Haji VS The Fence

On Monday, my sweet Haji B tried to jump over our 6ft wood fence. Normally he jumps onto a trash can and then over but the trash cans weren't there that day and he's made the jump from the ground before. When he was younger, he would have sailed over the fence without a problem. As he's gotten older, he's had to scramble a little to make it over the top, but he did it. This time, he got his foot stuck in between two of the wooden slats and hung by his paw for up to an hour before he was discovered.

I arrived home at 5:30pm and he was in the house. Sometime between 5:30 and when we found him at 6:30pm, he got stuck. I was able to free his foot and he didn't appear to be in any pain but when he tried to walk on it, the joint knuckled under him and wouldn't support his weight. I immediately took him to the vet and had some x-rays done, which (luckily? unluckily?) didn't show any readily visible breaks, although feline metacarpals are so tiny it can be difficult to tell. Since it's not broken but it can't support his weight, both the vet and I believe he has nerve damage.

Haji's original bandage

The vet originally put him in a soft but thick bandage and asked us to come back in 10 days. Unfortunately, it was too soft and bent at the joint so we had to go in tonight for a splint. He's on pain medication for nerve pain twice a day and because both casts are cumbersome, he has to be cared for like an infant. He has to be fed, watered, pottied, medicated, washed and put to bed. If he wants o change positions we have to move him. Needless to say, it's doing nothing to improve his ego or dignity but he's taking it like a champ.

Nerve damage typically takes between 8-10 months to heal so we're looking at some hard core rehab once his new splint comes off. I'm looking into acupuncture and supplements to see if there's anything I can do to stimulate nerve healing and give him an edge in the healing process. He seems bound and determined to walk on it so I think we're both willing to put in the work.

Haji enjoying a nice swaddle with his new light saber