Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone-
I am thankful to find this group. I have a 3 legged kitty, Trouble who has done amazingly well since his dog attack surgery 4 years ago. He lost a back leg, got diabetes, went into remission, and is all and all doing great.
I do have a question that I would like a little bit of feedback for.....
He has a sweet spot under his chin, always has since he lost his leg. He can't scratch it- so when its scratched his stump wiggles, and he zones out- eyes get all wonky and fuzzy. About 6 weeks ago- he started wanting to itch this place more than usual. He will stop what he is doing to try to do it- and the poor little back leg that isn't there twitches. He rubs his chin on the furniture, and goes nuts if we scratch it.. zones out even more.. Can't tell if it feels good or painful.
He does this throughout the day- and really wondering what is up. We gave him flea medicine and wormed him.. He isn't itchy anywhere else. We have called the vet.. and she says to give it some time.. so may bring him in later this week. But she said if its not red, or there aren't any fleas (there are no bumps, rashes, discolorations anything) there may not be much she can do..
Would be very open to homeopathy but not sure what would be the best.. as its weird.. thinking it may be neurological.. so would hypericum help?
Otherwise he is fine, still in remission, eating, purring, playing (as much as he does- he is 14.5), and in a good mood..
Anyways. I really think its related to the missing leg.. and searching online I found you all.. I would be thankful for any feedback or advice! Thanks so much
Asrael and Trouble
Hi Asrael and Trouble, welcome! We are glad you found us too. How wonderful that Trouble has been doing so well all these years.
The inability to scratch is one of the biggest challenges that rear leg amputees have. I see our own Wyatt Ray struggle himself, but thankfully it's not all that often.
Have you seen this cat scratcher that might help Trouble scratch that itch?
http://amazon.t.....fect-arch/
One more idea: get a second opinion from another vet. Oftentimes animals itch for reasons other than fleas, with pain being the biggest one of them. When a vet says "I don't know" it's best to get a referral to another one just to put your mind at ease.
Stay tuned, more will chime in soon!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks Jerry! That scratcher looks awesome!! I will think about getting Trouble one:)
And Yes- we will take him into the vet.. if we don't get some answers or help from homeopathy soon- He just gets so stressed. Last time he went in it kicked him out of his diabetic remission:))
Thanks so much!!!
Hi Asrael and Trouble!
Welcome! If you don't mind, may I ask a couple of questions? What kind of bowl are you feeding from (food and water), does he have any kitty "acne" blackheads, redness, anything like that? What I have learned..for whatever it is worth, use either glass or metal bowls. Cats can get kitty acne and irritation from eating out of plastic bowls. This may not be your case but I am throwing it out there for you.
Take care,
Jackie, David, and Huckleberry
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Hi Jackie, David and Huckleberry
Thanks so much for responding:) I really appreciate it:) Huckleberry looks a bit like Trouble- It's Trouble's back left leg that has been amputated. We use glass plates, no plastic, and no sign of feline acne. Nothing visible, and can't feel any bumps under the skin at all. And its just in that spot under the left chin where he gets glassy eyed.. not on the right side at all.
We are going to try some homeopathic aconite, although its not dandruffy, he does have the other aspects called for if its itchy (he is fastidious, cleans himself alot, can get anxious, and likes warm spots)...
Does Huckleberry have a spot like that on his chin (Trouble has had it since the surgery, but it just seems more sensitive now- )
Thanks so much for replying and your help.
Asrael and Trouble 🙂
Hi Asrael (Love your name!)
Huckleberry hasn't had the" chin scratch" per se, but he's doing an awful lot of grooming. I just got a video tonight that does it justice, but speaking with my husband we agree he groomed the same way before we caught him. He was also infested with fleas and worms. Huck is newly recovering, so I am watching for a lot of things. Sometimes his "sidecar " (amputation) quivers quite a bit but you don't notice it unless you touch it. If I lay my hand on it, it stops. We have been medicating him for phantom leg syndrome, but right now we are trying a non medicinal supplement Zylkene. It does seem to help him relax, but I'm not convinced yet of the phantom leg problem. I don't know if a calming supplement would help, and you would have to check with your doc to see if it would affect his blood sugar. It's funny how stress or pain can affect cats especially. Mine is feral, so he would never let us know that he's hurting, he bites me instead, lol. Maybe your doc can recommend something else, like a cream or wipe to ease what is bothering him. Good luck to you, I hope you can either find out what's bothering him, or find a way to ease it.
Jackie❤
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
One thing for certain, Trpuble is a very well.love kitty!! So glad to hear he's doing well
Only other thinb I can throw out there, and I'm sure it's been checked out, jaw issues, teeth issues, anything in the mourth ir around the inner lip.
Keep us updated. We'll be cheering for Trouble!
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!
Oh...pictures? We would LOVE to see pictures!!!!
