My cat came home with damaged paws and a swollen rib. What's wrong?

Question

A few days ago my cat, George, disappeared. Today he came back and I immediately noticed that his paws were damaged and that his nails were kinda messed up. I cleaned him up and made him comfortable. Now that a few hours have gone by, I was petting him and I noticed that his rib right behind his front paw is swollen. I originally thought he got into a fight because he is a mean cat, but now I believe that he got hit by a car. He seems to be doing okay but he hasn’t moved and now it’s kinda late. Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered | 11 lbs

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

The fact that his nails were frayed and his paws damaged point to a road traffic accident. He was likely hit by a car. The swelling on his rib cage also points to this. Idf he is not moving he is likely in a lot of pain and he may have internal injuries. He needs to be seen by a veterinarian or at a PetER urgently. Even if he only has contusions he will need pain medicine. The vet will want to do radiographs to make sure that there is no internal injury, and no fractures. Cats are pretty resilient, but they will not show the full extent of injury like a dog. Please take George to a vet now.

My cat came home with damaged paws and a swollen rib. What's wrong?

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