Wow! it’s been almost an entire year.

It has been fun revisiting this thread.  I intended to post a bunch more after Raven’s recovery, but we’ve had a rather bizarre run of bad luck the past year.  We lost three immediate family members between our two families in an 8-month period of time, and spent a bunch of time away from home as a result.  We’ve been quite busy, so say the least.

So the good news is, during this awful time, Raven had a great year.  She recovered nicely, and quickly got back to her VERY active lifestyle. I was quite astounded by it all.  I was initially obsessed with setting up the house to accommodate her “disability.”  Maybe a handicap access litter box?  Stairsteps for high perch areas? Maybe I should carry her around more to preserve her energy?  Well, Raven was having none of it.

So one of her favorite sleeping spots is my office desk, which offers window sunbathing, exciting views of sidewalk passersby (sometime s waving at her), birds, pets being walked, etc.  The problem is the desktop sits 28 inches high off the ground. My solution was to create a stairstep situation for her, but she didn’t want to use it.  She kept trying to launch herself to the desk from ground level like she always did, but with just that one little leg.  I have one of those big, L-shaped desks that sits in a corner, and her launch spot was in a blind spot behind me, so these launch attempts usually caught me surprise.  I’d hear a meow, front claws tapping the desk, then the boom/crash of her falling to the floor.  “Damnit Raven!  Stop that! Use the handicap access!” Then I would pick her up and put her on the desk. She never gave up.  After about 3 months she was launching herself on the desktop with that one leg! Incredible.  Keep in mind, this cat is tiny (5-6 lbs).  Athletic phenom Michael Jordan has a 46 inch vertical leap, which is an incredible 59 % of his generous height.  Now imagine if he could more than double his height jumping with one leg? That’s what Raven did. Unknown to me, she charted out her own workout routine and accomplished her self-directed physical therapy rehab goals.  Needless to say, nothing else in the house was a challenge to her as a tripawd vs. her old self.  Pretty funny that I was concerned about the 6-inch step to clear the litterbox threshold. ALL concerns I had about her post-recovery issues turned out to be needless worry.    

Raven’s year after recovery was bliss!  She was a very active, happy, loving life pet.  Unfortunately, a few months back, an ultrasound detected abnormalities in her liver.  Fortunately, Raven did not seem to exhibit any symptoms at all.  No signs of pain.  This month, an ultrasound detected a mass on her liver, which was biopsied as cancer.  We were told she had a shot at a good outcome with surgery.  We took her in for surgery last week, and they discovered her liver was quite diseased and she had other inoperable masses on liver.  Post-op was problematic, her blood pressure dropped, and she spent an agonizing three days in the ICU trying to correct that problem. We spared no expense trying to do every procedure they could reasonably do for Raven, but it got to a point where a good outcome was no longer possible.  I’m sorry to say we lost Raven at the hospital Friday.  She passed away at the hospital in my arms purring.

I am so sorry to return after a long break and relay this sad news.  But I must say I am not overwhelmed with sadness today, because Raven’s overall time with us was a happy, uplifting, and fulfilling given context not yet available on this thread.  It’s a cool story, IMO, so I feel compelled to share a little to offset Friday’s sad news.   

So I’ll do a follow-up post on Raven’s Bio.  It will be cathartic for me, and hopefully cheer up a few folks who for some strange reason enjoy reading my rants about a spunky kitty.

Mark

Some Lesson Learned

I’m deeply indebted to this wonderful website.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.  I thought maybe the best way I could give back to this community, and honor Raven, would be to express a few lessons learned from our experience in the hope it provides a little hope somebody out there dealing with this tough situation.  A few thoughts..

1.   Tough decisions:  You have my deepest sympathies if you’ve just been told by your vet the best course of treatment is to amputate your pet’s leg.  This is awful, agonizing news.  Trust me, I feel your pain.  Amputation seems radical (it is). To be honest, when I got this news, I pondered whether it was ethical to do this to my cat.  This will make me unpopular here perhaps, but I wondered if euthanizing Raven might be in her best interest.  People differ on this matter, but I think we can all agree there is a line somewhere you don’t want to cross where medical intervention causes more suffering than you want to put a poor animal through.  It’s a dilemma.  And in my opinion, the calculus is different for animals than people. The fact they can’t provide consent, communicate pain, or talk through their anxiety makes major medical intervention a dicey issue for pets.  My bottom-line was I wanted to do what was in Raven’s best interest.  Two things helped me.  1. My vet told me cats typically have good outcomes and quality of life with amputation. 2. She directed me to this website. I spent hours reading stories on tripawds, and was convinced it was in Raven’s best interest to proceed with amputation.  Raven’s results were typical with the majority you can read here—she was happy, and had excellent QOL as a tripawd. I have no regrets! So my best advice to you is to take advantage of this wonderful resource and read the stories, and have confidence your pet’s outcome will likely be as successful as the majority in this community. 

