Hi. My cat had her rear leg amputated on February 1. It never occurred to me that my cat could stay overnight at the vet's, and the vet didn't offer that. I was just telling a friend yesterday how I felt almost like a new parent with a baby; the hospital sends you home and basically tells you good luck, but you feel unprepared.

Has your cat had anesthesia before? One of my cats gets flirtatious and loving after surgery, and mostly just wants to sleep. The other is a pacer. The pacer, Rita, is the one who had the amputation. She'd had surgery two other times years ago to remove mammary tumors, and she paced like crazy after those surgeries. Therefore, I knew she would likely pace after this one.

I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't an absolute mess that first night. Rita paced, fell over on her back and couldn't get up, couldn't figure out how to walk with three legs and a cone, etc.  I kept thinking, "I made a mistake." I felt like the world's worst cat mommy. I was terrified. I was texting my friends and mom constantly because I was a wreck. For a couple of nights, I kept Rita in a dog cage overnight so she couldn't hurt herself.  During one of those nights, she fell in the litter box and obviously couldn't get up with the cone and close quarters. I awoke to find her covered in her own runny poop, including with poop all along her wound (which was stitched but not covered). I had to take her to the vet to get the wound cleaned up. 

So why am I telling you all this? Well hopefully Whiskey is like my other cat and will just be a snoozer and loving cat after surgery. Maybe it will be calm and peaceful at your house. But if he's like Rita, don't worry. I didn't have this forum (I found it at least a week after the surgery), but you do. So, you know you aren't alone. Also, Rita is fine. She hobbles around and is as sweet and loving as ever. I wasn't sure we'd last the first night, and almost three months later, it's like that first week didn't exist. Just get through the first night and the first weeks until the cone comes off, and it's all uphill from there. 😉        

I got one of the amputee suits. Unfortunately, one size was too large, and one was too small, so it didn't work for us. However, that was a back leg. I think it will probably work well for a front leg amputation. Just make sure to measure your cat. I ordered the suit after Rita had her cone and surgery, and I didn't want to move her. So I took a guess and guessed wrong. 

Best of luck.

I was bummed the recovery suit didn't work either. I used to call Rita my Mary Lou Retton because she was stout, small, and athletic. So it could just be that her body was too different from a typical cat, though she is older now and smaller. Oh well. I'm glad I tried. 

Yes, fingers crossed for Whiskey and his human!