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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Michigan


Member Since:
11 July 2016
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15 October 2017 - 4:32 pm
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😍😘😂

Member Since:
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16 October 2017 - 12:25 pm
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The countdown begins..

T-minus seven days until cone-off and counting..

This is a contradiction to an earlier post. Last week, I thought cone-off day was today. Why?  That's what our written discharge instructions said. 

The warden claimed the instructions conflicted with her memory of what the surgeon told her. 

"He said 3-weeks cone-on recovery until stitches are removed."

"No honey, you're wrong. Look, says right here two weeks.  Black-and-white, irrefutable proof!"

So I email the doc to clear this all up. "Oops! Sorry for the mix up! Your wife is right, and the instructions are wrong."  Foiled again. One day I day I will be right and she will be wrong. I guess that's why she's the warden. 

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17 September 2017
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16 October 2017 - 12:30 pm
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raven99 said
The countdown begins..

T-minus seven days until cone-off and counting..

This is a contradiction to an earlier post. Last week, I thought cone-off day was today. Why?  That's what our written discharge instructions said. 

The warden claimed the instructions conflicted with her memory of what the surgeon told her. 

"He said 3-weeks cone-on recovery until stitches are removed."

"No honey, you're wrong. Look, says right here two weeks.  Black-and-white, irrefutable proof!"

So I email the doc to clear this all up. "Oops! Sorry for the mix up! Your wife is right, and the instructions are wrong."  Foiled again. One day I day I will be right and she will be wrong. I guess that's why she's the warden.   

 From everything I understand it's to keep them from pulling out the stitches and possibly causing a bigger issue. Our vet actually told us to keep the cone on for an additional 1 to 2 weeks after the stitches were out. The cat wasn't happy but by the time we got the cone off the area was pretty well healed.  Others on this forum were able to take the cone off the same day as stitch removal. I hope that you are in their category instead of mine!

Rusty "The Bunnyman" adopted us in 2014.  Aug/Sept 2017, back left leg amputated (HSA cancer).  He remained cancer free over 900 days. Cancer returned as of emergency visit on day 931. 15 days later, he gained his wings 04/18/2020 due to congestive heart failure.  He will always watch over his fellow tripawds and their hoomins with Head Scritches and Sand Paper Kisses.

Michigan


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16 October 2017 - 2:35 pm
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OH NO Raven we all liked Dad’s instructions better plus they were in black and white 💩😾

Ok Raven 7 more cones to destroy! We have begun the count done!

[Image Can Not Be Found]

Usually when the stitches are out you get the all clear! Purrkins stitches came out at 14 days and he was a free kitty!

Holly & Purrkinsheart

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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16 October 2017 - 6:43 pm
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As usual, another cute little graphic by Holly! 🙂 🙂

Bummer abput the cone having to stay on longer....or....haviw to staymon the amount of time it was supposed to! 🙂

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

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16 October 2017 - 7:00 pm
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This is a piece of cake. You been through the worse,  it's all downhill now... cake walk and kitty ice cream cones at the end😚😚

Mama always knows best 😎 

Big  hugs and ear rubs 😻❤❤

Jackie,  David,  and Huckleberry 💖💞💕

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Canada
Member Since:
7 July 2017
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16 October 2017 - 9:02 pm
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We’re going to count on Holly for the cool countdown graphics! way-cool

Were all here for you Raven! Think of it like Christmas... for the next 7 days you get special treats and on the Celebratory Cone Off Day, you get an extra, extra special treat for having to have your cone on longer than you thought!big-grin

6 more sleeps Raven!

hugs and chin rubs from Petra, Paul, Stewie and his feline siblings heart

On July 10/17 I became a Super Tripawd! You can find out more about my Pawrents Allensong but first Check out my 🎗 journey Super Stu Remember...“live in the moment!“  

Member Since:
28 September 2017
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17 October 2017 - 7:33 pm
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T-Minus six days until cone-off and counting....

