My indoor/outdoor cat came home last night with a swollen foot. We took him to the vet this morning, had x-rays and learned he had 4 broken toes, and had his hind leg splinted. But the splint is so long he's having a hard time getting around. He keeps backing himself into corners as if he's trying to escape from his own leg, and he's making awful whining sounds. I assume there's an adjustment period for cats and splints, but does anyone have any ideas to ease the transition?

The best thing you can do is leave the cat to figure out what to do with the immobilized leg. He will figure it out eventually.

My cat has a broken front leg that the vet opted not to splint. The silly cat was jumping off the back of the couch after less than a week. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

BTW - don't bring the cat to it's food or bring it food. Leave the food dish where it belongs. This will encourage the cat to get up and get moving.

See if your vet can't give you some tranquilizers or maybe shorten the splint to make it easier for him.

A vet can prescribe painkillers for your cat. It sound like the splint is to long for your cats leg and is hindering his ability to walk. The vet can re-check the splint and may even determine to remove it entirely. Cats are very resilient and heal very quickly. If your vet sticks with their decision to keep the splint on, ask them for suggestions on your cats behavior and advise to help him become more mobile. Good luck & remember your cat will heal over time.