Posted on November 25, 2008 - by Booger

Booger’s Broken Hips

Just got back from the vet, anaesthesia hadn’t even worn off yet and they gave me pain killers. I couldn’t even move, just hang my tongue out.

This is Booger’s Mom with an update on his injuries. Thank you all for your well wishes and purrs.

The bone specialist vet called back today after reviewing Booger’s x-rays. Booger has two broken femoral heads (the balls of the hip bones). In addition, one hip is displaced. Even though he is less than two years old, the deterioration of his bones weakened them to the point that an otherwise harmless fall is very serious. I don’t know how the injury happened, but suspect he was chasing Kaleesi and fell over the half wall and down the stairs.

The vet isn’t offering any recommendations, just saying to research cat hip surgery on the internet and his office will call back tomorrow. He said the left hip, which is displaced and fractured, would need a pin and hope it heals while he continues to use the broken right hip. Once the left hip is healed enough to use, some kind of surgery can be done on the right hip. FHO (femoral head ostectomy) or removal of the ball joint may be an option. The pin can then be removed from the left hip. The genetic defect of bone deterioration reduces the chance of healing with or without a pin and two vets have said this will not heal on its own. It isn’t known how much pain he will be in or for how long.

We are looking into kitty wheelchairs hoping this will increase his chances of healing. I don’t want to put my baby down.

If anyone can point me to some good information on cat hip surgeries, bone deterioration or wheelchairs, please paste a link! I asked JustAnswer and this was the response. Hopeful at least.

I will post again when I find out more.