analyzed and also a fecal sample analyzed to see if he is deficient in something, is anemic for example and/or has intestinal parasites or fleas. Most often when cats eat something odd, they are anemic or deficient in some other necessary nutrient.

I would love to hear how things turn out. I wish you both well,

Dr. Neely

P.S. He is SO cute. Thanks for the picture!