Thank you very much for your kind words and input Sally. I was able to finally get ahold of the vet earlier today and we will be moving forward with amputation which was what I expected. The surgeon said he was worried about Jelli's bone's being too brittle to handle any plates or screws which again I figured with her arthritis. I was worried at first because they vet sounded worried during the call but she said it was because she often has to coax owners into considering amp which was definitely not the case for me lol. But the vet did agree that the splint was likely a big factor in Jelli's current discomfort.

As for the gaba, that is what Jelli normally takes for her arthritis pain so it should be an easy transition.

It was certainly extremely helpful to be able to get my word vomit out at least and I do feel better getting it out and hearing from you Sally.

Her surgery is this Thursday and I am cautiously hopeful. I think my current stance is that even if it doesn't end up working, I can at least have the peace to know that we tried. Hope that wasn't too depressing lol.

But wish us hope for Thursday!

Hey everyone, hope you guys don't mind me posting when we're still a day away from surgery but I feel like I gotta before the anxiety takes over again!

Last night was a long night but for hopefully good reasons! I put her on my bed with me when I went to lay down, woke up later to her squirming around. Figured she was thirsty, so I put her back on the floor and figured she would go back to her little nest of blankets on the floor since that's closer to her water dish. Nope! Woke up a few minutes later to her attempting to climb her stairs to get back into bed with me! All with the clunky splint on! This happened a few times hence my long night statement lol. Woke up this morning to her attempting to go down the stairs by herself to go to the litter box. Didn't quite make it inside but with the splint I figure the mat outside is good enough!

As my roommate tells me, I should take this movement as a sign that she's got the fight in her to adapt to life on three legs. I'm trying to but man this anxiety is a hard fight.

benny55 said
Not sure of your arrangement,   but when you said going up and down stairs, os that to a first floor away from your upstairs  bedroom?  Anyway to block her off so she stays on uour bed at bedtime since she's determined  to sleep with you?

It's a small set of stairs to help her on the bed. Originally got it for her arthritis. I tried taking them away the first night after discovering the fracture but that just resulted in her trying to climb up on the bed by herself. Going to have to talk to the vet tomorrow about how to work with that incase she's just hard determined to get up there. 

Good morning! First night done and it was a struggle but for reasons I didn't expect. I read a blog post here about what to expect the first few nights and was prepared for her to be crying out in pain but that was not the case at all! Our struggles were:

1.  She refuses to keep the darn onesie on! I get that it's uncomfortable but I know she's going to be more upset if I put the cone on to keep her from messing with the staples (which will be in for 2 weeks before they check it!) Woke up several times to her onesie-less >:( She's surprisingly good at wiggling out of it despite being a leg down.
2. She is determined to only use the litterbox despite it being hard for her! I bought puppy pads figuring that would be easier for her than the litterbox and laid them out around the box. She does have a low entry box already but there's still a small step I rather her not do until she's more recovered. But nope! She wants to use the litterbox even if she gets stuck! I was considering taking a cardboard box and cutting to make a makeshift litterbox but am open to other suggestions.

Complaining aside, she does look very good this morning. She finished her 3 oz can of food in the middle of the night and ate some breakfast this morning. She looks all perky except for when I come to be the big bully and readjust the onesie in which case she's the most miserable cat in the world.

jerry said
Im so glad she made it through and us on the mend. What pain control did she come home with?

If tonight is a challenge keep in mind that taking a cat home the same day as surgery is not easy (but better than leaving her alone without supervision). It's not uncommon to go through a rough first few nights but she will get through it and so will you. Keep us posted!

  

They sent her home with more buprenorphine and liquid gabapentin, both given twice a day. 

And yes, that is certainly something that I've had to keep in mind. I caught myself wondering if it was the right choice watching her fall over after trying to get up last night but I have to remember it's only day one of post surgery. Of course it's going to be hard. But she doesn't stay down for long after she falls over. I just wish my anxiety understood that!

I know I've said this already and I'll probably say it a lot more times in the coming days but thank you guys for helping me stay sane and just existing here. I feel bad venting to my roommate all the time about this and this forum is a little more keyed into exactly what Jelli and I are going through.