Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

The post op follow up visit went well.. Dr. Padgett was very pleased with his recovery, weight, incision, and activity level..  It appears the only weight he lost was his leg...  His staples came out 2 weeks practically to the hour and that went well.  Dr. recommended to gradually reintroduce him into household over the next week or so but still monitor and keep him confined at night and when not around.  He gets around good and has figured out to hold himself lower and he can move much easier and quicker without the hop motion.  We laid on the couch and cuddled for a bit this afternoon after returning home and scarfing half a can of food.  I was given another 30 ml bottle of gabapentin for any flare ups in pain and to use with the process I am doing now of weening him down as I increase his activity and allow him out of confinement. I have him on about .5 per day.  Dr. said to use as needed and can give him up to 1 ml if needed if he appears in pain or discomfort after periods of activity during these next few weeks.  wE go back in 2-3 months to oncologist for chest xrays to see if any microscopic cancer shows up and will continue that for who knows how long.  Chemo would be next step if needed during these check ups.  Dr. stated that his scapular osteosarcoma was technically best news for cancer diagnosis because in cats as it is so rare and rarely metastatic in cats... sadly for dogs it is very bad. Of course I will always still stress about this what if/chance and especially at time of xray check up, but I know he is basically Fuzz from several months ago before the limp, before the shoulder growth.. he does not appear in any pain, he eats like a pig, purrs and talks to me like he always did and gives his kitty kisses!  Fuzz sends his love and many purrs and head bumps! 

Sunday Update: Since I have long weekends at home we used Saturday as a monitored time out of his hospital/recovery room for Fuzz to reacclimate to house.  There is NO STOPPING Fuzz!  So much for keeping him under a slow reintroduction... Stairs are no problem.  Jumping up on to table and then down again-no problem, jumping into his chair-no problem, jumping up on back of couch where he likes to nap- no problem!  As I type this he is laying and resting up on my loft area after eating his canned food breakfast- upstairs... he zips up and down stairs and all around house.  I do see he will lay down and rest as I am sure it takes a bit more out of him as he is now using 3 legs and has been recovering in confined area since major surgery but I could not ask for a  cat that literally is 100% back to normal 2 weeks after having his scapular/limb amputation.  We laid on couch and cuddled watching OSU game last night- celebrating win and he even leaped from couch to recliner to snuggle on my brother who came for a visit.  In the short time of his recovery and now moving around, Fuzz has adapted and learned a posture to quickly adapt- he holds his front end lower over the good leg and that enables him to move quickly and efficiently without much of a hop motion.  He is smooth and fast!  Included is photo of him coming from upstairs where he started his exploration yesterday- zipping up to use litterbox (one of his preferred boxes) and then checking out to make sure nothing changed I assume- upstairs cat Houdini just sat watching in what appeared to be a look of amazement as this 3 legged stranger got around like nothing.  I think confining him at night and when I am not home is going to be the way this week.. he definitely prefers being out in his house again and doing his thing.  I am going to still give him the gabapentin daily and just monitor for discomfort but even after yesterdays big exploration and travels throughout house he was fine.