Expert: Jessica - 8/12/2011

Question
Hello,

My cat came home this morn'g with a dislocated left hip joint. I took him to the vet and this was confirmed after x-rays. No broken pelvis. The vet pushed for expensive hip surgery. I want to give my cat a chance to heal on his own. I got pain killers from the vet.

Do you think my cat has a good chance to heal his hip joint? Are pain killers sufficient?

Thanks in advance for your time and response.

Answer
Hi there,

If the joint set back into place, then it is extremely unlikely that it will return to a normal position on its own. The cat will very likely learn to compensate for the dislocation by shifting his weight, and muscles may strengthen around the dislocation to prevent it from further slipping. The cat might seem okay with pain relievers until he learns to walk with the dislocation still in place. But with the dislocated joint still present, there will be abnormal wear and tear on all the surrounding tissues. This can lead to problems down the line, such as arthritis or the grinding of soft tissues between bone. Severe arthritis, once bone has worn down bone, is irreversible. And if soft tissues are ground between bone, this will need to undergo a procedure called debridement to remove damaged tissue and alleviate severe pain. So it is truly better to address the dislocation now, before it causes any of these problems, rather than later.

Good luck!

Jessica