Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our cat, Ivy, had rear left leg amputation surgery in mid-September and had been doing beautifully. Over the past week, she began complaining loudly when shifting positions or trying to walk, tipping to one side and yowling. When she was still and lying down, she would seem fine. This morning she was hissing and yowling so we took her to the vet. The site where the scar is has some swelling and the vet said a possible cyst. She said it's not uncommon and sometimes happens a few months out, due to pain from the internal sutures dissolving? I wonder if anyone else has encountered this? They gave her some antibiotics and a strong injection of pain killer. They also sent us home with some oral gabapentin which, good luck to us getting Ivy to take this since she turns into the tasmanian devil when we try to give her medication.
Any insights would be appreciated - we have moved her litter box, food and water upstairs and right now she's hiding under the bed. Any advice?
Up until this challenge, glad to hear how well cute Ivy has been doing.
Hmmm....don't have any insight for you, but hopefully our kitty experts can shed some light. The explanation the Vet gave seemed a bit odd to me and I would want a second opinion. , I have no knowledge of a cyst forming at the incision site three to four months as being a "normal" thing. Then again, maybe our kitty members have heard of thwt and can offer a solution.
Whatever ot is, clearly it's causing pain. I hope you can find a way to fet the Gabapentin in her.
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!
Awww poor Ivy! Just when you think all that is behind you. Ugh!
I would say that it's not unheard of to have a post-op incision issue like this. Not common, but we've seen it all here when it comes to incision weirdness. Our own dog Wyatt Ray had a complication in his incision area, a few years after his surgery.
See if/how the medications work and be sure to jot down any changes, for better or worse. Good notes will help you have a better conversation with the vet when they check in.
As for giving her the Gabapentin, sounds like it's liquid form? If so, is there any kind of snack that might be able to tempt her into taking it? Mixing it into a Churu tube maybe? Super stinky wet cat food? She's been through a lot today so I'd go slow.
I had to find your first post. It looks like Ivy's amp was due to an injury/accident. I'm sorry Ivy is having a rough time!! It sounds like phantom limb pain or the cyst is sitting on the nerve causing this.
We have seen several members have reactions to internal sutures, but 4 months afterward? As Jerry stated im sure it's not unheard of.
I'm glad you went to the vet, and yes, please ensure Ivy gets the Gabapentin.
In most cases, when there is a will, there is a way. If it is a capsule, ideally, you use a pill gun. We like the vet one pet piller. If that is impossible, burrito them with a towel and pill them, or open the capsule and put it in some canned tuna with water. Or anything stinky and yummy and serve it. Only use a small amount to ensure all is eaten and give when you know you Ivy be hungry and every 8-12 hours as prescribed. If it is a liquid, again, ideally, you administer it directly, but if that is not possible, hide it in tuna. Some people have also had success hiding meds with fancy feast whitefish & tuna recipes.
If you can block off underneath the bed, that's ideal so Ivy cannot get under the bed, and once the meds are in, she shouldn't want to hide!!! She is hiding because she is in pain & afraid.
The gaba will help with nerve pain regardless of whether you can successfully administer it. If not, PLEASE let the vet know they are there to help us and want the meds in to help Ivy and you.
I'm sure you have a follow-up appt to recheck, yes? Let us know how else we can help and keep us posted please
(((Hugs)))
Holly, Purrkins, and Saxton in the 💫
💝💝💝
I found this post it might help you see you are not alone and their vet said suture reaction can happen days to months afterward.
Cat- post amputation strange behavior
HUGS
Thank you for that info! It was helpful to me because it clearly described Ivy’s exact situation.
The vet called me back after hubby dropped Ivy off earlier today. Ivy is desperately anemic and lethargic. Lots of bruising around her incision site, leading them to think she fell or bashed it on something. They talked about steroids, and about the challenge of a possible transfusion, which is rare for cats but more common for dogs. Not sure what we are going to do. We will pick her up this afternoon and then bring her back tomorrow for another blood count. It's currently at 9, which is terrible (apparently it should be between 10-15?). If we can't bring up her platelets it's possible she won't make it. No sign of internal bleeding - I'm just sick about this.
Oh no!!! Im so sorry. I have to go reread your other post on Ivy's age.
Im sick to read this. I don't understand it.
We have another member, Edward. His kitty, Jolie, was anemic and had a blood transfusion. Jolie's numbers did come back up. I will link Edwards's post here. If you have questions, maybe post there and ask Edward. Dont give up hope!!!
https://tripawd.....ce/page-7/
I put links on page 8 that might be helpful for Ivy too.
I'm so sorry you all going through this; we are sending tripawd power and prayers for Ivy. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Please update us when you can.
(((HUGS)))))
This might help you understand what is happening. It depends on your personality. It may be too much info. It is here if you wish. This site is geared toward kidney kitties, but has a wealth of information on all subjects, and one is anemia and causes, treatments, etc. Look at the other causes (non-CKD)
&
FELINE NON-REGENERATIVE ANEMIA- Diagnostic and treatment recommendations
(((HUGS)))
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Geeez...this is crazy. Just doesn't make sense. So it's gone from a "cyst" that formed months after the surgery due to a "reaction" to internal sutires to severe anemia but no internal bleeding??
