Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

jerry said
Hi Christopher and Nubi, welcome! Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.

Thank you for being a foster, something in very short supply these days. 

So when a young animal loses a leg, for whatever reason, they will tend to have more mobility challenges at first because their motor skills didn't get a chance to develop normally on four legs. 

When you say he drags his amputated leg, how much leg is left? That may end up being a problem later on, with bruising and hematomas. You can always try a prosthetic for him, but they only work if there is at least most of the leg remaining. And just a warning that historically most cats don't adapt well to them, but you can always try!

Unfortunately we have seen a number of pets go through amputation corrections after dealing with too much residual limb that got banged around and wounded a lot.

One way you can find out what's ahead for him as his limb is right now, is by having him evaluated by a rehab therapist once you adopt him. Tripawds Foundation can even pay for your first rehab visit so there's nothing to lose. These experts are the best at finding those challenging parts of a Tripawd's mobility, and showing pet parents how to help them strengthen and stay injury free.

Have you seen our Trikitties posts, the Tripawds Recovery Shopping List , or the Tripawds e-book How to Help Your Three Legged Cat? All are filled with great info about life on three for cats!

I hope this helps. If you'd like to upload a photo or two here's how adding images works.

Basically you need to:

- upload a photo somewhere like your own Tripawds blog, or a public image hosting site like Imgur.com or Imgbb.com

- then copy the image URL (or just tap the image and copy it if you're on a mobile device)

- return here, and paste the image into your forum post.

Hope that makes sense. Let us know if you'd like help!

  

Thank you so much for your response and kind words! That is such a generous and amazing program offered by TriPawds, I will definitely be looking into it and the other resources. I've already gone to the URL that is linked in 'first rehab visit ' and did have a question regarding distinctions between canine and feline rehab. It looks like most (if not all) the vets in my area specialize in canine rehab (almost all the certifications denote Certified Canine...), and that is a concern for me.

As for your question about his leg, I believe it is an around/above the knee amputation. However, he does look to have good hip stabilization with gluteus medius engagement, so most of the dragging occurs when he goes to plant where his foot would usually be during his gait cycle. Forgive me if cat anatomy is a bit different in the muscles used, I have limited knowledge regarding such things as I am in school for occupational therapy, albeit for humans. I hope it's okay to post links to videos, I've uploaded 2 on youtube that can describe it much better than I can with words. Thank you so much for all the help you guys are offering, such a rare and amazing community. 

mischief said
What a cute little kitty! I agree, it looks like he's using his stump as a pseudo-foot. I wonder if that will change naturally as Nubi grows and his stump isn't as close to the ground. 

I'm not surprised most rehab vets specialize in dogs. Cats are much less comfortable with going new places as compared to dogs. Some cats get aggressive, others just shut down. I'd think either way makes it very hard to do meaningful evaluation or therapy. Maybe where Nubi is so young, he can learn to be comfortable going new places?

  

That's a great point, I didn't even consider how his physical growth might affect the length of his leg. His demeanor right now seems pretty agreeable, but I could see him shutting down as well. I'll definitely keep in mind to socialize him whenever I can. Thanks for your input!

jerry said
Ohhh now I get it.

HE IS ADORABLE! So is his sibling of course but I'm a sucker for 3-leggers!

I'm not a vet so FWIW, that might or might not get better as he ages. Dogs and cats have all their propulsion in the rear. I know that with our own rear-legged amputee German Shepherd Wyatt Ray , his remaining back leg always sank a little lower than 4-legged GSDs. You can certainly work with a therapist to help your kitty build solid core muscles, which will better support the leg and help it stay more upright. But with that much remaining limb left, an amputation correction might be necessary. I would see a rehab therapist before jumping to that conclusion however.

It looks like most (if not all) the vets in my area specialize in canine rehab (almost all the certifications denote Certified Canine...), and that is a concern for me.

We've been told by rehab therapists that while the official credentials are canine specific, it's only because that's how the field evolved, working on dogs. Many therapists have experience working on multiple species, even exotics, so it pays to call first to find out if the one you are thinking of has experience with young 3-legged animals in general, but especially cats.

  

Thanks so much for your input! I'll certainly be following your advice to call the therapy clinic first to see if they accept seeing kitties. I appreciate you giving it to me straight with the concern about getting a corrective surgery. We will definitely prepare for the worst but hope for the best. I hope you and your family (along with Wyatt Ray ) are doing well!

EDIT: I took a look at your blog and saw Wyatt Ray passed a few years ago, my condolences. In light of this, thank you so much for your continued support for animals with disabilities.

jerry said
That's so nice of you Christopher, thank you. Yeah we had Wyatt for 12 years, and learned so much. Tripawds is part of who we are now, we would never be anywhere else!

OK yeah let me know if you have any issues finding a cat-centric therapist. I'd love to know what you find out.

  

I'll probably start reaching out to vets in my area (Orange County, California) soon but won't be committing to an appointment date until a month or two from now since we are technically still fostering. I'll keep this thread updated though. Thank you again 🙂

Hello everyone, thank you so much for all your kind responses for Nubi. 

Unfortunately, Nubi's luck has taken a turn for the worse, and we have been noticing that he has been licking and biting incessantly at the end of his affected leg for the past 2 weeks. Last weekend, my partner Michelle told me that she saw something poke out of stump, and was horrified that it might be bone. We took a look at it, and noticed there were two small but open wounds. So, we bought him a cone so he wouldn't gnaw at it anymore, and took him to the vet this past Thursday. There, they did some routine checkups, bloodwork, and took X-rays.

https://imgur.c...../a/ZAEEKGo

The results of his X-ray weren't good: his leg bones (tibia and fibula) have become jagged and sharp at the ends and it confirmed our worst fears that he has likely been in excruciating pain, and what Michelle saw probably were the bones coming out of the open wounds. We want to get him surgery to amputate the rest of the affected leg (as the vet recommended), and the soonest appointment we can get is in 2 weeks. This has been and is going to be a rough setback financially but he deserves the best life we can give him. He is just the sweetest little boy, and has a clean bill of health otherwise. He deserves to live a happy life without pain.

Thank you for reading.