Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,Â
I've been reading a little on and off for the last few days and thought I would say hi.
My littlest kitty Penny is a new member of the tripawd community. She had her left hind leg amputated on Thursday. She is almost 4 years old and had luxating patella. Her patella would slip to the inside and the outside rather than just one it had also created it's own groove down the side of her bones where it slipped. Her leg was slightly bowed because of this. We first noticed signs a year ago. She had an op in Jan this year to try and correct it by tightening and loosing ligaments etc as the trochlear groove on that side seemed plenty deep enough.
For 4 amazing weeks she was doing so well. Then out of nowhere she was badly lame on that side again. We tried conservative treatements like extended crate rest, in the hope that she had strained some of those ligaments etc. After this failed to prodyce any significant improvements she was booked in for more xrays on thursday, with the idea that any required surgery would be booked in once these were done.
Around lunchtime on thursday i received a call from the vets who explained what the xrays were showing. The patella wasn't actually slipping out anymore. But the area was very thick with scar tissue, arthritis etc. The discussed operation of the trochlear groove deepen g would be pointless as the patella didn't need to be kept in. We could try redoing the op she had already had. Again fairly pointless. She was also suddenly completely lame on that leg that morning and wouldn't even rest it on the floor. The decision was made that the best thing for her quality of life was to amputate there and then as she was already under anaesthetic. Although we could hold off in the hope that she would use it again once home, it seemed inevitable that she would eventually need it to be removed. So to save her from any added stresses from more anaesthetic and exams they went ahead.
After a rough time when she came round, she arrived home yesterday evening. We couldn't be more happy for her to be home.Â
That's most of her story, just thought I would explain and say hi.Â
Ju and Penny
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry your precious Penny has been through so much! I am glad to hear she made it through amputation surgery and is home and on the mend.
I've been through the luxating patella issue twice with my quad pug Obie- he had to have both his knees repaired. His surgeries were very invasive, expensive and the rehab period was months and months in each case. I do feel fortunate that his knees were repairable- I know in some cases, like Penny's, it just doesn't work. I've been through one amp recovery with my first pug Maggie, and the two knee surgeries with Obie and I can tell you the recovery from amp surgery is much, much faster!
You have found a great community for support and information here- I'm glad you posted and shared your story!
We will of course need to see pictures! Here is how to add photos to your forum posts. That is when you are ready... you might have your hands full right now.Â
Please let us know what questions and concerns you have as you start this new phase of Penny's life.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Â
        Maggie's Story          Amputation and Chemo
Hello and Welcome to you and Penny,
We are sorry you have to join us but glad you found us.
"The decision was made that the best thing for her quality of life was to amputate "
That is exactly what joins us all here we do this for our animals not to them for the quality of life for whatever the reason is cancer, accident, deformity injury.
Purrkins is a left front leg amputee he lost his leg from cancer. He was six going to be eight this summer. He gets around fantastic, and there isn't anything Purrkins won't do much to my dismay!
The first two weeks can be bumpy. The most important thing is to keep Penny comfortable with meds and limit her activity. Usually, the meds do that but not always. Purrkins had bouts of energy in recovery and then followed with a lot of rest. We used a spare room for recovery, Purrkins chose the closet as his safe spot. You can read about Purrkins if you hit the circle (globe) under his avatar.
Lots of yummy foods to stimulate her senses. Wet food is excellent you don't have to worry so much about her drinking.
Please let us know if you have questions or concerns. We have some active rear leg forum members I am sure they will pop in and welcome you as well. We also have a section of rear leg kitty blogs if you have not seen that already.
Heal Well Penny Rest is best!
HugsÂ
Holly & Purrkins
So glad Penny is finally going to be a le to start enjoying life to the fullest with that bum leg gone!  Goodness kniws you tried everything before getting to this point. Good job!
SAY CONNECTED and ask any questions you may jave as Penny continues to recocery. We have some of the best kitty families around who can provide you a wealth of information on every aspect of recovery.
