Are there any Vets or vet Techs on the board who can help me with this? My cat came home limping on his front paw today. I can't see any signs of infection- leg is not hot or swollen, no signs of a wound in any stage. He has in the past been stung by a bee on his paw, but that time the foot was very swollen. He seems to be in a lot of pain and growls when his leg is touched. Money is very tight right now and I am trying to avoid a vet visit as they want payment upfront. Is there a human med- aspirin? tylenol? that I can give him? I have some Rimadyl for the dog - will this work or is it dangerous for cats? Should I try giving him Benadryl? How much? he is about 10 pounds. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!!

I'm not a vet, but I had a similar situation with one of my cats. He had a cut on the pad on his paw, but I could not see it. After a day of limping and crying, we had to take him to the vet and he needed stitches. Good luck!

GO to the vet. There are VERY few OTC drugs that are safe for cats. No Tylenol or Aspirin or Benadryl. Rimadyl is not safe for cats.

Call the vets office and see if they will let you pay for the visit in two payments. Can't hurt to ask - all they can say is NO. Call your local shelter - they can probably give you the name of a vet in the area that can accept payments or is at least cheaper.

Cats are EXTREMELY fragile when it comes to medicines. Their bodies are so small that any amount - even a TINY amount - can be fatal.

I just did an online search and found a site that says a baby aspirin - one every three days - is OK for cats. I am thinking of breaking one into pieces and giving him about a third of one, just to see if it helps. Right now just watching and waiting - hoping it will get better.

I would not experiment. If the cat is growling every time you touch his leg and is normally a good natured cat you have something more wrong then baby aspirin will heal. You can try giving it 24 hours if you see no visible swelling or wound. Keep the cat inside. Do not give any OTC meds as you can very easily, inadvertently poison your furbaby.

Edited to add: If you have a good relationship with your vet, call them. You may be able to work out a payment plan to get your cat treatment.

Also watch the rimadyl. It is not safe for any animal IMHO. Just do a google search on Rimadyl toxicity in dogs. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE IT TO YOUR CAT. It will kill him most likely.

It will be quite eye opening how many people have lost their beloved dogs to this drug. I am one! It was quite ugly and heart breaking. I warn every pet owner I know about the dangers of Rimadyl. The vet calls it a miracle drug, I say it is a miracle if your dog survives it.

I was told to never give a cat aspirin.

If there is a small cut on the pad of the paw, it will become infected if you wait too long. Also, the longer you wait, the more expensive the bill, as you may need antibiotics, or a sleepover, etc. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but one of my kitties died of a blood clot three months ago, and I miss him every single day. I'd pay ANYTHING to bring him back....

I would strongly recommend never giving cats OTC meds. I have a great vet who will walk me through home first aid for my dogs but he has always said bring the cats in for treatment. He has told me several times that cats have a very different metabolism than dogs and even the slightest overdose can be fatal.

Do NOT ever give a dog or cat liquid Benedryl....the base is alchol...

My 6 lb Foxy can take a 1/2 baby aspirin every 3 hours for pain so I don't see why your cat couldn't take one. Benedryl in pill form 1/2 I give my Pom-chi morning & night for his allergies per the vet.