Not weight-bearing, or in real pain

What this tends to look like

• Holds the leg completely off the ground, or toe-touches without loading it
• Whimpering, panting while lying still, or repeatedly getting up and lying down again
• Will not be touched over a particular area, or turns to guard it
• Sometimes visible swelling, or a joint that sits differently to its pair
• Off food, which in an otherwise well animal is often a pain sign rather than a gut sign
• May seem slightly better after rest and much worse again on standing

What is usually going on

There is a clean line between soreness and injury, and the two most reliable markers of crossing it are refusing to load a leg at all, and vocalizing. Bruised muscle hurts and animals still use the leg. A fracture, a dislocation, a torn ligament or a cracked bone typically produces a leg that is not used, and no amount of time or supportive care changes what is underneath.

There is a specific reason not to wait this one out. A fracture that is set within the first day or two has better options and a better outcome than the same fracture at ten days, and a partially torn cruciate ligament that is rested and appears to recover very often fails completely a few weeks later, because the joint was never stable. Cats hide injury remarkably well and will often use a badly damaged leg lightly rather than not at all, so the threshold for imaging a cat should be lower rather than higher.

The other half of this is pain relief, and it is where home care does actual harm. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin are all dangerous in dogs, and acetaminophen is lethal to cats at very small doses. There are safe and effective veterinary painkillers, and withholding them because you are waiting to see is neither kind nor useful. We are offering no remedy on this page because arnica for a possible fracture would be a genuinely poor trade for the day it costs.

What you can do at home

• Strict rest starting now. Lead outside for toileting only, no stairs, no jumping, no running
• Do not give any human painkiller. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin are all dangerous, and acetaminophen kills cats
• Do not massage, stretch, or manipulate the area to work out where it hurts. Let a vet do that
• Check the foot and nails before assuming the problem is higher up. Split nails and pad wounds mimic this well
• Confine a cat to one room so they cannot jump or get outside
• Note exactly what they were doing at the moment it happened. It often points straight at the diagnosis

What progress should look like

How long to give this before you conclude it is not working.

• TodayGet examined. This is the whole recommendation, and imaging is usually what settles it.
• First 48 hoursStrict rest either way. It is the treatment for soft tissue and it prevents worsening of anything structural.
• One to two weeksA simple strain should be steadily better. Improvement that stalls or reverses points at something structural.
• If it looks better in a weekStill get it checked before normal exercise resumes. Apparent recovery is the classic partial cruciate pattern.

When to stop and call your vet

• Any change in gum color, breathing, or level of consciousness
• Swelling that is growing, or a limb that looks the wrong shape
• Pain getting worse over hours rather than better
• A cat who has become hidden, silent and unwilling to move at all