Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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I'm Kim, Rita's mom. Rita is somewhere between 17 and 20 years old (she had been a stray so who knows exactly). I've had Rita for 12 1/2 years and two years ago discovered she had a metal plate in her right rear leg. Since I got her from a shelter, I don't know the back story on why she has this plate; I was shocked to discover it (she's also missing two digits on her front left paw, so I assume that happened at the same time as her rear injury). I only saw the metal because the skin around the metal had opened up, and you could see the plate. Two years ago the vet suggested we remove the plate, but amputation was a possibility if the underlying bone wasn't strong enough. Rita did not seem like she had any pain, and I wasn't willing to risk amputation. So, we left it alone.
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Fast forward two years, and the metal got infected. She also fractured the bone. The vet once again (from advice from the ortho specialist) suggested amputation. After huge amounts of tears and grief, I opted for amputation. I'm glad I found this website, though I wish I had found it earlier. I was an absolute mess when Rita came home from her surgery--beyond consolable. I wish I had found this site earlier because maybe I could have been more prepared.
Rita gets her stitches out tomorrow. I can't wait to get the cone off!!! The cone has made it difficult for her to eat. I periodically lift the food up for her but she has still lost weight. She also has chronic kidney disease. We had been managing that pretty well (she gets sub q fluids and a long list of kidney supplements) but I'm fearful this surgery will have hurt her kidneys too much. With the cone, it's also hard for her to drink, which as a kidney cat is important. I do put water in her food. I'm just hoping that starting tomorrow when the cone comes off, we can work on reversing the damage.
My question . . . does anyone know if cats use ramps? Rita stands at the side of the bed because she can't jump up. This could partially be due to the cone, but this may be permanent. I'm currently pretty sleep deprived because any time she moves in the bed, I wake up to make sure she doesn't need to get down. That's not sustainable long term (hopefully she lives long enough for this to be long term). I worry stairs will be too hard, so I was looking at ramps for the bed and possibly the couch. Thoughts on what's best for an older cat?
Right now she pretty much just sleeps. I put her on the couch yesterday and she didn't move until I moved her 12 hours later. I hope that's just because the body needs sleep to heal.
3:37 pm
Team Tripawds
Administrators
25 September 2009
Offline
Hi Rita and family, welcome. Sorry you had to join our club and we are glad you found us. Better late than never, you're in good company now! You've been on quite a journey together. Keep in mind that senior kitties will usually take longer to recuperate than older ones, but they do get their mojo back in time. Tomorrow when the stitches come out (yay!) your vet can do a total assessment to see where she's at as far as recovery so hopefully she's right on track. And yes, sleeping is medicinal! As long as she's able to eat and drink and eliminate she's doing pretty good.
As for cats and ramps: pet stairs are more commonly used, but some Tripawd kitties like Penny do use them!
Also see:
Remember, Safety First with DIY Ramps for Cats and Dogs
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
9:20 am
Bucketeers
11 July 2016
Offline
Hi Kim, welcome. Sorry, you & Rita have to join us.
Don't look back only furward ok, you found us now! Hopefully, you had a great recheck today?
We use steps here Purrkins is a front leg amp. We have one mini ramp at the litter box either will work.
Steps take up less space.
These are our favorite steps. They are wood, heavy-duty, purrfect width, and depth. We have purchased three sets of 3 steps and two sets of 2 steps.
We cannot recommend them highly enough.
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