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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We HAVE to have VIDEO when she heals more!! A cat who cuddles like a dog and "sits"...yeah...we have ro see video!
Soooo glad you're seeing her sparkle start to come back. I know you were worried and...shhh.....secret....shhh.......we were kinda' worried 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!
I promise she does all of that! 🙂
She is my baby! ♡ 🙂
She actually picked me out. And I'm glad she did! 🙂
And it makes me so happy to see how much yall care! It means so much to me! ♡ 🙂
It's so nice to have so much support to get me, and Brandy, through this time! 🙂
Yall are so amazing! 🙂
Oh yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I'm just getting caught up (sorry, still mad madness at work) and I'm so glad she's home and eating, and using the litter box, and being her lovely kitty self again. Well done you for hanging tough through the messiest miserable bit, and well done Brandy for healing up! I think it is hard on them to figure the new body out, but I suspect it's mostly confusing rather than upsetting.
I agree that it's more confusing, but she is trying. 🙂
I do think it was quite frustrating for her the first day home, right after her surgery, before she went back to the vet. But part of it was is that we have tile and hardwood throughout the house, so it was hard for her to get up. Luckily we have a big rug in the living room that I put in her room to help her have some traction .
The only thing that still gets her is taking her pain med. I have to use a syringe for it. I don't think she likes the taste of it.
What is she on?
Some things I tried (because Harry is a picky shit and the Tramadol was a NIGHTMARE) mixing it with were: warm milk (I warmed the milk THEN added the meds, not sure how the heat would affect them), tuna juice, sardine juice (my house stank, gag, I hate fish!), liquid from his own food and ice cream. The warm milk worked the best for us. With the Tramadol, liquid, I just measured in the medicine and then sucked up some warm milk after and shook it. With the Gabapentin, which was powder from a capsul, i warmed the milk in a plastic teaspoon and then put the powder in the milk and mixed it all up, and then sucked it up into a syringe. Then I gave him treats right after...because he's a piggy, he was never a picky eater even right after surgery. I also picked up some kitty wipes, which are pet safe baby wipes, basically, with a really mild scent, to wipe any drooled or spilled medicine off his fur, so he didn't have to smell like it, and he begrudgingly enjoyed the face wipe after his medicine.
Brandy is on Gabapentin. 1 mg every 12 hours.
I need to get the wipes. Her poor face has some mush and drool (from the meds) on it. I did try using a wet hand towel, but she didn't care for the whole wetness part of it. She did like the chin scratching though. 🙂 Also, she has some drainage from her incision (yes the doctors know about it). And I want something softer for around that area.
Luckily I have just one more week of pain meds. Blah. lol.
What's funny though is that I thought about getting wipes before hand, but then thought, nah, she won't be too messy. But she is messy. lol.
Granted I had in mind how she was from her last surgery (which was March when she had a dime size tumor removed) and she didn't have any drainage, nor meds. And she was her normal self then too. Eating, drinking, pottying, and playing like nothing happened. (She did take it a little slow the first few days, but was pretty much back to normal in no time.)
That's great news! Cats should never lose weight quickly so I'm always concerned when they don't eat. They need their food and nutrition to heal.
Phew, I hope recovery goes smooth now. I'm sure Brandy will be full of good surprises as she recovers and shows off.
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
Yeah, it's such a major surgery that it's really not surprising they take some time to adjust. Especially as it's not just the pain and healing, it's the adjustment to moving in a new way and building those mucles.
The kitty wipes are good. I first used them when I needed to give him medication for something else and he occasionally drooled it out. Because liquid medicine is often oil based, it can be hard for them to lick out...plus, if they don't like it they may not want to. They're also suggested for use for older cats or arthritic ones, who are less capable of grooming. Kitties like to be clean 
How's Brandy doing today?
She's doing pretty good. Not walking as much as I would like, but she can get up and around. 🙂
Be patient with her! She just had a leg removed, after all:P It's good she's able to get up and move around. Harry pretty much slept for a week, apart from food and litter box, and maybe moving from one sleeping spot to another.
That's exactly what Brandy does. lol!
She did come into the bathroom with me the other day, but she hasn't left her room other than that. I wish she would come out to the living room with me like she used too. Some day. Some day.
Then she'll come to bed again too. (After stitches some out.) I do have a little stair case for her. For the couch and then my bed. 🙂
I put my mattress on the floor so Harry could get up and sleep there right away...I realize this might be a bit obsessive, lol, but it made me feel better to make accommodations for him, whether he noticed or not.
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