Slow and easy,lots of rest. This IS major surgery and the first week or somof recovery can be a bit rest.  Ake sure Penny's pain is adequately managed. Imw sure the Vet gave you some good meds for her to take for awhile.
Uodate when you can.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi
Welcome to you and your Penny. It sounds like she is in the very best of hands. Amputation is very daunting at first but once those bumpy first few weeks are over, you won't believe what your Penny will be able to do. Don't be afraid to let her experiment a little. She will want to know her own limits.
My angel was a front leg and back leg amputation so I want you to know that she absolutely thrived on her two legs. Your girl is going to do great. I am sure.
Sending you much love and encouragement
Joanna and Pirate ( and my angel three paw)
Post up check up went well yesterday regarding the wound site. All healing nicely and no signs of infection.Â
They took another blood sample to check her kidney levels as these were high last week, they'll discuss the results when I take her back on Thursday.
They checked for signs of dehydration as I was concerned she was drinking enough but thankfully she didn't show any.Â
I think they're a little concerned (I am) about her mood and appetite. I understand she's had major surgery and would be fed up myself if I woke up with a limb. But she definitely seems depressed. I put her in her crate while I did the school run yesterday afternoon as I feel better knowing she's safe when I'm not home or when I go to bed.
I opened it at 4.30 and she showed no interest in coming out. In fact she hasn't been out since. I shut the door again at midnight when I went to bed. Opened again at approx 9.30 this morning after school run and my daughter's class assembly.Â
Appetite wise, she's always been dry fed only as she doesn't really eat wet food except for a few bites. To try and encourage her to eat something we have been giving her a selection of wet poor and her usual dry. She has eaten no more than 1/3 of a pouch of food and few biscuits in a day
😢😢
Ju and Penny
You may need to grab some different things than what is your norm. She definitely needs fluid. Canned food is about 80 water and can give her better hydration. Tuna, tuna juice, you can try a little chicken broth (low sodium), boiled chicken shredded or chopped into small pieces. There is a bisque type treat that I got for Huck's post op that they all love. It is called Delectables. I got the senior formula and all three of my cats go wild over it. They also make a Delectable called a "Squeeze Up" and that is exactly what it is. You cut the top of the tube and squeeze it out. Mine eat it right out of the container or if I squeeze it on to my hand. I dont know what they put in it but the cats go wild over it. Fancy Feast makes a simple pouch called Broths. It is primarily liquid and a few pieces of real seafood.Â
Yeah, I got all of this stuff for Huck post op and it made a huge difference. Right now pushing any kind of fluid is really important. Her appetite will probably be a rollercoaster for a little while. Between the surgery and medications it can really mess with their appetite. Keep trying even if you have to feed it to her from your hand. Small amounts often work just fine. Does she have a favorite cat treat? When I make baked salmon I always get a couple of requests to share.Â
You can try warming things up a little, it seems to make them smellier and more tantalizing. Oh, I got kitty milk too and Huck liked it but he didn't LOVE it. They are all different tho, yours might LOVE it 🙂Â
Honestly David and I took many turns by Huckleberry's crate. Sometimes just to lay with him once he decided we were going to be buddies. I think just hanging with him was good medicine for all involved.Â
Hang in there, this will get better but you need to keep trying with food, fluid, gravy, anything she will eat. It's all about her right now, she just needs to be reminded that she is hungry.Â
Did you say her surgery was last Thursday? What kind of pain meds is she on? She may need some medication tweaking now that anesthesia and all the good hospital drugs are out of their system. This is about that time. She should be on a good pain med and hopefully gabapentin. If she is acting depressed she may be in pain.Â
Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.Â
Hugs,
Jackie and Huckleberry
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Yeah she's normally dry fed only but we got a selection of different wet foods to encourage some more fluid intake. She has eaten a little today off her own back rather than me needing to encourage.
