Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello everyone!
First, this website has been a godsend to ease my anxiety. I don't know what people did before the internet honestly.
Last Friday, our boy Scott, got his amputation. He had Soft Tissue Sarcoma on his front left wrist. Needless to say, we were devastated, but we know we did the right thing.
We were sent home with Gabapentin and we are giving this to him every 8-10 hours.
Scott is a terrible patient. When he got home Saturday, he was flinging his body around - crashing into the floor and walls - in order to get his cone and onesie off. He succeeded. Every day we try to put a little shirt back on him but he just does the same thing. When nothing is on him, he is calm. So now my husband and I are taking shifts watching him so he does not lick his suture open. I am already over this #teamnosleep.
His suture is looking good despite our zombie-like state of living right now. I do wonder what the timeline is for suture healing and walking progression. He is walking - but it is still very wobbly and he does not walk for long. I am sure this is due to the constant Gabapentin, but I also wonder if he is struggling with losing his leg. He is sleeping quiet a bit - which I know is necessary. Has anyone else experienced this with their kitty? Is there something I can do to help him build strength? He is quite overweight also, so I am sure this doesn't help (15lbs before amputation).
Also, since we are unable to keep a cone or shirt on, I am always looking at the suture to make sure it looks healthy. The stitches are inside and dissolvable (thank goodness), but I am not sure at what stage the healing should be? Is this even a thing? I am so lost.
Thank you all for reading my wall of text!
Hi Tanja and Scott! I'm so glad we could be there for all of you. If it's any comfort, what you are describing is a pretty typical cat recovery believe it or not. At less than one week out, don't expect too much right now.
Wobbly walking is pretty normal, especially while taking any kind of pain medication. Can he stand and use the litter box? Is he eating? How are his 'normal' daily functions? Where does he need help and where is he taking matters into his own hands, other than taking a stand against the recovery shirt?
Yes, extra pounds do make it harder for him to get his sea legs right now. But the good news is that you can help him drop those pounds and this is a good time to start. Did your vet guide you in that department at all? If not, be sure to get their weight loss advice when you take him for his follow-up visit.
If you want to take advantage of the Tripawds Foundation Rehab Recovery reimbursement program, you can get your first rehab visit paid for. It's a great opportunity to have a therapist show you the best way to help Scott get strong, lose pounds, and stay healthy. We've had quite a few feline family members take advantage of the program (like Saysha, who also needed to slim down) and hope you'll consider it.
Things do get better! Sounds like his pain management is working OK but if he shows signs of anxiety or bothering his stitches do let your vet know. Keep us posted.
Wobbly walking is pretty normal, especially while taking any kind of pain medication. Can he stand and use the litter box? Is he eating? How are his 'normal' daily functions? Where does he need help and where is he taking matters into his own hands, other than taking a stand against the recovery shirt?
Scott is using the litter box regularly, both peeing and pooping! He had a hard time the first day, but he catculated it and is now a pro at using his back legs to help him!
He is eating! He is eating wet food only right now - and not drinking water - but my regular vet said this is normal since they are getting their water intake from the wet food.
I think the main thing he is needing help with is scratching his ear and walking. He is standing on his legs and using his front paw to peer over the baby gate . I think he wants to escape haha!
Did your vet guide you in that department at all?
No they did not! They just said that he needs to lose weight. We are a two - cat household and my husband and I are at a loss of how to implement a weightloss plan for both cats. This is something we need to look into more!
If you want to take advantage of the Tripawds Foundation Rehab Recovery reimbursement program, you can get your first rehab visit paid for. It's a great opportunity to have a therapist show you the best way to help Scott get strong, lose pounds, and stay healthy. We've had quite a few feline family members take advantage of the program (like Saysha, who also needed to slim down) and hope you'll consider it.
I will look further into this, thank you! The problem with Scott is that he is a terrible patient at the vet. Even with anti-anxiety meds he stilll tries to attack the poor techs. Thankfully, our surgeon said that we can take a video of him walking and his suture if things look good and text it to him so he doesn't have to go to the appointment. This will provide him less stress!
Things do get better! Sounds like his pain management is working OK but if he shows signs of anxiety or bothering his stitches do let your vet know. Keep us posted.
Thank you for all of your help! This is a wonderful community!
Update -
I am unsure really want to do. the majority of Scott's suture is looking good! He is still eating and going to the bathroom. Sometimes he is cuddly and most of the time he is just sleeping.
HOWEVER - there are a few spots along the suture that are looking angry. I sent a few photos to the surgeon and he said to "apply a small amount of neosporin to the area and apply a warm compress 2-3 times a day for 5-10 min for the next couple of days"
If it doesn't look better then give them a call.
