Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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First day post-op, lounging in litter box?
My 13 y/o kitty Belle had her right front leg amputated yesterday because a vaccine-related cancer mass began to spread into it. We got her back today, earlier than expected, and she is having ups (she finally ate dinner!) and downs (hating oral meds, floundering, occasionally mewing in other frustration or pain or both). I’ve been so worried I decided I’ll stay up monitoring her, and she has been repeatedly hobbling into the litter box and then laying down, and every time she moves around she starts breathing heavily. I want to encourage her to get used to maneuvering as a “tripawd”, but don’t know if I should be letting her lay in the litter. I also took off her cone because it was distressing her and she has no way to get at her bandage or stitches, plus my husband and I are taking turns with her.
I’m hoping I made the right decision to do this; oncologist was fairly confident she may have 3 more years due to the amp and I hope I do get that time with her and that her quality of life is good. This has been so heart-wrenching and expensive, I’m so angry that a vaccine did this to my sweet vocal girl. And apparently my housecall vet wasn’t administering vaccines to the particular legs for Rabies vs. Upper Respiratory, etc as recommended, and we couldn’t determine which vaccine caused the cancer, so no financial help. And with COVID I haven’t been able to go in with Belle to any of her exams or tests or the surgery which has just been an additional stress/guilt factor.
Hi and welcome. Your future posts won’t need approval so post away.
First, remember this is so early in recovery, it’s natural to doubt yourself. Everyone does! We aren’t used to seeing our pets so wonky but that’s the pain meds and it’s only temporary.
Speaking of meds, what pain medication is she taking and how often? It can be tricky to know what is too much or too little during this time so if she is so wobbly she can’t stand I would let your vet know. Sometimes backing off just a bit can help but don’t do it until you talk to them.
Also, does she have a low sided litterbox to make it easy to get into and out of?
I’m on my phone now and have lots more to share when I’m on my laptop later. For now be sure to check our TriKitty articles
https://tripawd.....rikitties/
Back later with more thoughts.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Not to worry. My kitty Mona had her front leg amputated from a vaccine injection also. She lived 6.25 wonderful years and sadly I had to let her go at 14.5 years old from a different cancer. Belle will have more years with you.
Yes, they can choose to flop just anywhere in the first few days after the amputation. Just take her out of the litter box and put her in a cozy place to sleep. They like to sleep in little dens. Mona slept under a shelf in a closet; some people have a large cage and put a blanket over top; some take a large box and turn it sideways for a den; even a coffee table with a blanket over top gives a cozy space under the table.
Hugs to you and Belle.
Kerren
Just checking in to see how Belle is doing? I hope she's better. I'm so glad Mona's mom chimed in, she is one our Trikitty experts around here!
So along with the link I gave you, be sure to check out Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats , which has all of our best tips for three-legged felines. Also, see:
Our What to Expect articles , Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawd Recovery Shopping List for more ideas about how to make Belle's life more comfortable now and later when she's got her mojo back.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi,
Sorry if this is late. I hope the recovery is going well. My kitty had an amputation on her right front leg on 11/20 because of osteosarcoma. We went through 3 litter boxes - Catit jumbo littler box (she was on this before surgery but we thought the entry was high), open pan with low entry (we bought this right after surgery but she rejected it because it was not high enough on the side), and Nature’s Miracle high-sided box without lid (she tolerated it). We went back to her favorite Catit jumbo box because it was roomy and she was already used to it. There were times when she laid inside the pan because she got tired from learning how to balance on three legs. My cat also had constipation for a couple days after surgery. She would go in and out of the box several times per day and sometimes just laid inside for a couple minutes feeling defeated. I always encouraged her to come back out and gave her love and attention. I think in your case, it is normal as she's learning how to balance using her three legs. Even now, my cat still takes a break and lays on the rug after she steps out of the litter box. She still uses her missing limb to cover up her business but switches right back to her other limb. If you have a baby onesie or t-shirt, please use that. I think the cone may make it hard for kitties to move in and out of the litter box or eat/drink in general. Hope this helps. 🙂
@molmol thanks for chiming in and sharing your kitty's story! That is GREAT input! Mind if we share it in the Tripawds Gear blog at some point? Do you have any photos to go along with it? If so please message me.
What's her name? Be sure to start a new topic all her own so that we can follow along with your journey. Osteosarcoma in cats is rare but we've had quite a few join us through the years, you may want to check out this forum topic, "Osteosarcoma in Cats."
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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