I live in the UK and she has the things called "lick e lix" that sound like the squeeze up things you mentioned. I found these are great for getting her meds in to her.Â
She's still grooming so I think that's a good sign.Â
Yes the amp was done last thursday. She's on an antibiotic at the moment and also something called loxicom. She's been taking that since her patella issue got bad in November. That's the only pain meds she's been having since she got home from the op. I'm not sure if it's different in the UK, or may be because she had high kidney levels last week. I will talk to the vets about it when i take her on Thursday.
We'll be discussing her latest blood results then too. They initially said that they wanted to put her on a renal specific food because of the elevated levels, but they want to hold off on that until she she's eating properly now. I'm hoping the levels will have decreased some more. The last thing she needs is kidney issues.
She's never had an easy life bless her. She was found locked in a rabbit hutch at 9 weeks old. Went into foster and the people decided to keep her until the landlord complained about the number of pets they had. So I took her in from 5 months. She suffers from stress and anxiety which led to 2 years of her peeing in my house. Luckily i got her a crate about 18 months ago and that's definitely helped with the peeing, making her her own little safe space and I think with the ongoing crate rest etc from the patella problems.Â
I worry though as she has the same issues with the other knee but it wasn't causing as many problems as the one that was amputated. I just know that over time the fact that she only has 3 legs is going to aggravate an already dodgy leg
Ju and Penny
Ju said
Yeah she's normally dry fed only but we got a selection of different wet foods to encourage some more fluid intake. She has eaten a little today off her own back rather than me needing to encourage.I live in the UK and she has the things called "lick e lix" that sound like the squeeze up things you mentioned. I found these are great for getting her meds in to her.Â
She's still grooming so I think that's a good sign.Â
Yes the amp was done last thursday. She's on an antibiotic at the moment and also something called loxicom. She's been taking that since her patella issue got bad in November. That's the only pain meds she's been having since she got home from the op. I'm not sure if it's different in the UK, or may be because she had high kidney levels last week. I will talk to the vets about it when i take her on Thursday.
Keep encouraging Penny to eat, she doesn't need to eat her normal amount of food, but she has to eat! You can syringe feed her if need be & know how? Smelly wet foods are great, Gerber baby food too Turkey & Gravy meat and gravy only ones she might lick that right up for you. Warm meals, anything to stimulate her senses, hand feed her, pet her all things to try.
Grooming is a great sign!Â
She's on an antibiotic at the moment and also something called loxicom.
That is what we call Meloxicam or Metacam here, and that is likely why she does not want to eat and seems depressed,  that alone is not enough pain relief for her after an amputation. I am also surprised they have Penny on the Metacam only with her kidney levels that is not a great drug on the kidneys. She has been on that for a period of time another concern. When Metacam is sent home after an amp it is usually with another pain med an Opioid. I would phone my vet and ask for something more to help with pain. You can also get an appetite stimulant but honestly if you get her pain managed she will eat! This is the biggest issue with Cats and amputation and not enough pain relief!
Are things any better today?
I worry though as she has the same issues with the other knee but it wasn't causing as many problems as the one that was amputated. I just know that over time the fact that she only has 3 legs is going to aggravate an already dodgy leg Â
Provide Penny with easier ways up & down with steps in any form. After recovery. We added pet steps for Purrkins to his favorite spots to take some of the strain off of his remaining front leg. You can use boxes or furniture anyway to make things easier on them getting up and down would help protect the limbs and less aggravation to the dodgy leg.
Keep us posted we are all here to help to help.
Hugs,
Holly & Purrkins
Hey.
So here's a little update. She spent 27 hours in her crate refusing to come out. But once we made her get out yesterday evening seemed in a bit of a better mood.
