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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During a TNR of a large colony of community cats, we found a friendly cat with a severe limp. After going through the proper protocols and not finding his owner, I have decided to keep him. He has a severe limp of his right front leg. After x-raying the leg, the vet said that he had an old injury that was never treated, and he has severe osteoarthritis in the leg. It has very limited mobility. They estimated him to be 7-9 years old, and said he had a grade 5/6 heart murmur. A cardiologist did an echo and determined that it is more like a grade 3/6 murmur. So, I suspect the anxiety of being at the vet's office made the difference. Have any of you had your cat's leg amputated due to osteoarthritis? Is it the better alternative instead of a lifetime of painkillers and, probably, chiropractic adjustments? (If he would tolerate it!).
Hi and welcome! Thanks for helping this kitty have a great life with you! Sounds like you've really done your homework by getting opinions about his situation. How do the vets feel about him being a candidate for amputation surgery?
Amputating because of severe OA often happens in dogs. I searched my brain and our Forums but couldn't find any examples of cats who lost legs for the same reason. Maybe someone here can recall. But my general non-vet feeling is that dogs who lose legs to OA do well, so why not cats? Especially ones still in their prime years.
Getting rid of pain is the #1 goal with amputation if no other viable options exist. Cats do really well on 3, even better than dogs (don't tell them I told you!). Have you seen our Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats book? If you want to dig into the topic it's there so you can see how well they do. Or check out our Trikitty blogs too!
What's your cat's name?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The rescue named him Corey. I've been calling him Mozart. But the more time I spend with him, he may be a Marley.....
Aww I love both Mozart and Marley! How about Marley Mozart? 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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