I am one of those who believes that a cat should not be left alone for more
than a day because various emergencies can arise. I got a good lesson today
in how rapidly something can happen. Holly was just fine, and then this
morning she was suddenly favoring one leg. She tried to avoid walking on it,
and she would sit with the leg lifted off the ground. I thought she might
have jumped awkwardly and broken it. She is an indoors-only cat, so that
fortunately eliminates all of the outdoors possibilities. I was able to get
an immediate appointment with the vet. She does not have a broken leg, but
there is a cut under one pad, and it is swollen. It's impossible to know
what caused the cut -- possibly playing with Duffy, possibly a nail
somewhere (I'm going to check all toys, scratching posts, and cat trees
*very* carefully for sharp protrusions). My vet said one of his own cats got
a similar cut on a carpet tack that had worked its way up in a doorway where
the carpet joins a vinyl surface. At any rate, she was given a prescription
for Zeniquin, and I am to check back on Wednesday -- by phone if the
swelling has gone down and she uses the leg normally, or in person if there
is still a problem. He also said to call tomorrow if the swelling has gotten
worse.

The point of all this is that I caught this very early. Something like this
could become a major infection in just a few days if she had been left alone
with no one to notice (and take care of) the problem. I have read many
messages on various newsgroups where some people claim that cats can "take
care of themselves" and can be left alone for long periods of time, but here
is an illustration of how quickly that suggestion could turn into disaster.

MaryL

My cats --
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e