kazann said
Hi Molly,

Sorry to hear about Mister. My cat Mona had her front leg amputated in June and she is doing really well, The decision to amputate was quick so I didn't have much thinking time, I just got prepared for the surgery and was basically numb. The night of the amputation she went home with the vet and then came home the next day. The recovery was a bit difficult because Mona was overly active but after the sutures were out all I've seen were steady improvements.

Mona, with 3 legs, is active, strong, flexible and very happy. I can't even remember her with 4 legs and actually don't think she was much different.

I know it is a shock when we get this kind of news. I cried the night before the surgery, I cried when the vet asked how I was doing and I cried in the car. But my outlook changed when I got the call that she was out of surgery and that I could spend some time with her. They brought her in to me all bundled up in blankets and presented her to me like a new born baby - my heart warmed, there were no more tears after that.

Please tell us more about mister. Do you know what the lump is from? You are doing the right thing by researching so you make the best decision for your Mister.

Kerren and Mona

Kerren and Mona,

I'm not sure what the lump is from. I sincerely hope that it wasn't from a vaccination shot. It's growing in the cartilage of his shoulder joint, I believe (husband saw the x-rays). I think it's finally starting to hurt him, and even though it looked completely localized, we wanted it taken care of right away so it didn't spread.

We bought a new cat tower with a ramp and two beds. We're also buying him a new bed for the floor, a litter box he can easily get into, and his favorite wet food. I'm also going to either buy him t-shirts or modify some baby onesies so that he can wear that after surgery instead of the cone.

I'm just very scared. I don't want him to be upset or mad at us... Most of all, I don't want him to be frightened or depressed. His personality is so wonderful. I don't want anything to take that away from us.

Thank you for your support!

stevethetripawdlady said
Hi Molly!

I currently have two Tripawd kitties in my home!

I have Steve, who is a right rear amp due to an injury she (yes she) came into the humane society (where I volunteer) with. I was only supposed to foster her through her post op care period, but because she and I became so attached while she recovered from surgery and I dealt with a diagnosis of vertigo, my fiance and I adopted her! Steve has been living life on three legs for about a year and a half and to describe her as anything less than active would be unfair. Steve does zoomies around our apartment, wrestles with and chases her brothers, climbs into windows and perches, and is more than happy to chase the laser pointer red dot everywhere it goes!!

Esteban is the other tri-kitty I'm living with. Esteban is a post op care foster (from the same humane society as Steve) for amputation of his left front leg due to a severe break from a long time ago that never healed. Esteban is seven days out from a surgery that removed his entire front leg, scapula and all. Due to budget constraints, he was only on pain meds for a couple of days. The way he walks around, purrs, and snuggles, you'd never guess - except for the obvious incision - that he had amputation surgery a week ago. In fact, today, the bold boy jumped out of my arms! Thankfully it was only onto the bed and not all the way down to the ground!

You'll be impressed how quickly Mister bounces back from surgery, and you'll be even more impressed when you see how little his activity level ends up being restricted once he figures everything out!! There's definitely a learning curve. Steve had to figure out how to get up to things, and Esteban will have to figure out how to get down from things. Mister will have to learn how to get down from things. Making steps for our tri-kitties to use helps a lot, until they decide that they are too good to use steps!!

I've been posting every day recently to Steve's blog about Esteban's recovery. Maybe it can help you understand the process Mister will go through.

Please keep us posted on Mister's progress!! And pictures, please!!

stevethetripawdlady said
Hi Molly!

I currently have two Tripawd kitties in my home!

I have Steve, who is a right rear amp due to an injury she (yes she) came into the humane society (where I volunteer) with. I was only supposed to foster her through her post op care period, but because she and I became so attached while she recovered from surgery and I dealt with a diagnosis of vertigo, my fiance and I adopted her! Steve has been living life on three legs for about a year and a half and to describe her as anything less than active would be unfair. Steve does zoomies around our apartment, wrestles with and chases her brothers, climbs into windows and perches, and is more than happy to chase the laser pointer red dot everywhere it goes!!

Esteban is the other tri-kitty I'm living with. Esteban is a post op care foster (from the same humane society as Steve) for amputation of his left front leg due to a severe break from a long time ago that never healed. Esteban is seven days out from a surgery that removed his entire front leg, scapula and all. Due to budget constraints, he was only on pain meds for a couple of days. The way he walks around, purrs, and snuggles, you'd never guess - except for the obvious incision - that he had amputation surgery a week ago. In fact, today, the bold boy jumped out of my arms! Thankfully it was only onto the bed and not all the way down to the ground!

You'll be impressed how quickly Mister bounces back from surgery, and you'll be even more impressed when you see how little his activity level ends up being restricted once he figures everything out!! There's definitely a learning curve. Steve had to figure out how to get up to things, and Esteban will have to figure out how to get down from things. Mister will have to learn how to get down from things. Making steps for our tri-kitties to use helps a lot, until they decide that they are too good to use steps!!

I've been posting every day recently to Steve's blog about Esteban's recovery. Maybe it can help you understand the process Mister will go through.

Please keep us posted on Mister's progress!! And pictures, please!!

Hello,

Thank you so much for your post. I'll take a look at your blog. It gives me a lot of hope to hear that they can bounce back quickly. I just hope he's not depressed or frightened. I know I'm both of those things. He's such an active, agile cat that it breaks my heart to have one of his limbs removed. I must have cried a dozen times today.

We found a good, well-priced new cat tower with a ramp, we're building him steps for the bed, we have a couple stools in the house, we're getting a shallow litter pan, and I'm going to be modifying onesies so that he doesn't have to wear the cone when he comes home.

I appreciate your post so much! It helps to know we're not alone.

Thank you,

Molly, John, Mister, and Ozzie