Against all odds, warrior-princess Genghis Raven managed to expand her empire this week.

Image Enlarger

Not content with her given circumstances (1-room isolation), Raven decided to bust into the closet. Somehow, she forced her body through the very small gap between the two sliding doors.

Image Enlarger

Where the is a will, there is a way. She discovered there was just enough flex in the doors, and give in the bottom track to force her way through.

We decided to respect her right to her newly conquered territory. Added some kitty comforts to the closet floor. Now she is looking quite smug about her accomplishment. Nothing is sweeter than the fruits of self-determination.

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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17 October 2017 - 7:50 pm
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Oh my, queen warrior kitty!! 👑💄👠🕶! She is Da Bomb! I'm relieved for you that she didn't hurt herself,  I'm giggling at her ingenuity 🤗😘🤗  Hooray for you not panicking and giving her  her "girly girl" mancave. She looks determined and wonderful.  I was wondering when we would get another picture 😉

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Michigan


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18 October 2017 - 9:47 am
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Ok Raven I had your 6 more days yesterday , I could not get online love technology when it works let’s see if I can do this on my phone ? It appears I can 😉🎉

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So this is for today

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Remember these little lessons Raven is teaching you now, when there is a will there is a way no matter how many legs they have !!! Never underestimate a leg legged cat they are just differently ABLED ! Very capable you will see even more of this later 😉 Just trust me on this one ok 😉
Holly & Purrkins❤️

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18 October 2017 - 12:34 pm
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Raven, Yay!  5 more days!

 Perhaps your warden will allow a few licks ice cream in celebration! My mommy and Daddy got me some vanilla soft serve 🍦 as a reward for being such a good boy! Just a few licks so I wouldn’t get a bad tummy. 😺 My mommy has been telling me how strong and adventurous you are. She thought she had it roughly with me trying to escape from my cage.😜 you proved her wrong.

Hang in there!!  You will be fully free soon conquering the world! You are a 🌠!

Rusty

Rusty "The Bunnyman" adopted us in 2014.  Aug/Sept 2017, back left leg amputated (HSA cancer).  He remained cancer free over 900 days. Cancer returned as of emergency visit on day 931. 15 days later, he gained his wings 04/18/2020 due to congestive heart failure.  He will always watch over his fellow tripawds and their hoomins with Head Scritches and Sand Paper Kisses.

Member Since:
28 September 2017
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18 October 2017 - 4:23 pm
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T-minus FIVE days until cone-off and counting…

MAJOR news day!

Took Raven to a vet appointment. It was scheduled the day we took her home from surgery. Purpose: incision check.

I decided to accompany the warden for this one, because I had a hidden agenda. I wanted to see if I could shave a few days off Raven’s cone/confinement sentence. After all, doesn’t exactly 3-weeks seem a bit arbitrary? Why not 3-weeks minus 1-3 days? Any small reduction would be significant for us, and our hard-to-handle inmate.

I came prepared with some oral arguments.

“Thanks Doctor, I’m glad you agree the incision looks great. Now that you’ve examined it, would you consider a slight reduction in the time until suture removal & cone-off? Maybe a day or two? Or three?

“Sounds reasonable. I could have the surgery team examine and consult if you don’t mind waiting (she’s Raven’s oncologist).”

“Great. Thanks!”

Result: Raven returns to us with sutures taken out and all restrictions on activity removed (cone stays on until Monday).

HALLELUJAH!!! I was a hero to my wife, and a champion to my pet! Freedom baby! All due to my brilliant negotiation skills. I should be a kitty attorney. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if the incision healing is legit, then the sentence don’t fit!”

Again, my hero status was short-lived. Raven’s transition to the free world turned out to be quite chaotic. She doesn’t understand her limitations. She was all over the house wanting to climb everything climbable, jump everything jumpable, and even earned herself a couple of SWATS from our other cat, Abby.

Warden: “You know, you really should have thought this through better.”
“Sorry, I was excited for Raven. Am I back on probation?”
“Yup.”

