What would you do?

If he's fine the way he is , I wouldn't do anything. Even a small surgical intervention would have an impact and would take a long time until fully recovered ( this goes for humans too , obviously ). If there's the risk of your cat not fully recover from the surgery , I wouldn't take it. Also , that's a very , very cute cat , anon. Take care of him and good luck!

Feeling bad is understandable, but there's no need to if the injury doesn't hinder or pain him. He doesn't know the difference and is not conscious of the fact that he's crippled.

I've seen plenty of animals with congenital defects, poorly-healed injuries, etc. that got along just fine. The shelter I work out once adopted out a kitten with a similar fracture to what you described, except it was in his shoulder rather than the leg itself. The shoulder bone jutted out dramatically and looked awful, but it didn't bother him a bit, and as far as I know he grew up just fine.

>>2295134
That kind of surgery sounds way too complicated; I would avoid.

It's good for him to get exercise (nothing too intense), and have a good blood flow to that leg. Keeping him at a healthy weight is paramount as well. And be aware that he may develop arthritis in those areas so look for s/s. Avoid being rough with him, and be careful how you pick him up.

Concentrate on the now and don't think too much about the future. Their lives are short so enjoy him and continue to give him a comfortable life. You are a very kind person to adopt an animal with special needs; my best for the both of you

If you feel you really want to do something for him, buy him a good comfortable bed, and buy a heating device for animals. I bought a bean pillow that heats up in the microwave for cats from petco recently.

Continue to take him to the vet. This is something chronic. See a specialist. If someone tells you that he "needs surgery" then seek a 2nd opinion. I've had family members become victims to greedy doctors.

Additinally if he does develop Arthritis research supplements or foods safe for cats that can decrease inflammation.

Don't let him outside, don't overfeed him, and avoid rough play.

Basically this: >>2295465

If he's not in any pain and can get around just fine, I would leave it as is. Especially since the surgery is a lot of stress on him and is likely not to improve his quality of life. If anything, I'd just opt to amputate the leg but if he's fine now I don't see any reason to do any kind of surgery. He's a cat, having a gimpy leg doesn't bother him so long as he can still eat, snuggle, and play to his heart's content. :)

If the leg is stuck permanently at that angle and it seems to be getting in his way and is mostly useless, I'd consider amputation, but otherwise, nah.

And for myself, I had a dog with an elbow that was permanently twisted outwards due to a break that had set badly. Unfortunately, he wasn't a good candidate for either amputation or surgery as he was already 7 years old and a fat little mutt with an extremely stout, heavy body plonked on short, skinny legs, which meant the vet thought he would have mobility issues with one leg gone. He gimped around fine for a few years, then his arthritis got quite bad in the broken leg, but medication kept him pain-free and mobile till he was 15.