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 all, I am brand new to these forums and had a question regarding my three-legged cat. His name is Puddy and we recently adopted him a few weeks ago from a local Humane Society. His previous owner returned him to the HS with a badly broken front leg and as he is 9 years old the veterinarian made the call to amputate. When we learned about him we decided that we had to take him in, although it's been challenging as he is having issues adjusting to our existing cats. Right now we are keeping them separate, but that's a topic for another day. Today I wanted to ask if anyone here has ever tried using prosthetic legs?
I have a 3D printer, and a quick search revealed that someone had indeed posted the files needed to print a 3D prosthetic leg for a cat. You can see the design here. So I printed that out successfully, and was impressed that it seems to be the right size and everything. I think if I can figure out how to attach this, it could provide some benefit as it would allow him to put weight on the left side, where the leg is missing.
However, I'm not really sure what the best way to attach it would be. The portion which would 'connect' to his body is cup shaped, meant to cup the shoulder bone (not sure if that's the right way to refer to it). And it has a couple of slits on the side which I assume are for connecting an elastic strap. But the print file doesn't give any guidance on how it would actually connect with an elastic strap, or a vest, or what have you. So people like me (with 3D printers) are more or less left to try and figure it out ourselves.
So I'm just wondering if anyone here has ever tried using a prosthetic leg for their 3-legged felines? And if so, if you have any tips on how I might go about getting it connected. Thanks very much.
Hi Gordon, welcome. Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
I'm so thankful you adopted Puddy! Adopting a Tripawd takes a big heart!
Glad you are thinking in terms of helping out with his mobility. Based on our many conversations with orthopedic vets and rehab therapy practitioners, it's the rare cat who will adapt to a prosthetic. Not to say that Puddy cannot, but it will take training, patience, and the exactly right sized prosthetic to help him get used to it. I don't know of anyone here who has tried it.
I know you have all the best intentions, as does everyone who designs their own artificial dog or cat leg. But I hope you will show your design to a rehab therapist before trying to attach it. You'll see in our posts about prosthetics that unless you have a background in animal biomechanics, an incorrectly sized prosthetic can lead to more problems down the line, like pressure sores, spinal issues, and more. Even a micromillimeter off can lead to problems. Since animals cannot tell us where a prosthetic hurts them, we must be really in tune with their movements to watch and compare how they walk with and without one. A rehab therapist can do that for you.
And you know what else? The Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit with Puddy too! So please take advantage of the program OK? We would love to find out how it goes!
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