Feral Cat Neutering

Question
We have a registered feral cat colony.  We trapped one (a 6 month old male) and took him yesterday to be neutered, flea application done.  We kept him overnight in the trap, introducing water and food later in the evening as we were instructed.  Letting him lose this morning to join his colony (on our back porch), we noticed his right rear leg.  He wouldn't put any weight on it, lays on it, but won't walk on it.  He limps.  What can be wrong?  We are very worried.

Answer
Hi Cher.  I'm not sure what you had performed on this little guy, but where I am, it's mandatory that any ferals be vaccinated for rabies before they be released.  The rabies vaccine is given in the right rear leg, and since it's given into the muscle, it can be quite sore.  If he was vaccinated against rabies, limping can be seen for a few days after the injection is given, although for him not to walk on it at all would be a little extreme.  

There could be the potential that he sprained his foot while in the trap, or possibly even broken toes if his limp is severe or goes beyond a couple days.  The ideal situation would be to get a hold of him again and keep him in a safe place until he's got full use of his leg, since he'll be compromised against the dangers of the outdoors.  Some say a feral will never wander into a trap twice.  I've found that to be completely untrue if the kitty is hungry enough, so if you can get your hands on him, you may want to have the vet check him out.  Many animal shelters will rent out large dog crates, and that's actually the ideal solution for a kitty with a sprain.  A little bit of cage rest should have him feeling better in a couple of weeks.  I know it's sad to see a feral nervously locked up in a cage, but they really recover from the experience quite quickly, and a 6-month-old is going to be especially resilient.

Hope he feels better soon!

Best regards,
Jessica