My calico has a hurt back paw and the vet is closed. What can I do?

Update: Now she keeps licking her mouth. But usually it’s a normal amount, and now it’s more obsessively.

What kind of hurt is it, a cut, burn on hot surface or something you can’t see? If it’s really swelled up then it could be sprained or broken and you’ll want to fashion a “satellite dish” collar out of a paper plate or stiff paper/empty food weight carboard box so she won’t start biting at the paw if the pain gets worse.

@Neizvestnaya – I do have some “tranquilizer” pills because we were supposed to be moving away today, but I don’t know if I should use it or not. Besides that, I only have 3, and I have two other cats that will need it for the trip.
And she’s able to limp around on it, but she can’t climb steps… I don’t really think it’s a burn because she’s been outside.

Is she breathng hard?
An increased respiratory rate is indicitive of a cat in pain, as is purring.

Of course cats purr, but, it can also be a sign of pain.

The OCD licking might indicate a stress reaction.

Have you examined the leg thoroughly for any possible wounds?

A bb pellet can leave a hard to find entry wound.

I would confine her in a safe place, maybe a bedroom or room she frequents a lot and not allow her outside until you have her examined by a vet.

Animals in pain often do not want to be held or messed with, just like people.

Good luck and keep her contained in a resting situation.

@Coloma : she’s not purring… I don’t think she’s breathing any harder either. But Mom says she still wants to leave tonight, but I think the stress of a new place might be really hard on her. But on the other hand, four kids that are moving into our house here would be just as bad.

@troubleinharlem

Just keep her as quiet and unstressed as possible. Be with her a lot for comfort and be extra careful she does not escape and get lost during this move.

Put her in a carrier or cage and confine her immediatly to a room in the new house with no chance of her escaping in the moving chaos.
Let her out to explore the house when everything settles down after a day or so and do not let her outside for at least 3 weeks while she is adjusting.

Then, only for very short supervised outtings. Let her get used to looking out the windows and acclimating to the sounds and smells of her new home and area.

Good luck!

There are vets open on weekends. Look in the phone book.

Search “emergency vet” and include your town. You will find a listing for an after hours clinic. Veterinarians are required by law to either provide emergency service or direct you to emergency coverage.

@tinyfaery – Not in my town… there are less than 2000 people here, and the sidewalks roll up at 6pm. not really for the sidewalks bit, that’s just a figure of speech.

@syz – I could take her to one in the place where I will be living… It’s Maryland, so it’s way bigger and has more veterinarian options for her. I have a tranquilizer pill that I could give her, but I’m not sure if it’ll last that long because it would have to last the 2.5 hours driving and then however long it would take us to go to the vet. Besides that, I couldn’t give it to her now because I don’t know when we’re leaving.

@Coloma – I tried touching her back leg to see if I could examine it, and the slightest touch made her yowl, so no luck there. But I’ll try your advice on the moving bit.

read all of @Coloma and also take the cat to the vet after you settle in the new place.
Only use the pill for the trip. Do not use it before seeing a vet. He can take care of her there and her needs to see her as she really is at the moment.
Keeping kitty quiet as @Coloma suggests will help her no matter what has happened. If she lets you caress her later you can see if you feel anything like a foreign object without pulling on her body parts. She just may have pulled something from over reacting to the excitement of the move.
Keeping a cat quiet helps them cope. They usually hide when they are hurt, so get that coverd cat cage :-)

Call your vet’s office and see if they have an emergency after-hours contact message.

you can take a sock and use it almost like a bandage on her paw/leg, you need a sock and then one if not two rubber bands that won’t end up to tight on her leg. have someone hold her scruff while u slip the sock on, slide it up pretty much as far up her leg as it will go and if you need to then bring the excess back down on itself (u know like you’re almost going to be turning the sock inside out but don’t go all the way). then rubber band at the top and at the bottom. keep an eye on her and then do your move and so on if you can’t get to a vet before then. she may slip on the sock but she is less likely to do more damage if the sock is on there. it acts as a mild down and dirty “splint” and provides cushioning around her injury for travel.

Possible pain relievers, give her treats, hold her or sit with her so she doesn’t feel inclined to move about to much. If you have it or if you want to go out and buy it give her some catnip (it will ease her pain so to speak, in theory).

and get her to the vet as soon as is physically possible

if she starts getting really dehydrated seeming (granted cats can go a good day and a little without eating or drinking anything, simply amazing creatures) If you need her to eat more, then try baby food anything meaty flavoring in baby food would do. if you need her to drink more if you have an eye dropper you can fill it with water and then press it at the side of their mouth towards the back of her cheek, and spray the dropper in slowly, but continually, cats can’t spit it out, they automatically swallow when something hits the back area of their mouth *(I’ve done both these things with my cats when they were sick feeding and giving water to the cats it’s quite effective, just be patient)

Surely the cat has seen a vet by now.

@Battousai87 Why on earth would you recommend putting a bandage on something when we have no idea what the problem is? What about that description makes you think it requires a bandage? And suggesting using rubber bands is incredibly dangerous. I have personally assisted with surgeries to amputate toes, legs, and ears that have had their circulation cut off by rubber bands (usually placed by kids) or homemade bandages that were disastrous failures.

@syz i never said that it was a cure, it’s just a temporary thing to cover the leg and give it cushion during travel before she can get a vet to attend to it properly. and of course you wouldn’t put the rubber band on tight enough to cut off the circulation just like you wouldn’t cut off the circulation while treating any other animal or human, it’s just to keep the sock from sliding straight off.