Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Oh thank goodness. Sounds like you have had your hands full! If you're able, keep an eye on her and see how frequently she goes now. If you see her urinating frequently or straining, you might want to let your vet get a urine sample to make sure she doesn't have an infection.
Huckleberry did not walk backwards, but he did experience phantom limb pain for a short period after his surgery.
She is still very early in recovery, and although gabapentin is fantastic for phantom limb and nerve pain, she may very likely need additional pain meds. Please speak with your vet and see if they can give her something in addition to the gabapentin. Huck was on buprenorphine for a couple of weeks and did very well with it.
I wish you well in your journey, please keep us updated as she progresses❤
Jackie and Huck❤
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Thank you for your comment 🙂 She's been peeing at a normal frequency since then, so i think it was just a bit random. We spoke to the vet about it, but he said we have to be very careful because of her kidney problem, thats why they gave her such little meds. We were very happy to see that the painful episodes have been less frequent and yesterday she wasn't even meowing as they were happening. So now im hoping, the gabapentin maybe built up in her system enough now and she will be fine. Its a hard decision with the meds, the vet said of course we can take more for her, but it can shorten her life as her kidneys arent working good. But if her painful episodes stay like this (2-3 a day, no meows) then i think it's okay?
A little question, how much are they supposed to walk at this point? We definitely dont want to overload her, as shes only 1 week in.
Thank you for everyone's comments again.
Hi again,
I just looked at your video (I missed the link from my cell last night) and honestly that looks like pain. I am not a vet, but if I remember correctly the buprenorphen may be easier on the kidneys? I understand your worry, but this is major surgery that she has just been through. As far as her activity level is concerned, she should be restricted from jumping up on things and running around. As a senior kitty, it may take her a little longer to heal. That is totally normal, and otherwise that video she looks great other than painful.
There are drugs that can be taxing on the kidneys, but bupenorphren to my knowledge is not one of them. This is a problem that so many of us pet pawrents see on a regular basis and still don't understand! If you just had your leg amputated a few days ago, you would still be in the hospital on a morphine drip.
Your baby is beautiful, by the way. What is her name? She looks like a British Shorthair? She is absolutely gorgeous. Please, please speak to them about even a low dose of pain medication that is easier on the organs. Eventually she will do just fine, but this early post op it breaks my heart to see them so painful when it can be controlled. If you have looked through some of our stories, you will see that pain management is one of the top challenges that we face, dog and cat pawrents alike.
Until she has her sutures/staples out ( about 2 weeks) her movement should be restricted, litterbox and food close, and no jumping up on to anything. She needs to use her energy to heal.
I hope this helps.
Jackie and Huck 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
A little question, how much are they supposed to walk at this point? We definitely dont want to overload her, as shes only 1 week in.
I'm glad she's doing a little better, paws crossed for more progress!
As for activity, your gut instinct is spot-on. Take things really slow and try to make sure she isn't doing a lot of crazy things like jumping and climbing. With her stitches still in, you want to baby that incision. Once stitches are out, most cats return to their old activities, just modified for safety like adding more jumping and landing perches.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Aw thank you, she is beautiful indeed <3 Her name is Moki, she is just a general Hungarian "street" cat, in Hungary all cats kind of look like this haha, so I dont think this is any specific breed.
Her painful episodes have pretty much disappeared, which we are so happy about. Yesterday she still had a few light episodes where she was moving around looking uncomfortable, but no meowing at all. Basically, at this point everything is looking very very good! Im still going to come on here to update you all, and to share our story. It was so terrifying when those painful episodes began, and then all the reading I did about it didn't help, so many people saying there cat had it for months etc. I hope that those are now over for our little Moki.
One question, my father is a bit stubborn about certain things, and he strongly believes we could take out her stitches at home (his father was a vet, so he claims he knows how to do it). To me this sounds a bit irresponsible, but Im just wondering what anyone else thinks about this idea?
I am glad she is feeling better! She is eating, drinking, eliminating well? I would still limit her ability to move around and do too much. 12-14 days is usually a good time frame for suture removal. If it was a routine surgery I would tell you suture removal is not difficult. I have done many when I was a tech, but the doctor many times likes to do a recheck and evaluation themselves after the sutures are out. Does your dad have suture scissors?
So no, I do not believe your dad is being irresponsible. However before making that decision, I would strongly suggest you contact your vet first and get their opinion. They may want to re-evaluate her surgical area (make sure she has not formed a seroma ), see for themselves how she is getting around, and maybe even draw more labs considering she is a senior with elevated kidney values. It is a simple enough phone call to check with them, and I would go by whatever the animal hospital advises.
She sure is adorable! Would love to see more photos or videos of her
Jackie and Huckleberry
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
She's eating, drinking and eliminating really well. Very proud of her spirit. At the moment we are letting her come out 2-3 a day for really just a couple of minutes, and then she can use her litter box as well. It feels like the right amount for me, but let me know if you guys think otherwise. We have completely let go of the idea of doing stitches at home, as we realised the hospital does it free of charge (money isnt the most important of course, but it has been very pricey of us so far so we take it into consideration). So knowing that we will definitely just take her back. We are planning to take her on Friday which will be day 12, should be good right?
Thank you for commenting, I will post some progression videos of her soon. <3
That sounds wonderful! You are doing a fantastic job with her ❤
I'm glad you'll be able to take her in. After everything you have all been through i agree it would be the best move for all involved.
Look forward to seeing her❤
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
https://drive.g.....sp=sharing
Biggest problem at the moment, she'd done with being in the cage hahaha
I can't seem to open it? It keeps asking me for a password 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
She is beautiful!! 🥰❤🥰❤
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Oh what a pretty little tiger! May I share this in our Tripawds image gallery? She is precious! I'm so glad she's doing better.
Yep, day 12 is about right for removing sutures, glad the vet is going to do it!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jerry said
Oh what a pretty little tiger! May I share this in our Tripawds image gallery? She is precious! I'm so glad she's doing better.Yep, day 12 is about right for removing sutures, glad the vet is going to do it!
Yes, of course feel free to add her. Thank you for all the nice words guys, it really does helping knowing theres many other kitties and doggies in the same position. We are quite confused about how much activity to allow her to be honest, she would like to be out all day of course, we try to limit her but she did about 3-4 5min walks today around the living room. I know its quite hard to say, but is there any guideline to go by? We are at day 10 by the way.
Oh thank you! It's a great photo.
As for guidelines, yeah I know, it would be great if there was a clear "This is what should and shouldn't be allowed" right now, wouldn't it? But since all animals are so different, and especially that cats are so different from dogs, we really just need to play it by ear.
We do know for sure that when the stitches are still in, that is the time to be very cautious and keep activity down. Once stitches come out, then getting back to normal is a safe bet. For cats, that may mean being allowed free roam of the house, provided that she has enough landing and climbing perches to keep her safe. Was she an indoor only cat before? I can't recall.
From what you are describing it sounds like the level of activity you're allowing is reasonable at day 10. You're doing a good job following your instincts about her, and being cautious is so important. As long as she isn't showing any pain signals at the end of the day or the next morning, you are on the right track. Bravo!
Hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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