Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone. I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Meg and my family just adopted a 12-wk old calico kitten missing her rear right leg. We’ve named her Persephone Dufflepod Fragilay Meimei...Sephy for short.
Sephy was a rescue who was found on December 27th. It was 29* outside and the rescuers were not sure if she would make it through the night. She was estimated to be 8 weeks old. Her rear right leg had been damaged, with wire or string having cut off circulation long enough for the limb to die. The rescuers could not afford her medical needs, so she was surrendered to a non-profit no-kill rescue. From there the rescue mission had donated funds to pay for her surgery.
I met her a week after surgery, and my daughter and I fell in love. We were able to bring her home Sunday, the day after her stitches were removed. Currently she is living in the master bedroom and getting to know her new quad brother, a 10-year old black cat named Serious.
Sephy is till pretty nervous about her new home; she spends most of her time hiding under the furniture. Bit she successfully found the litter box her first night home, so I am sure she will come out of her shell as she gets more comfortable with her surroundings.
I look forward to learning how to care for my special Sephy through this website and message forum.
Hello to you and Sephy! Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away. Thank you for joining us! We are so glad you found this community. Prepare to be inspired! And meet another Tripawd named Sephy, who just joined us.
That's awesome she found her litterbox. She hasn't had any issues getting in or out? Many cats need a low-sided litter box so that is great news if she's managing well.
We do recommend making sure that she can't get stuck in spaces while she's still healing but it sounds like her stitches are out and now she's finding her new normal?
Be sure to see our Trikitty tips about life on three legs, and our e-book, Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats , for more ideas to keep her healthy and strong.
Also, stay tuned for feedback from others!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well this is awkward!
Seriously though welcome.
We have two cats who were both rescue kittens (they are now over 12!) and I named the boy "Calvin" after the magisterial reformer of Geneva and my step daughter named the girl Persephone, or Sephy for short.
My Sephy is also shy, anyone comes round and she hides behind the sofa, but she is a lovely, if slightly needy, cat.
We would love to see a photo.
- "what shall be done for these innocents? I have been warned not even to raise the question of animal immortality, lest I find myself “in company with all the old maids”. I have no objection to the company" - C S Lewis (The Problem of Pain)
- "Mr Toplady was touched by the cruelty of the scene, and exclaimed, ' Who could bear to see that sight, if there were not to be some compensation for these poor suffering animals in a future state' 'I certainly hope,' said my grandfather, ' that all the bulls will go to heaven; but do you think this will be the case with all the animal creation' 'Yes, certainly,' replied Mr Toplady, with great emphasis, ' all, all!" - Josiah Bull (recording a meeting with the great A. M. Toplady, author of "Rock of Ages" in "Memorials of the Rev. William Bull of Newport, Pagnel")
- "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God" Luke 12:6
Wow - it’s wild that we both chose the same name for our kitty! My daughter and I went round different names...we were going to call her Perci, but that didn’t fit the way Sephy does.
To answer some questions, yes we have limited the places she can hide in the bedroom. I have throw pillows shoved under the bedside tables 
for example. She is becoming more social with myself and my husband, and eating well. I had purchased a smaller liter box for her, so hopping in and out has more been an issue for her. She found her toys :D. She does not like jingle balls, but love love loves mousies.
My biggest fear with her is stairs. We have a baby gate blocking her from the rest of the second floor. But our stairs are not carpeted. So I anticipate she will be confined to the one bedroom for the foreseeable future. Also, so far she has had no desire to try and jump up on anything. Any thoughts on that?
I’m not sure how to upload a picture here...
I have always taken the view that cats are lunatics that will do whatever they want to anyway (they also bounce quite well) so I let them get up to whatever they want to.
While she heals I do agree that you should be protective, but after that good luck stopping her doing anything.
- "what shall be done for these innocents? I have been warned not even to raise the question of animal immortality, lest I find myself “in company with all the old maids”. I have no objection to the company" - C S Lewis (The Problem of Pain)
- "Mr Toplady was touched by the cruelty of the scene, and exclaimed, ' Who could bear to see that sight, if there were not to be some compensation for these poor suffering animals in a future state' 'I certainly hope,' said my grandfather, ' that all the bulls will go to heaven; but do you think this will be the case with all the animal creation' 'Yes, certainly,' replied Mr Toplady, with great emphasis, ' all, all!" - Josiah Bull (recording a meeting with the great A. M. Toplady, author of "Rock of Ages" in "Memorials of the Rev. William Bull of Newport, Pagnel")
- "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God" Luke 12:6
missmeg said
My biggest fear with her is stairs. We have a baby gate blocking her from the rest of the second floor. But our stairs are not carpeted. So I anticipate she will be confined to the one bedroom for the foreseeable future. Also, so far she has had no desire to try and jump up on anything. Any thoughts on that?I’m not sure how to upload a picture here...
Cats can do stairs pretty well, even better than dogs. How's the fur between her toes? If it needs trimming, do that now while she is dopey from the medication. That will give her more traction . Usually once the stitches are out I would say it's safe to allow a new Trikitty to give them a try. For now, yeah, do what you can to limit her to a small, safe place in your home, keeping in mind that she can tunnel through pillows. But, as long as she can't get into something like box springs on a bed (many people put their beds on the floor to avoid this), she should be good.
This is how adding images to the Forums works.
- Upload pics to a photo sharing site like imgur.com or your own Tripawds blog!
- Right click and copy the Image URL or just copy the image if you’re on a phone
- Return to your Tripawds Forum post and paste the image URL (or the image itself) in your post. It should automatically appear.
If you’d like help figuring out the process let me know.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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