I accidentally hit my cat with a hockey ball. Do I have to go to the vet?

Question

I still feel bad about this but let's start with a quick rundown of the incident.

I play hockey (the field one) and was practicing a bit in my yard. My cat usually goes inside when I do this but this time she apparently did not. I hit the ball, not super hard but it did go with a speed that would make me go ouch if it hit me, and it rolled past my intended target into the bushes where apparently my cat had been hiding.

As soon as I hit her she sprinted away, I've never seen her go that fast, and hid underneath the staircase in the basement and did not want to get out or get petted for quite a while. Now that she's out she does not want to eat, not even her candies, which surprised and worried me since she has a rather large appetite or get attention and is scared quite easily.

When she finally let us touch her she kept her paw on the same spot on her belly and did not want us to touch her there. This makes me think that I hit her there and I am clueless as to what to do now.

In humans a punch to the stomach can give some serious complications and even though I would have been fine if that ball hit me in the stomach she is a much smaller and older cat.

My most important question is should I take her to the vet. I don't want to cause any unnecessary stress or anything but I am afraid that she might have more serious injuries than she shows. I'm mostly concerned due to the fact that she has not eaten anything since this happened, which was over 2 hours ago, and it's quite a bit past her usual 'dinner time'.

I hope you guys can help me out with this because I really don't know what to do.

--EDIT--: talked to vet and he did not see a reason to immediately rush over.

Answer 1

If your pet is ever hit by a object at high speed, you need to take it to the vet.

It does not matter if the object is soft or hard. When it comes at a high speed damage might happen.

You will not be able to see this yourself. Your pet might not even show signs of pain and still have an internal injury.

It is the same with people. If an high speed impact happens, you will be admitted to hospital for observation. The cause is not the important part here. It might be a high speed object hitting the body or the body hitting an object.

Answer 2

I see 2 possible scenarios here:

1. You didn't actually hit your cat but scared her quite a lot. Hiding and not eating could be a sign of stress and she will eventually calm down and act normal again.
2. You did hit her and she's injured. Cats in pain usually hide away and stop eating.

It's OK not to rush to the vet if she doesn't show any alarm signs like rapid breathing, limping, unusual aggressiveness or vomiting blood. But you should be aware that not eating, drinking or defecating within 24 hours is also one of these alarm sings and a medical emergency for cats.

You should keep your cat indoors until tomorrow and observe her behavior. If she shows signs of pain, don't hesitate to take her to the vet. Cats usually hide discomfort and pain as much as possible, so even the slightest sings are reason enough to get her treated.