Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hi...I dropped off Chloe this morning for her surgery. I followed the advice and waited until I left to cry. Even with all of the prepping, it was much harder to turn her over than I thought it would be. The really tough part is I have never physically seen the doctor or the facility because of the Covid precautions. I was able to sneak a peek inside because I asked to use their bathroom. They have an excellent reputation and I know people who have been there previously, so I am not overly worried about that, but it sucks. Now, I sit and wait for my phone to ring. 
Will be sending lots of positive energy to your sweet Chloe today. Let us know when surgery is done and how she's doing, okay?
Good job of holding it together oh, at least until after you dropped her off. We know this is a stressful time but we are here to help support you in any way we can. You Are Not Alone!
Check out Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats .
That will help you give you lots of information so you can navigate through recovery and beyond.. Recovery is no picnic, but we are here to help guide you through it and on to Chloe enjoying a full happy life as a tripawd
Tell us more about your Chloe when you get a chance. What's the reason for the amputation?
((((((((((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!
Lots and lots of love coming your way and of course to Chloe too! Yes, Covid makes this so so so hard on parents. You did good though by holding it together for Chloe. You are so strong, keep it up and lean on us when you don't feel that way. Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well a great bit DUH!!! I knew Xhloe's name sou ded familiar!! I went back and reacquainted myself with her backstory and now k ow why her name sounded fami! Yep, bIg DUH!
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!
Update on Chloe: The vet called this morning and there were 2 critical patients in front of Chloe, so her surgery wasn't going to start until 3:00. She said it would be about an hour and a half surgery with about an hour recovery from sedation. I hate that Chloe had to be there all day waiting, but I understand why. I am guessing her surgery should be finishing up about now, so I will wait for the call. I am hoping she will get to come home tomorrow evening, but I suppose it depends on how she does. Hanging in there...barely! Thank you all for the positive thoughts!
Ugh! Sorry you are on pins and needles all day, the waiting is so hard but you're doing it! Hope she's over the surgery hump by now, keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good morning! Chloe had her surgery late yesterday afternoon, and the vet said she is doing very well! I spoke with her last night and she said she was able to get more than the needed 5cm margin from the cancer, so that is really good news. They sent it off to pathology to confirm the cancer is not further up in the body, so we will wait to hear about that. I asked about pain medicine and she is on a methadone IV. This morning, the vet called me again to let me know that Chloe is doing well and had eaten and peed. She is wearing the soft cone I provided for her. They plan to wean her off of the IV today and transition to oral pain medicine today. They will send her home with oral pain meds...gabapentin and something else...forgot the name. She will spend one more night, and I should be able to take her home tomorrow! I will keep everyone posted on how things are going...thanks for the support!
YAY FOR CHLOE!!! And YAY for pee and YAY for getting such good margins !Thanks so much for updating mus with the good news!
Now try and get some rest yourself.
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 again...we picked up Chloe today around noon and she has yet to sleep. She is just laying in the cat bed with huge pupils wide open. She did eat, drink and pee which I know is important. I tried putting a recovery suit on her instead of the cone, but she wiggled out of it. We switched to a soft cone and that seems okay so far. I gave her a pain med at 4:00 and still no sleep. Is this common?
Hey there, sorry your post had to wait for approval. Did you have trouble logging in with your other account?
Chloe is probably really stoned from the pain medication and anesthesia. Not unusual at all. But do jeep a close eye on her. You should start to see her relax by tomorrow hopefully.
Do you know what meds she is on? And is she showing any pain signals like anxiety, pacing, vocalizing, hiding, etc? Also, is she willing to drink water yet? She may not want to eat tonight but make sure she stays hydrated. Add some tuna water to her bowl if she is reluctant, that usually helps.
If you are not getting a good feeling about her behavior, let your vet know ASAP. Like I said this isn't too unusual but you want to keep them in the loop so they can offer more guidance to help her stay comfy.
Try to catch some zzzzs when she does, it won't be easy but this won't last furever!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
WELCOME HOME CHLOE!
As Jerry said, she's probably still hyped up on strong hospital meds. The fact that she's eating and drinking and peeing......all good signs👍..
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!
Good morning...phew...it was a long night but it was mostly me, not Chloe! Every time she moved, I woke up and checked on her, and I gave her a pain med at midnight. She is eating and drinking with no prompting and has peed a few times...no poop yet but I read that is not uncommon.
Her meds are:
Onsior 6mg - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory - she had 2 at hospital and I gave her last one this morning
Buprenex 0.3mg/cc every 8-12 hours for pain - have given 3, have 8 left
Clavamox 62.5mg - antibiotic - 1 every 12 hours for a week
I have her in a pen with her bed, food, water, and litter box. She seems comfortable in there right now. I had her out earlier this morning and she freaked out and started running around the living room. I grabbed her and put her back in the pen because I didn't want her to hurt herself.
She keeps getting out of the cone and won't sleep with it on. I have left it off for now because she hasn't paid any attention to her stiches and she is finally sleeping. If she starts messing with it, I will definitely put it back on!
I would post a picture, but I can't figure out how to do it!
Hey good morning! You survived the night, YAY! Everything you mentioned sounds really terrific. Chloe is rockin this recovery so far. Her meds sound appropriate too. She may need to go a bit longer on the Buprenex though so don't hesitate to ask your vet for more.
Good job keeping her activity under control. Yep, do keep a close eye on her when she's not wearing the cone. Usually when the incision starts to dry a bit in about a week, that's when it gets super itchy so it will require extra vigilance on your end. Hopefully she will be one of those rare cases when a cat isn't bothered.
As for photos, this is how adding images to the Forums works.
- Upload pics to a photo sharing site like imgur.com or your own Tripawds blog (https://tripawd...../supporter). Pictures and video have to be hosted (live) somewhere other than in the forums.
- Once the photo is uploaded somewhere, 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
Hi! Well, we are 1 week post-surgery, and Chloe is doing great so far! She is eating, peeing and pooping...the 3 essentials! Chloe decided that she no longer wanted to be in her recovery pen, so I let her decide where she wanted to go. She hopped into the living room and up onto the couch. She is happy sleeping in her usual spot and sometimes moves to the bed by the window to catch some sun. Last night, she surprised me by climbing 4 stairs up into my bed! She really doesn't seem to care that she is missing a leg. I spoke with the vet yesterday and we decided to discontinue the pain meds while I still have some and see how she does. She is now over 30 hours without the meds and is not showing any signs of pain. She actually seems happier and more alert now. She has 1 day left of antibiotics and stitches come out next Wednesday. The only thing I need to really watch is for her to mess with the stitches. She has only shown interest once and I put a warm washcloth over it and she was pleased with that. Chloe is normally a very docile cat who only gets up if she absolutely has to so that has worked well with her healing. I am so happy and relieved that she is doing so well! 
Talk about a good kitty recovery......BEST UPDATE OF THE DAY, MAYBE EVEN EVVER!! Thrulled to hear how well Chloe is doing👏👏
Chloe's recovery is going extraordinarily well for this early on. Even though she doesn't want to , she still needs to take things slow and easy....and yeah, good luck with that!😉. And Chloe, you leave those stitches alone missy!
Thanks for sharing the good news. And btw, love her avatar picture, She's a very pretty 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!
1 Guest(s)
