Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
My cat Luna had amputation surgery in March. She had been doing mostly well except for some litter box issues until two weeks ago when she started having these strange episodes that we've been calling manic. She goes into the kitchen and tries to crawl under cabinets and in cabinets. She is very strong and uses all her weight to push forward. One time it was the laundry room she went crazy in, climbing up on some boxes and trying to get on the washer. Sometimes she races up and down the stairs but not like she used to with the zoomies - she seems overstimulated or anxious or something. We have a Feliway diffuser and spray Feliway all around the room she's in. When she was recovering from her surgery, we also played some soft music and we're doing that now. We give her gabapentin and sometimes this calms her but today it didn't. She had this type of behavior for nearly 4 hours straight today. Sometimes she'll go in her carrier and calm down but sometimes she won't calm down.
We've taken her to the vet 3 times since this started happening (2 different clinics). She had a normal urine culture, CBC and stool sample. None of the vets is sure what it is - they've all speculated that it's phantom pain . When I read in the forums about phantom pain , it seems to present differently. Has anyone had anything like this happen with their cat? I'm feeling at my wit's end because I don't know what to do about this. I've thought of consulting a behavior specialist but I wanted to ask here on the forum first.
Thank you.
Caryn
Has anyone seen anything like this in their cats?
Caryn, I'm so sorry your cat is going through this. It does sound a lot like the "Cats walking backwards" situation which is attributed to phantom pain , but has never been documented as the cause. When cats behave like this, we are guessing that they are trying to get away from the pain. So it's totally possible that this is not behavioral, and a pain management situation that needs specialty help. There are so many nerves cut during amputation surgery, and they don't always behave in the way we want them to. Miscommunication between the brain and the nervous system is responsible for phantom pain issues like this.
If your vets didn't refer you to a pain specialist, let us know your location (you can Private Message it to me if you'd like) and I'll send you some options (hopefully nearby). There are accredited pain specialists who can often get these cases under control much faster and more effectively. Pain control is more than gabapentin in some cases and needs multiple approaches (acupuncture, massage, other medications, etc).
Other folks have reported their cats experiencing similar pain issues. Scroll through this forum topic for some reports. Meanwhile ask your vet for a safe dosage to up her gabapentin, which often helps to bring pain like this under control sooner.
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