Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Great MEWS for you both. I wondered about the home exercises and am glad they gave you some homework. That makes us feel more in control of the situation and is extremely helpful on ALL counts.
Yes, Tuni WILL get there, and I'm relieved you have experts guiding you!!!
You are welcome. I thought it might make you feel better hearing our prices.
Tuni giving a little sass here. I wonder what the tap on the toes was. We all think we need to strengthen the other leg, and it is all about the core muscles. Did she jump in her carrier after this one? Get me out of here, Mom😍!
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Scratches to Petunia & Possum, please
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So Petunia vocalized a bit more this appt than the last two (which she didn’t at all). A few things to consider, and not sure which ones, or all, apply:
1) She wasn’t put on that electromagnetic mat during the laser therapy. Might be a true testament that it does relax them, but also …
2) She was due for her gabapentin right after her 4:30pm appt. The first two she had her gabapentin about 3-4hr before the appt.
3) This was the first time she did the exercises, so I suspect that manipulating her posture than what she had accustomed to for the last month might made her uncomfortable.
The specialist also showed me how to massage the area of her amputation (perpendicular to the incision) to help get the “bubbles” out of her thryroid (which I had no idea her where she pointed at was the location of it) and maybe her muscles? Not really clear, but she made to seem to be important. She said she can tell there is some discomfort in that area, but not too bad. Petunia actually prefers to lay on her amputated side these days. I suspect that all the work we are doing to help strengthen and relieve any discomfort she has with her one back leg now carrying a lot of the weight has something to do with it.
As for laser therapy, she is treating 3 areas: spine, and hips, and knee of her back leg.
She was actually lightly pressing down on her toes to keep her in good position, and I believe she was tapping on it to get her to stand up and walk forward.
One thing the specialist noticed was Petunia curling her toes. I never saw that before. Definitely something new since the surgery.
Interesting on the thyroid bubble. Speaking of thyroid, has Petunias level been checked since starting the meds? I know you said it was controlled & caught early, so I figured it was checked after starting the meds.
I have heard of the toe-curling in dogs, but I have not with cats. This is excellent information. That was what I thought but I wasn't sure since she did several taps that looked more intentional on her toes.
We have no experience with the mat to share and I agree with u on all three reasons. Give the Gaba earlier on days if it will push it on time. She is their first cat patient, and it's helpful for them to learn about cats, too & our Cat's lingo saying this hurts, I'm not comfy, and I'm telling you.
I look forward to reading the essay.
Thanks for keeping us updated!
Hugs & Scratches to Petunia & Possum, please
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Ohhh look at her work so hard! That is a really good exercise, she is going to get beach body abs!
Well I'm really thrilled you are loving the rehab team. I am so impressed with the practice, super glad you made it out to that one. Here's a link for anyone interested in seeing what an awesome team they are:
Companion Animal Rehab and Athletics in Westmont, IL
Great vet practices love it when clients ask lots of questions, and do the homework. Isn't it great to know that there is so much hope for her to get her mojo back?
You are the model pet parent a great practice loves working with. As long as you do your assignments, it's a win win for everyone but especially Petunia. Great job! 
HUGE PROGRESS!!!
Yesterday AND today, Petunia walked up the ramp/stairs on her own!!! Two times she walked from the bedroom to the back room, around the coffee table and right to the ramp! Before then, she wouldn’t go around the coffee table, but right to me wanting to jump up on the couch. I want to cry with such excitement!!! Walking isn’t the best still (a lot of hips not fully standing and then sitting), but she’s doing it a bit more the last two days!!! I’m so proud of her!
This is absolutely a spectacular video! she’s a very determined kitty and could care less whether she has a stumble or not. She’s keeping her eye on the prize and that is to be up next to you.
thanks so much for this wonderful update. We are all joining in on a standing ovation for you and for her. Well done!
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!
Thanks Sally!!! Yes, she’s working so hard! I also realized I meant to say also that she did it twice on the one day and ANOTHER 2 times the next day! But I was so impressed with the 2 where she came from there front of the house, all the way to the back room and still went up the ramp after all that walking!
AWE, Petunia, good girl!!! I'm happy for you both and am proud of you both. As Petunia gains more strength, you will see more improvement with your homework and rehab. WHOO HOO👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks for the update and so glad your seeing huge progress.
Hugs and scratches to both kitties, please.
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This is a BIG DEAL! You can see how much courage it took for her to get up there, it shows she is getting more confidence. What a difference a few days make. YAY!
This was a 2.5 min video condensed into a 30 second one. She can all the way to the back room only to go back ti the bedroom. All that walking must have made her realize that she needed to go use the litterbox.
I do have a question. Do you think I’m doing her a disservice by still having the litterbox in the bedroom? I do want to get it out. I’m just afraid if she’s doing too much walking that it could wear her out too much. Any thoughts? (FYI, there is an entrance to a room in the middle of the kitchen towards the right … that is where their normal placement of their litterbox is, so it’s not like it’s a huge walk. But she does always try to find a cat bed to lay in if it’s too much)
Love the time-lapse video! She looks pretty darn good, that IS a long walk when you think about where she was just a few weeks ago.
A little tough love goes a long way, and my gut feeling says to try putting the box out. But I know you're nervous about asking her to go all the way to the spot. A huge distance to her looks small to us, when you look it through her eyes.
What about moving it a little bit closer, and little by little putting it back where it was? Although now that I think about it, that might make her not want to use it because of the constant change.
I know Holly will have better in put than I do!
You see how Tuni is getting around better than we can. Is she still spending most of her time in the bedroom?
It would depend on where she is spending most of her time and the distance. If she is still getting exhausted - I would leave it until you see her doing better. We don't want getting to the litter box to be a chore.
Petunia has made leaps and bounds quickly, considering all her hurdles.
We want Petunia to access the box easily; right now, the location MAY matter. As I said, you SEE her every day and know her struggles. Follow your instincts on the box's location and what's best for Petunia what's best for you will come;) You can surely inch it back slowly towards your desired location and see. Trust what you are seeing.
I find it interesting Petunia is venturing off her yoga mats. Purrkins always follows his runners and rugs.
Scratches to both kitties, please
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Standing ovation for Petunia!!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
you are an Olympic champion when it comes to overcoming hurdles, continuing to improve, and winning first place 🏆in our hearts!❤️❤️❤️
I just love help putting your figures out what she wants to do, figuring out how she’s going to do it, and she is doing it her way! Stu is,keep doing what you are doing…it’s definitely working!
Samantha, you get a standing ovation tod👏👏👏👏👏👏 The care you are giiving is extraordinary. We can “hear” through your post how you were getting more and more relaxed about her progress and more and more confident that she is a very happy, pain free kitty!
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!
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