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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My cat, Gizmo, is a 20 year old black and white american shorthair. I've had her since she was a kitten and she's always been indoors with no interest in going outside, she's been declawed in the front because I was 10 years old when I got her it was the 90s and my mother made me do it though I know now it's not nice to do. She's never really been sick in her life but now she's got a round cell tumor wrapping all the way around her back leg knee joint. The vet says that the only options are amputation or euthanasia once the pain becomes too much, but that she is otherwise quite healthy and tumor should not spread to other parts of her body as it is.
Right now she gets around pretty well, limps a little, but can still get up and down from the couch or chairs and eat/plays/uses the litter box as she always has. I built her a little stair case so she can get on and off the bed and she pretty much acts like nothing is wrong. When I got the news, the vet and I decided to wait until either the pain was more apparent with the leg or the tumor bursts the skin around her leg. It's about the size of a quarter now wrapping around the knee in little lumps.
I don't know how long I have before I have to make a decision, and I've had to put animals down before but I always knew it needed to be done not like this where she still acts the same and just has something eating away at her. I don't want her to be in pain, or to wake up without a leg, but I think she has so much life left in her. Everyone is always surprised to hear how old she really is. Am I being selfish in wanting to try to put her through a traumatic surgery to get a little more time out of her? She's basically my child, I can't imagine her not sleeping on my head every night.
I guess the question here is if she's too old for something like this and if she'll be able to re-learn how to walk or if I'll just be lessening her quality of life to stave off my own heart break?
Thank you so much for your advice in advance.
Hi Jessi and Gizmo, welcome. I'm sorry about the diagnosis but it does sound like Gizmo has everything going for her to be happy on three legs. Yay that it's not a cancer that spreads!
Anytime someone is in doubt or unsure about this decision, we recommend getting another opinion from a specialist. If you haven't already, what about seeing a feline-friendly veterinarian who has a good grasp on geriatric cats? Or a boarded vet surgeon?
I'll be honest: your vets' recommendation to not decide on anything until the pain becomes too much or the tumor bursts, made me cringe. I try to put myself in my pets' paws when I'm making medical decisions for them, and I know for sure that I personally wouldn't want to feel the pain of a tumor that gets to that point. You don't want to wait until you are in a stressful, traumatic situation to have to decide on anything. It's bad for you, it's bad for your cat. For Gizmo's sake, seek another opinion, quickly.
In the meantime, we hope you'll check out all the stories of senior cats who have done great on three legs! Here are a couple to inspire you:
https://tripawd.....uragement/
https://tripawd.....ry-old-cat
More Senior TriKitty stories:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello there! I'm new here as well and getting so much great advice from others about my dog Chloe. Your post stuck out to me because until a short time ago, I also had four geriatric cat furbabies. Recently, we had to put our little black cat Bebe to sleep due to cancer. Going through that I will say that I agree 💯 with Jerry. Waiting until your pet is painful and you are stressed and grieving is not the best plan for either of you. I can't tell you how much peace and hope I had from forming a solid plan for Bebe's care before she got to that point. Like so many people have told me, your kitty doesn't come with an expiration date! If she is in reasonably good health otherwise, don't hesitate to learn about all your options. Who knows - with surgery she could live quite a lot longer and be pain free and happy. You're a very compassionate person for seeking help for her and you will come to the right decisions! This is the right place to get that feedback. Best of luck to you both 
My Sylvester kitty did not earn his wings until he was 23 years old. With that said he was always like yours, a reasonably healthy boy with no major issues. We have seen several older kitties in here that had successful amputations. It is also not unreasonable to expect that older kitties can take a little longer to recover, but they have and did great!
As a former vet tech, I totally agree with the above statements! Waiting until your Gizmo is in excruciating pain is not only unreasonable, it is also inhumane in my opinion. Just that alone is just reason for a second opinion, possibly by a place that specializes in cats?
They will want to do a senior blood panel on her prior to surgery, and at 20 I would definitely do that to make sure she has no underlying condition that might make her have complications.
Welcome, and good luck to you and Gizmo. I am so sorry that you are facing this but I am glad you found us!
Hugs,
Jackie and Huckleberry
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Online
One thing for certain, Gizmo is a very loved and adored kitty!! And another thing for certain, whatever path you take will be a decision made out of love, and that is always the right decision.❤
We always say around here, "age is just a number". With that said, we also know that "life expectancy " for "older" cats and dogs comes into play too.
You've gotten good input from everyone. Getting a second opinion may help in your research for the best path forward. Maybe a Vet can assess if the tumor is really fast growing or really slow, or if the leg is at risk for fracture. You can ask about any "possible" ways of shrinking the tumor. You can also ask about putting Gizmo on pain meds and how effective they can be and for how long. These answers may help guide you to the best option for Gizmo.
And no, keeping your furbavy with you as long as possible is not selfish, it's called LOVE❤ And our furbavies want to stay with us for as long as possible and that's also not "selfish".it's called LOVE❤.
We can feel your dedication and devotion you have for Gizmo with every single word you have written😎 Your intentions of giving him the best possible care (whatever that may be) come from your heart.😊
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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