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.
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Hello, my year old tripod kitten D.W. has developed a scab on her stub that she licks clean and reopens. D.W. lost her front paw when she was born (the umbilical cord with another kitten was wrapped completely around her paw to the point where it was nearly severed; after removing the cord her paw completely detached). She is a very happy cat, playful and energetic, but this wound, originating I believe from "playing" with another cat has me troubled. My question, is there someway to keep her from licking it clean, or aggravating the sore in her litter box?
Hi and welcome to you and D.W.! We are glad you found us. We'll wait for our Fairy Vet Mother Dr. Pam to chime in with any ideas she has, but meanwhile I'm curious if your vet has taken a look at it? Also, how much stump does she have left? Can you share a photo with us? Here are instructions for adding images to the Forums.
Generally speaking from a pet-parent point of view, when an animal continuously licks at a spot on their body, it's a sign of something deeper happening underneath the skin.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Hi Jerry, thanks for answering so quickly. I haven't yet taken D.W. to the vet; this really just sprang up over the weekend and has gotten worse, particularly just over the course of the day today. D.W., after losing her paw, had a good portion of the bone (which protruded after the skin and fur grew back) amputated by the vet. So her leg is gone just below the knee (?). I am not a huge fan of our local vet, but she is the only one in the county as we live in a very rural county. I will work on getting a couple of photos up. -- Tom
When was the surgery? A photo would be helpful. In general cats and dogs do better with an amputation at mid-femur or mid-humerus (or removal of the entire forelimb). You could try to wrap it but most cats will just take that off so you will probably need to use an E. collar to prevent this. If she is painful then gabapentin is safe for cats.
Pam
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