Today I made her come out at 11 am and she stayed out until I put her to bed. She's definitely happier, more loving and eating better today, and through her own choice rather than my persistent nagging.Â
We have made her a ramp to get on the bed and can also use on the sofa as she does an impression of a flying squirrel otherwise. But she's also remembered how she used to get on my bed by using the frame as a ladder. Hopefully I can get her using the ramp a bit more as I read that trying to jump can cause her back problems.Â
Overall I'm feeling much better about it tonight. So nice to see her more like herself. Will find out about her latest kidney results in the morning.Â
Oh, one other thing, the amp was done last thursday, she pooped on Sunday and I was happy with that as I know it can't take a while after ops. She's not been since though I'm assuming due to the lack of food? Does that sound like the right reason? Will check with the vets tomorrow anyway.
Thanks for all your support guys, it's really appreciated. It's hard knowing what I'm doing in this situation lolÂ
Ju and Penny
As far as the poop or lack of it can be from the meds and not eating as much both! Purrkins went  7 days with no BM. I gave him 1/16th tsp Miralax on the 6th day and 1/8 tsp on the 7th day. We got BM day 8. Those are tiny doses.Â
That is an option it can go undetected in food it's tasteless. I think you would have it there? I never had luck with cats and pumpkin but its an option if you can get in her. I like Miralax because it works and they are back in business. Purrkins normally poops every day it was the meds that messed him up. That fixed it .
Great on the ramp too, you can use treats and teach her a few times she will see it's easier for her and use it more. Cats are smart like that! I only had to show Purrkins once and he uses all of his steps. He doesn't always use them going up but always going down and that is my main concern anyway!Â
Really happy to hear things are better keep it up Penny and take a poop for Mom ok! We will hope for better kidney results in the morning! I would consider redoing the kidney tests after you are off the Metacam for a few months and see what changes. Let us know, please. Thanks for the update!
Hugs,
Holly & Purrkins
Huck had a time pooping after his surgery. He also went for almost a week with no poop. Holly told us about the Miralax and between that and his eating get better he finally got it worked out and started pooping. Yeah... we did a big poopie dance too, lol 
Amazing the things you celebrate as your furkid recuperates from surgery. The lack of food will also slow things down. I hope her appetite is getting better.Â
Good job on the ramp! And good luck with the recheck, will be looking for your post.
Jackie and HuckÂ
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
YAY FOR IMPROVEMENT!! 🙂 🙂  It's soooo jard to be patient and wait for recovery to take it's course....but it will! Slow and easy. Â
We'll be waiting to celebrate poop!  We love to celebrate poop!
Higs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Purrkins said
As far as the poop or lack of it can be from the meds and not eating as much both! Purrkins went  7 days with no BM. I gave him 1/16th tsp Miralax on the 6th day and 1/8 tsp on the 7th day. We got BM day 8. Those are tiny doses.Â
I spoke to the vets about the poop situation and she didn't seem too concerned at the moment considering how little she's been eating and that penny will still need to learn a comfortable way to go. She explained that she should start going again soon and will increase back to the usual frequency. Yay she's just been as I typed this. She must've knownÂ
Great on the ramp too, you can use treats and teach her a few times she will see it's easier for her and use it more. Cats are smart like that! I only had to show Purrkins once and he uses all of his steps. He doesn't always use them going up but always going down and that is my main concern anyway!Â
She doesn't really eat treats but she's slowly learning it's there to make things easier. I would like to make her one for the sofa in the front room but don't have the space to have one this big. Could make it shorter in length but that would increase the gradient of the ramp a lot.
We will hope for better kidney results in the morning! I would consider redoing the kidney tests after you are off the Metacam for a few months and see what changes.Â
The results weren't great. The sample from Monday shows it had increased by 4 in 3 days. Last week it was at 20, down to 11 with the fluids they gave her, and back to 15 now. From what i found online as i forgot to ask, normal range os 3.5-8. How long does the metacam take to get out of their systems do you know
They still extremely happy with her wound healing, and have given an extra 5 days antibiotics just to see her over the long weekend. But other than the kidney issue things seem to have picked up and are going well 
Ju and Penny
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