Why is my cat limping intermittently? Is a long dew claw the cause?

I think it's likely something recent. Limping means Lily is in pain, and unfortunately there are no OTC pain medications you can give her. Many human ones are toxic to cats, and are fatal if given. I would take her into the vet in the morning for this problem. Rest her tonight as much as possible. No running, jumping, or playing.

This claw looks very malformed - I wonder if he had previous trauma to his toe. If he’s never had an x-ray of his foot it might be a good idea to make sure the bones in his toes look normal. If he doesn’t limp he may not be significantly painful, but if he does limp pain medication, joint supplements or even amputation of the toe might be indicated.

A clot that causes limping is VERY painful. We do not expect cats that have thrown clots to recover without significant treatment. So, that certainly makes it less likely that Luna had a clot. However, I would strongly recommend having her examined to see what is going on. It certainly is not normal for a 6 year old cat to be limping. If Luna does not do well at the vet, maybe a house call vet would be a good option for her. I'm not sure if there is one in your area, but this might be a good place to look for one. http://www.homevets.org/Find_A_Mobile_Vet.html Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Luna feels better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello Carlos! Limping is a sign of pain in cats, so if Tomaz is limping with his front left paw, he is in pain. It could be that because he was limping on the back paw, it put more pressure on his front paws, and now he's injured the left front paw. I'd take him back into a vet today. Best of luck.

Increased pain and limping 5days after surgery may indicate infection in the wound, and she needs to be assessed by a vet for pain relief and possibly antibiotics. Given she has had an anesthetic, surgical trauma and pain and post operative medications the risk of any additional treatment to kittens would be minimal

Cat limping can have a variety of causes, including injury to soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments), broken bones, patella luxation (slipping kneecap), arthritis, infection, or a back injury. For instance, a partial tear to a ligament may result in intermittent limping, leading a pet parent to believe that the injury is less serious than it is. Arthritis is a common cause of limping, pain and join stiffness in older cats. Arthritic limping may seem worse in the morning and on colder days and usually gets worse over time. Animals of all ages are susceptible to back injuries, which can cause limping and an abnormal gait. Elderly animals are particularly prone to back injuries due to spinal degeneration. Such limps may seem to come and go.

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.