She’s right. I knew the household transition would present some challenges, but I thought I had five more days to think about it. I intended to research tripawds for good advice on doing it right. I had already thought of some immediate concerns, such as: How does one “teach” a cat they only have three of four shock absorbers for jumping off tall objects? Is that even possible? What are some smart strategies for making access to high areas easier? Looks like we’re going to have to learn fast.

We decided to put Raven back in the padded room, and allow her only highly-supervised time around the rest of the house.

Problem: Raven doesn’t agree. HUGE protest about being confined in the padded cell now that she’s tasted freedom.

Warden: “Look at what you’ve done!”
“Sorry.”

The other problem with room confinement is Raven, as of today, has proven very adept at getting out of her cone. It has happened four times today. Not sure how she’s doing it, but it may be associated with her violent effort to claw through the door. The last time I peeked in and discovered her sans-cone, she gave me a glaring look that said, “Look buddy, you seem to be a slow learner. Here’s the deal.. You can have me confined to this room, or have my cone on, but you can’t have both. Pick one!” She now has run of the house, for better or worse.

It turns out there is only one brilliant negotiator in our house.. a tiny, five pound cat named Raven.

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18 October 2017 - 4:32 pm
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Oh my!🙀

I must admit you had me laughing! Again! What I have done for Rusty is put cat stairs in the areas that I know he’s going to try to jump to anyway. I have foam tiles around my house as well now  for those less than graceful landings. I don’t have additional cats to worry about though.   He has picked up on the stair thing very quickly using them to go up and down. He is still trying to convince me to allow him to take the human stairs up to the second floor. I currently have that door latched shut. He is not happy about that one. 

way to go Raven😺!   We are quite impressed with how you rule that roost. I think our guys Cone was physically heavier so it slowed him down a little bit. Good job with making dad keep the light cone on you. 

Rusty "The Bunnyman" adopted us in 2014.  Aug/Sept 2017, back left leg amputated (HSA cancer).  He remained cancer free over 900 days. Cancer returned as of emergency visit on day 931. 15 days later, he gained his wings 04/18/2020 due to congestive heart failure.  He will always watch over his fellow tripawds and their hoomins with Head Scritches and Sand Paper Kisses.

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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18 October 2017 - 7:15 pm
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Oh my... You had me giggling too as I read your report laughing Wouldn't it be so much easier if every furbaby went through the same thing at the same time? If all the doctors actually had a guideline list that that they HAD to follow our lose their license?? It would just make our jigsaw puzzle so much easier during this time.  They say that kids don't come with guides,  right? It's funny how animals DO but most of it doesn't apply the exact way its written, lol. 

I chose not to let Huckleberry out of his crate only because I have lived a few surgeries that required crate time and being the"good guy" only made it worse.  It bothers me to be this stern,  but once I let him out there's no going back.  This I know for sure. She's going to be a poopicon_png for a while, but you are on the last leg of this journey and you have all rocked it!! You are all intelligent, funny,  and inspiring.  Hang in there guys,  the best is yet to come😽💖🐱🍾🍾🍦🥂🎉🎉

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Florida
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23 February 2017
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18 October 2017 - 7:34 pm
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My tripawd Jet is a left rear amputee as well.  A little bigger than Raven at 12.5 lbs, not sure how much difference that makes, but he's never really had much trouble with getting up and down on things.  I guess my best advice would be to give her access room-by-room and watch her, and see where the problem areas are.  Jet sometimes has trouble getting up on things, but jumping down is not a problem.  I have a small folding chair by my bed, but he usually just jumps up without using it.  I have pet stairs as well, and they work great.  My four-legger likes them too!  I keep two litter boxes in my guest bathroom, one on the floor (meant for Jet) and one in the bathtub, but he actually prefers the one in the bathtub, and has no problem getting in or out.  Maybe I'm just lucky?  Hope this helps!

Brad

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