What diagnostics did the Vet do to try and determine the underlying cause? Did the Vet send you home with "anything" or do something at then visit to help improve the blood count between today and tomorrow?
Is it possible to get a second opinion consult as an emergency case? As Holly said, this is hard t
Sorry for all the questions. Just very confused how this happened
I'm glad Holly linked Jolie's story.
Sending lots of ((((((hugs)))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
So, the vet who saw her originally on Wednesday was not in the clinic when we took her back yesterday. The original vet was there today. They did bloodwork both days to check her (I think) hematocrit levels. They were dangerously low yesterday but are up today. They think its regenerative anemia but that it's more of a symptom of something larger. They're leaning toward an autoimmune situation or, worst case scenario, cancer of some sort. The original doctor, when she saw Ivy on Wednesday, thought it was pain from the dissolving sutures and/or an injury to the stump area, which is still tender. Now that she saw her today, four days later, she said Ivy's much worse. They looked at all kinds of possibilities but the labwork is giving them cause to think anemia and possibly the autoimmune thing. We will go back Monday for more blood work.
We went home with gabapentin Wednesday, and they had given her a shot of something strong. Yesterday they gave her a shot of antiinflammatory, and sent us home with oral prednisone. Today, they gave us an appetite stimulant for her and we will see if that works. This morning Ivy was crying a lot and lethargic, but her tail was switching around like she was irritated. At the vet office, she kind of just laid on my arm, but when we got home with her, she looked mad, which was encouraging.
She's so pale and so weak - she's under a fuzzy blanket now and resting. We will decide Monday what to do; we were thinking they'd have to put her to sleep today but the vet seems to think we need to give her a couple of days to see where this goes. The other option was to travel down to Kansas State for a blood transfusion but that's hours and hours away and there's no guarantee it would work. Also, a cat in a carrier all those hours would be sheer torture.
Thanks everyone for checking in and for the good thoughts. We want her to get better but we also know that quality of life is a big issue. We won't prolong things just to keep her around.
At least you have some more information to help guide you through this process. I'm glad they were able to better identify what was going on.
Hopefully you'll be able to see some turn around in the next couple of days.
I had to chuckle a bit when you said this about Ivy:
she looked mad, which was encouraging.
Being feisty is a good thing!
You clearly have Ivy's best interest at heart. It's never about quantity but it's definitely about quality. She knows your lover and you will always do the right thing for her quality.
Continuing to send positive thoughts and extra 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!
I find this too coincidental after the amp. Of course, we don't know Ivy's history, and we, indeed, are not vets;)
I'm encouraged to see the numbers increased. That is a very positive sign, and Ditto so is being mad and feisty after the visit. The antibiotics and steroids must be helping to increase the numbers. I'm glad they are checking all avenues and causes. I also agree with giving the meds a few days to do their job. You never know.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I don't give up hope until there is none.
Thanks for updating us. We wondered how she was doing today!
We will continue to send tripawd power and prayers.
(((((Hugs))) and give Ivy a healing kiss from all of us, please!!
💝💝💝
Today is a happy day. Over the weekend, we were sure Ivy was at death's door. She wouldn't eat or drink, barely moved, and had to be fed water through a syringe. The steroids helped immensely, as did smearing gross pureed cat food treats on her upper lip to lick off. She got some strength back, and used the litter box yesterday evening when I was out of the room - she dragged herself a few feet from her pallet to do it, too!
This morning, her toe beans are pinking up, and she got up and staggered toward me when I came into the room. The swelling on her stump site is almost completely gone. Now, I'm no vet and this is just a guess, but I think it's possible that she had some sort of bone infection due to trauma to the stump. The vet gave her a massive injection of antibiotics 5 days ago, and then pain killer, and most recently over four days, steroids. The site was bruised, hot and swollen at first and now it's normal temp, not swollen and the bruising is faded. Our theory here in our family is that she took a hard fall playing with our other cat (who's her brother and a bully sometimes) and hit her hip on the wood floor, causing internal trauma to the still-healing bone stump.
Either way, tomorrow she goes in for more bloodwork for a progress check. Right now, she's sprawled out casually on the rug in my office, looking down the hall through the gate so she can see what's happening in the house. If I sit on the floor, she curls up with me. Every time I walk in the room she's in a different location. She's been eating watered down canned cat food and drinking lots and lots of water on her own. Plus she's fighting me when I give her a syringe of meds, which normally would be irritating but is just pure excellence.
This post makes our DAY!!!!
Pure excellence all around!!! YAY, IVY, never give up hope until all is gone!
I look forward to hearing what the vet says tomorrow, too. Clinically, she is doing fantastic and has improved dramatically, and I'm not surprised at all. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Steroids, when needed, can be a miracle, plus antibiotics and pain meds. I would want to know more/why so it won't happen again.
Thanks for this update. We are so happy/happy for you all!! Keep it up, Ivy!!!
Give her a smooch from us, please.
We will keep the prayers and tripawd power coming to Ivy!!!
(((HUGS)))
💝💝💝
Oh gosh so happy to hear this! Made my day! Whatever the cause, the solution seems to be working! To hear that Ivy is more alert and engaged plus more mobile, is the best news ever.
Paws crossed for a good update at the next vet visit. We're all pulling for Ivy!
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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