2.   The sleepless night.  This is the night before the operation where you feel so bad about what’s about to happen to your pet.  Your last night before he/she loses a leg.  Please don’t sweat it.  Unlike humans, I’ve noticed animals don’t have the capacity to feel sorry for themselves. Know that you’re doing your pet a good deed by prolonging his/her life, and that life will be a good life as a tripawd. Again, this site is a great resource for that confidence.  Give yourself a break, and get some sleep.  You’ll need it!

3.   Homecoming preparations. Plan on being busy, especially the first week while your pet convalesces. Clear your schedule, arrange time off with your employer, run all of your errands, and stock up at the grocery store.  That’s my best advice.  Caring for your pet may be more time consuming than you imagine beforehand.  Strategize on recovery accommodations for your pet that restricts activity.  Big dog kennels are popular, though it didn’t work for my cat because she hated confinement.  If that’s also the case for your cat, I found clearing a spare room of jumpable temptations worked pretty well. Lining the floor with a canvas paint drop cloth helps too--your cat may be prone to potty accidents the first few days. On to useful products…

4.   Useful product #1—Nature’s Miracle Disposable Litter Box. Excellent for recovering cats. Comes as a 3-pack. Cuts like cardboard, so you can use a utility knife to carve out handicap access.

5.   Useful product #2—Dr. Elsey’s Cat Litter. Wound-friendly, hypo-allergenic cat litter.  Doesn’t clump well, but won’t get into your cat’s wound like sandy/dirty variety cat litter. 

6.   Useful product #3—Dog pee pee pads.

7.   Useful product #4—Grooming wipes.  Your cat’s daily licking routine will take a hit during recovery.  These help.  And your cat will appreciate staying clean during recovery and conehead days.

8.   Useful product #4—Old Grand-Dad 114.  Human sedative, sleep aid, and problem minimizer.  Don’t exceed recommended dose.   

9.   Coping skills.  I’m not qualified to dispense psychological advice, but I can tell you what has worked for me during a difficult year of challenges.  It is the very simple idea of focusing only on the next decision and/or step ahead of you and giving it your very best each step of the way.  And resolve to never become exasperated and never give up.  That’s it. Similar to the old saying that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.  If you commit to never stop chewing, you will eventually conquer any challenge this way.  Again, my first suggested step is to read this forum and start educating yourself. Nobody here had a clue about pet amputations and recovery when they first logged on, and they got through this ordeal just fine with a little help from the community.  You will too.

10. Don’t fret too much about your mistakes.  Despite the best of intentions, we allowed Raven to violate EVERY instruction given to us for post-surgery.  We had a very tough time keeping her inactive.  She busted stitches, and I thought for sure there would be follow-on infections and/or wound issues.  She recovered splendidly nonetheless.  If you feel like you’re screwing everything up, I would suggest starting at the first post of this thread, and then read forward.  You will then feel much better about yourself! Bonus: some entertainment at my expense.

11. Be careful who you confide in. My wife encountered some inappropriate judgement at work when she told a coworker about Raven’s amputation. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who deem themselves fit to opine on the choices of others without full command of the facts. In this context, there are people who will have instant opinions about proceeding with pet amputation and/or the cost of the procedure. Ignore them. Only you and your veterinarian know what’s best for your pet. If you need helpful, knowledgeable support and advice, this community is your resource.

12. Gratitude. How cool is this website? I am so grateful for the existence of this community, and all of the help I got along the way. It is really heartwarming for me to see people coming together to help each other like this. Definitely a bright spot in the vast jungle of internet interactions! They are always trying to raise money on that front page. What a wonderful opportunity to support a very worthy cause! Maybe read up on their wonderful assistance programs, and set a reminder to donate after the dust settles post-recovery and those vet bills get paid off.

Thank you, Tripawds! My time spent with you has been wonderful. What a lovely community!

All the best,

Mark