Species: Cat
Age: 4.5
Sex/Neuter status: M/N
Breed: Domestic short-hair
Body weight: 8.4 lbs
History: Incomplete. Shelter was informed at intake that he had a deformed hind leg and that it was congenital, but as the original owner had passed away there was no further information. No mention was made of the front leg. His original vet is unknown, if there ever was one; he came in intact, and was neutered about three and a half months ago. I adopted him a week ago, but couldn't see him moving around until yesterday.
Clinical signs: He limps when walking on either left limb. He won't walk or stand on his front leg on flat ground, but will walk on it if he's climbing into my lap. No visible abnormalities in the front leg. His rear leg is usually at an odd, turned out angle (example image here). It's tough to get him to cooperate for a photo with him up on his hind legs, but it's turned out in that posture as well. He will walk on it, and will stand on three legs—though this may just be because he does need to use at least one left leg to stand. He doesn't seem any more annoyed with me feeling around his left legs than he is the right, so there are no obvious signs of tenderness. He is perfectly willing to walk around for more than just necessary movement—he'll constantly decide that whichever hand isn't petting him at that moment is preferable, and move closer to it. He uses the litter box normally, grooms himself, eats very willingly, and is willing to play and run/jump a little. Running appears to exclusively be a bunny hopping gait. I only saw him jump once onto the toilet seat, because he wanted to be closer to the treat bag. He's still in his own small bathroom space while he acclimates and for the sake of slow introduction to our other cats, since he tends to be a very nervous little cat, so I haven't been able to observe his gait over more than a handful of steps in any direction. Other than the gait abnormalities, I haven't noticed any of the usual signs of pain in a cat, but since he's unfamiliar to me it's possible I've missed things.
Duration: At minimum 4 months
Your general location: Northern US
Links to test results, X-rays, vet reports etc: None yet
Mostly I want to know how quickly he really should be seen by a vet—if this is likely to be something actively causing him pain or if it's just probably the way he is and it's not hurting him. Our normal vet doesn't have any appointments for a new animal non-emergency case for a couple of months. I do love our vet, but if I need to take him to be seen elsewhere sooner that is something I can do. He is on a joint supplement since the shelter figured it definitely couldn't hurt. If there's anything more I could/should be doing for him while we wait, I'd definitely like to know.