We were only sent home with gabapentin and they said they gave him antibiotics that should last awhile.
I guess I am just worried that a secondary infection is starting to happen. I will attach the photo of what I sent to the Dr.
Just catching up on your sweet Scout. BTW, he looks very cute in his "onesie '.
Overall Scout seems to be having a fairly good recovery. I k ow it's jard to see it roght now, but he is doing very well. Remember, recovery doesn't last furever, ot just seems like it.
I see you're on here mnow trying to post the pic, so that will help is see what's going on. If you aren6 seeing any 4ed blood, pis or lots of stinky oozing, he probably doesn't have an infection. But good that you sent a pic to the Vet.
Glad he seems to be resting comfortably so it sounds like his pain is being managed. Eating, pottying, resting.....all good!..
Let is know what the Vet says, Try and get some rest. Nap when Scout naps.
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!
Good morning! Time for another Scottdate -
Man, this stuff is not for the week. We had a really tough night.
Around midnight he starting growling and hissing and trying to nip at his suture. His eyes were like saucers and it was honestly quite scary. We couldn’t get near him.
I called our vet (thank goodness they are open 24 hours) and explained what happened. They said it sounds like he is in pain. But we have been diligent about the gabapenton every 8 hours so I am not sure what else it could be?
i told them I put neosporin on him - per their Drs orders - and they said this should not have an affect to this degree. They said to monitor it, keep up with the gabapenton, put his cone on (hahah - that was a horrendous attempt) and they will call in the AM.
immediately I gave him his dose of Gaba since it was time. Within 40 mins he was asleep. And there was only 2 hiss/growl incidents.
Well - about an hour after we got off the call we realized at 6:00 (1.5 hours after his last dose) he threw up a hairball. Our armchair theory is he threw up that dose of pain meds with it and so it was completely out of his system by midnight. I’m not sure if this is how it works - but it makes logical sense to me.
NOW this makes me wonder - how long do I give him the pain medications?? I cannot believe the pain will go away by next Friday with the way he was acting. We feared he was going to hurt himself or try to hurt us.
Anyways, now I am extremely tired and frightened and hopefully the surgeon has answers for me and won’t just yell at me about not having a cone on him. 🤷🏻♀️
Hello Tanja! I'm sorry you guys had a rough night. It definitely does sound like a pain response that Scott had.
You said that it looks like parts of the sutra are inflamed? That may be why the normal dosage of gaba wasn't as effective if there was extra pain on top of that. It might be worth asking the vet about adding an additional pain medicine like buprenorphine to help- Jelli is currently on both currently and it seems to be working well for her. Another thing I would try asking the vet about is if they recommend anything if the inflammation continues. For Jelli, they said she didn't need any additional anti-inflammatory medication because the steroid she's on for her IBD was already handling that so I'm led to believe my vet office normally does do anti-inflammatories for post surgery. But don't give Scott any anti-inflammatory medicine without talking to your vet because most NSAIDs are not tolerated in cats!
I know the pain seems like it'll never go away but we gotta stay strong! It might take longer than a week for recovery but he and you will get there!
As you said yourself: we are in this together strong 💪
Ohhhh poor Scott. I'm sorry for the rough night!
Jelli's mom is correct: an additional medication may be necessary right now. Most animals do come home with an NSAID to reduce inflammation, and Gabapentin to calm nerves, so perhaps there's a medical reason why Scott didn't receive one. But it sure sounds like he needs something extra for a little while until the nerves calm down. He will get there. Most animals need 10 days of pain control and sometimes longer.
Let us know how today goes. We are absolutely in this together!
Good afternoon Besties!
where do I begin? Poor Scott was a growly/hissy/nippy boy. It is so weird because sometimes he acts perfectly "normal". He will come up on our lap and try to snuggle. Then the next minute he is growling and hissy and biting a blanket. I think everyone here was on the money with the pain management .
Our vet called us back and said that it sounds like the long-lasting topical medication they gave him finally wore off so he may need something more. They only sent us home with Gabapentin though. Unfortunately, this animal hospital that we brought him to is 1 hour and 15 minutes away. They said we can pick up Buprenorphine from them or they can send a script to our local vet. We obviously chose local - but here is the kicker - they will only administer Buprenorphine via injection and the cat has to come in. Well, Scott is violent at the vets so that wasn't going to happen.
Instead, they decided to provide us 3 days worth of Onisor tablets (anti-inflammatory and pain med). I am to give him 2 per day and he can take it with Gabapentin and the topical tramadol (which they gave us the okay to use).
Also, VCA Hospital said that the suture looks good to them via text/video. They are going to ask a few doctors just to make sure - so this is a relief.
