Poor Barnes! He's been walking on three legs since Saturday and looks to be in quite a bit of pain so we're off to the vet this afternoon. He was limping with his left front paw on Friday but I couldn't find any obvious source of pain like a thorn or cut on his foot or a sore shoulder or leg so I figured I'd wait and see what happened with it.
Now his foot is really swollen (even under all his fluff) so he's definitely done something bad and he won't put any pressure on it at all. It's obviously very painful for him so we'll check in with our new vet this afternoon and see what they say. My guess is that he jumped down from a window ledge and landed on an acorn and sprained his paw wrist. Ouch! I hope it's not worse than that for him. He does love his freedom.
Ellie, our 22 month old daughter, tried to make him feel better last night by telling him stories out of her books at the chair he was curled up in. I'm sure that helped cheer him up!
Update 1 Tuesday: the diagnosis is in - Barnes has an infection in his foot. We'll know for sure if he responds to the antibiotics the vet gave him but after shaving Barnes's paddy paw and a close look and feel of the tender area, she concluded that there were no broken bones or sprains, just lots of swelling. Finger's crossed that the drugs do the trick. Wonder how he got the infection? Better not walk around outside in bare feet!
Update 2 Wednesday: yes, it definitely was an infection in his foot as Barnes is much better now. Before the antibiotics, he just slept in the basement all day, only coming up for some food every now and then. Now he bugs me for strokes at my desk, meows demandingly for his food, and puts weight on his paw once more. I'd say he's definitely on the mend.