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
It definitely took time for Trouble to get used to his 3 legs.. i don't think he ever had phantom leg syndrome.. but it took him along time to heal from the surgery, a dog had attacked him and his whole hip leg was shattered.. Poor Baby. We were so lucky there was an orthapedic vet in that day- that could do the surgery.. We healed him with calendula washes once the scar was starting to heal, and did use homeopathics then too.. I really think the stress of the entire thing led him to get diabetes..
I hope little Huckleberry heals up well- and I know from our experience with Trouble- that 3 leggers do just fine.. A wonderful life is ahead of him.. The only thing Trouble can't do is go outside after dark.. Other than that... he has free reign, and is still the boss of our other cat:)
@benny55 Thanks for the input about the mouth... Yes- we did think of that first thing.. he did have a lot of tartar on the top teeth- I was able to get it off- He had a dentistry less than 2 years ago- his bottom teeth seem to be fine although he doesn't like it when I put my hand in there 🙂 But that is one thing we will have the vet check if the homeopaths don't work.. No sores or tumors that we can see.
Thanks so much! These forums are great- They saved his life with the diabetes- and helped us get them into remission.. If you ever know someone with a diabetic cat its the FDMB forum they are amazing! 🙂 So thank you for being amazing too:)
I don't know how to post a picture otherwise I would.. I could share his remission video:)
https://drive.g.....UotRUdPUEk
I think you should be able to see it 🙂
OOOOOOMMMMMMCCCCCC!!!! BRILLIANT!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 ABSOLUTELY BEILLIANT!!! 🙂 🙂 I loooove getting to mnkw Trpuble and all the trouble he has with various "^things"...especially bags!! TROUBLE,
YOU ARE A VERY HANDSOME KITTY!! 🙂 Asrael is quite stunning too! Thanks so much for sharing your family with us. Made my day!
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!
Hi Asrael and Trouble
Welcome we are glad you found us. I don’t have any advice on the chin scratching or what is causing it. I would of asked the same question as Jackie did on the bowls, plastic bowls can cause feline acne.
I would follow up with the Vet just to make sure all is ok. I have a books on homeopathic remedies no expert
I was thinking Arsenicum album he falls under that category with
(he is fastidious, cleans himself alot, can get anxious, and likes warm spots)
The other one is histaminum ? It is more for general itching & allergic reactions. Itching is not easy to solve without knowing what the cause and without and visible signs harder to solve. Keep assisting him with his itch;) until you figure out what the cause is do hope one remedy helps!
Let us know if the aconite helps. As Jerry pointed out fastidious itching or licking can sometimes indicate more.
I am glad to see he is doing so great 4 years later. YAAAAY trouble! Purrkins is 16 months post amp of his front left leg from a soft tissue sarcoma. He does fantastic.
Here is how you post photos in the forums
they have to be hosted somewhere online. You can open a free blog and use it for photo storage if you do not want to blog. It's nice to have either way!
Love the video 
& yes we can view it!! Let us know what works or what the Vet says please.
Give Trouble a good chin scratch from us!
Hugs Holly & Purrkins
Thanks so much again everyone- Glad you enjoyed the video- so cute isn't it.. The lovely ladies at FDMB make them for every cat that goes into remission- and thanks for the info on how to post a picture @ purrkins, I see you are from MI- where do you live there? I grew up in Detroit- but live in BC, Canada now. My family is still there.
Thanks for the info on the histaminum.. will look into that- giving Arsenicum for 3 days and then will stop. We will try to get him into the vet on Friday- just in case- have to call today to see if our vet is in.. As you said it could be lots of other things- Who knows:)
Glad purrkins is doing so well- They are amazing how they just get back to it:) 3 legs and all!
Have a great day everyone!
Asrael
asrael said
I don't know how to post a picture otherwise I would...
Here are detailed instructions for adding photos to forum posts . If you don't already share photos online somewhere, you can start a free Tripawds blog any time and upload them there. Need further help? Post in the Tech Support forum and we'll be happy to help!
FYI: The easiest way to share videos is to upload them to Youtube first, or Vimeo. Then you can just paste the Share URL in your post to automatically embed the video here. (iframe embedding from G+ Drive is not allowed for security reasons.)
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
asrael said
purrkins, I see you are from MI- where do you live there? I grew up in Detroit- but live in BC, Canada now. My family is still there.Thanks for the info on the histaminum.. will look into that- giving Arsenicum for 3 days and then will stop. We will try to get him into the vet on Friday- just in case- have to call today to see if our vet is in.. As you said it could be lots of other things- Who knows:)
Glad purrkins is doing so well- They are amazing how they just get back to it:) 3 legs and all!
We are in a little town outside of East Lansing so about 1 1/2 to 1 hour 45 minutes to Detroit! Yep could be anything and could be nothing and in cats more so, they are so good at hiding things! Hoping it’s just a itch, allergy or anything this is not a big deal and can be treated and less itchy!
Let us know what you find out or if something helps !
Hugs
Holly & Purrkins
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