We bought him an inflatable donut that he tolerated for about 25 minutes before puncturing a whole in it. Right now he is sleeping with Gaba and Onisor in him. I pray this provides him some relief without any weird behavioral side effects.
I need coffee and to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It really feels lonely while going through this and like no one else has experienced this angry behavior. I am so happy to have found this community! Thank you for listening to me ramble.
We are happy you found us too! I can't imagine going through Scott's recovery without support. And if it's any comfort, he is not the only kitty who has ever reacted this way to recovery. Check out Ziggy's story that we covered in this post:
The Houdini Cat Cone of Shame
He was one tough patient! So was Raven! OMC she was a total maniac! You will love her story!
I'm glad you got some pain control, that was super cool of them to call in the script. The Onsior is really good pain control so hopefully that's going to do the trick. Please let us know. And I hope that by this time tomorrow he's feeling happier and you more rested!
WOW. what a day/night.
We for the Onsior and gave it to him around 2pm. He slept for about 3 hours and then woke up with a vengeance. He was growling and hissing and freaking out from 6pm to 7pm until we got permission from the vet to give him his Gaba 2 hours early.
I also went and picked up Buprenorphine for him. I believe it is 3mL in a syringe. They told me they want me to administer it in his cheek or under his tongue.
.....pardon? did I hear that right? I almost laugh because trying to wrangle a cat who is still showing intense pain and then shoving a syringe in his mouth is not my idea of a good time...but we did it.
I do not think we got it in his cheek though. He was whipping his head back and forth and hissing at us. My husband did what he could but I am pretty sure he swallowed it.
He is still eating/drinking/peeing/pooping so I suppose this is an upside?
I don't know about you guys, but I am terribly freaked out about not having my sweet demeanor cat. I don't know how to handle this aggressive one and it makes me feel awful. I feel scared to try and do anything to him.
So, alas, we wait. We not have in him: Gabapentin (4 hours ago), Burprenorphine (30 minutes ago), and Onsion (8 hours ago). If this doesn't help him in some way, I don't know what else will. I just want him to be okay and comfortable when he very clearly has not been.
Does anyone know the "timeline" to when pain meds shouldn't be needed?
Hi Tanja, I'm so sorry to hear about the issues Scott's having with recovery. The first month or so with my cat was also full of sleepless nights and revolving medications so I feel you on how rough and draining this all is.
It does sound like Scott is in pain. If the current regime isn't working after eight hours, my next move would be to find an emergency vet or (better yet) vet hospital and see if they can offer more options to manage his pain. An emergency vet will be better equipped to deal with an animal in distress than a primary care clinic, and may have some immediate solutions that can give him some relief so he can rest.
The timeline for recovery varies for every cat, just know that when he heals and adapts he will start to come back to the lovable guy you remember. Until then trust yourself and your doctors. If you feel like something is wrong speak up and advocate both for yourself and Scott.
Also, if he's still having cone issues, I finally put together my tutorial for how to adapt a onesie into a shirt that might keep his suteres covered at least, which may make him more comfortable. just check with your vet to make sure something like that might be helpful.
This is hard, and heartbreaking in so many ways, but the Scott you love is still in there and we're all here if you need us.
Senior trikitty Luanne had a right forepaw removed in May of 2022 and is still going strong! Here's our story.
Hello Scott and Tanja,
Like everyone already said, that is probably pain causing him to freak out. Definitely keep in close touch with your vet. As this is both distressing to you and to him. If it is pain, it also is something which can be addressed with medication.
While every cat is different, Tuxedo was on buprenorphine 2x a day for 7 days following his amputation for comparison purposes. But he never was on gabapentin. Later (as in years) he was, but he refused to take it, no matter how I tried to hide it.
Is the growling/hissing a constant thing or is he "fine" for a while and then suddenly starts, like if jolted or startled? I ask that because of phantom limb pain not just post amputation pain usually starts in around the time major surgery meds clear the system. Or at least that was how it was for my mother. She would be fine, then almost screaming with pain, not in the incision region, but seemingly coming from the missing limb. These episodes would subside some in 15 or so minutes. But there seemed to be no warning when one would strike. If you and your vet think it is phantom limb pain causing a lot of his acting out, maybe the dosage of gabapentin needs adjusted, as in humans at least, it was far more effective in dealing with that than narcotics.
Also perhaps your vet or an emergency vet could give Scott a longer acting pain relief injection to let him get ahead of the pain if you took him in? Then you hopefully could keep him there with the oral meds.
Obviously not a vet, just offering a few things you could talk with yours about. But great to hear Scott is getting around ok, eating, using litterbox etc. Those are huge positives. Try to hold onto that as you ride out this rough period. It will get better!
Best wishes
-Dawna, Tuxedo, Lilly, & Angel Dazzle
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