Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Okay, all together now....."told ya' so!" 😁😁 Just a little obnoxious teasing😎😃
We KNOW these first parts of the recovery have been horrid!!! I think I cried for days soibting my decision (I had not found this site yet). You stayed strong though and got through it!!
SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU BOTH GOT SOME SLEEP!!💤💤💤
This update has me grinning ear to ear! ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED 😁
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!
Lol, I love it...I really wanted to tease with the I told you so, hahahaha 🤣😁🤣😂
You will see his strength get better as he heals, you might also want to consider trying to very slowly take a little weight off of him after he is totally recovered. Even a little would make a big difference. A lot of people in here try to help keep the weight down because they only have 3 legs and it does help keep them mobile without as much stress on them.
I wouldn't worry about any of that right now though, he's got a lot of healing to do and the meds can already need with their appetite once the hospital meds are out of their system.
I'm glad he responded to your dad! It sounds like he is feeling some better, that's wonderful
SLEEP!!! It's a beautiful thing isn't it?! So glad you both got rest, wooohoooo!
Keep up the awesome work, you're doing a great job!!
❤️❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Oh, I am SO pleased with the wonderful progress Elvis 🎸😺🎸 is making 💓
You are almost there, girl 🌸
Sending you an avalanche of kisses and cuddles 😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Everyone slept well last night but today has been an up and down day. He had been doing so well but today has been moaning every once in a while and in clear discomfort every once in a while... although I don't think it has anything to do with him being in pain. It seems like maybe he has had some nasty gas or needs to go to the bathroom but is having trouble. Has anyone else experienced this post-op?
pain management
. And probably needs to poop. How has he been eating? The hospital meds are wearing off .. now he will have whatever you give him. Follow his signs... and get in touch with his doctor. If he is eating well then it is just a matter of when he will poop. How is he getting around? Do you think he can manage his cat box? Is he peeing ok now? If he is now then he may be getting ready to have a major 
This is usually the time they find Gabapentin is in order.. but I am not a vet. If you see him all of a sudden paying attention to his amp out of nowhere then you need to bring it up to his vet.
This is a sticky time, sometimes it is simply re-timing meds. Sometimes they need more. Hang in there and watch what he does.
Hugs,
Jackie and Huck 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Eating like food is going out of style! Talked to the vet and they said I could bring him in for my peace of mind but they didn't feel like that was necessary. Felt like it was gas or that he needed to go the bathroom and they were probably right. We got to about 9pm tonight and he still hadn't peed. The vet closed at 130 so taking him to have his daily 'draining' wasn't an option... he needed to figure it out. For the first time he attempted getting into his litter box but then gave up when I tried to help. Instead he positioned himself in front of the fireplace and stared at us until we turned it on for him (spoiled we know). After about 20 minutes we could tell he clearly need go to the bathroom so out of desperation and a last ditch effort I dumped some of his litter on pee pee pads and go figure he scooted right over to them, dug his front paws in it, sat up on his three legs AND WENT... for 3 whole minutes (no joke)! None of it made it on the pads but who cares, we figured it out and im sure he felt better!
Pain has not seemed to be an issue at all throughout this process, thank goodness. Today he definitely found his stitches though, as it was an all day job of keeping him from licking them. The cone is NOT an option... it infuriates him beyond words. Decided to go the onesie route but none of the were big enough. 24 months would have been skin tight lmao. Thankfully my nephew is here often and have his clothes around. The 5/6 tank top was what work LOL! We put a few stitches into it to keep it in place and off to bed he went for the night.
I am amazed at the difference in his mobility just from this morning to tonight there has been. He is able to get himself hopping on the 3 legs for short periods of time without much assistance from me, and his scooting has really gotten him around well. He uses his front legs to pull him and his one back leg to push himself along! He is also able to sit up instead of just being on one side. I was SHOCKED but tonight he actually rolled over onto the side with the stitches and it didnt bother him all!
Soooo glad recovery is continuing well. Yes, you still have a few ups and downs for a vit longer, vut that's why we call this part a roller coaster ride.
And YAAAAAAY FOR PEE!!!!! I love that he warmed himself by the fireplace , and then took a nice pee!
Recovery will soon be ovet! He's getting better sll the time.
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!
That is just wonderful news! He is recovering pretty well, I know the peeing had been an obstacle but at least he didn't block!!
His photos are adorable, I have to say I laughed my butt if when you told about the onesies! 🤣😂😁
He is a big boy, no doubt about it. I wonder if you get a large cardboard bottom, like from a case of something, wrap it in plastic, then put the pee pad and litter if that will help him. Lots of times you can get that kind of cardboard from the grocery store before they recycle it. If it's shallow enough it might be just what you need.
Way to go guys! ❤️❤️❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Other than a few hiccups along the way I think it has been pretty smooth sailing once we got through the first horrific night! Now we are just trying to stretch out the meds longer and longer each time to see where we are at. All in all, thanks to the support of everyone here and a fantastic vet tech that has gone way above and beyond, it has not been too bad! I think he looks cute in the shirts and it hides the incision: )
Sitting on his incision... I can't believe he is ok with this!!!
Oh he is a very handsome kitty.. no doubt about it!! His little shirts look ADORABLE on him!!! And he looks pretty comfy on his pillows and by the fire. Thank you for sharing, it just fills my heart to see you recovering so well now.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Agreed! He IS ADORABLE in his onesie!
The fact that he is laying on his incision seems ro indicate it's not too painful. Quite impressive😎
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!
Yeah Elvis! You are looking very stylish in your new clothes. Perhaps you will start a fashion trend.
It is great to hear that you are getting around more and more every day.
In most pictures, Elvis has been on heavily cushioned surfaces. I do not know if this is true of everywhere he stays but I mention it because in the early days of recovery, Tuxedo had a bit of trouble getting on to his feet after laying on very soft spots. When it is really soft, he would sink in and being on the heavy side made it a bit harder to get to his feet. After I stiffened his resting areas (but adding boards under heavy cushions), he had a much easier time of it. That might be something to try with Elvis if you start to notice problems.
Keep amazing your mom Elvis! I know you will.
-Dawna, Dazzle, & Tuxedo
Just in case anyone needs a good laugh today... Decided that because he has been doing so well that it was ok to leave for just a few minutes (of course I had the security camera on so that I could check in on him as often as needed), starting to go a little stir crazy! Had to run to the vet to drop off some things they lent us when he peed all over his stuff last visit and had to talk to them about a stool softener because it had been 4 days since pooping! Went to the vet and they suggested Miralax which thankfully didnt mean me having buy even more prescriptions! After we were done I checked the camera and he was nice and calm so I went to a quick lunch with my mom. Got back to the house and went to go get him out of his kitty jail cell that he despises and OMG... POOP EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! And of course he has a onesie on because he is trying to rip the stitches out at every chance he gets (cone not an option it infuriates him) and the t-shirt he gets his one back leg stuck in! I am sure you can all figure out how fun that was to clean him up... literally had to CUT the onesie off him, it was that bad! He was either so mad at us for leaving, scared that he was left alone for the first time, or it finally just came out... whatever the reason, I guess I didnt need to go get that miralax
On a side note, I finally was able to get a video of his attempt at walking. I know it is not great but it has improved tremendously, just the fact that he has some balance and isn't needing my assistance to hold or help his enormous rear end up! He certainly tells us exactly where he wants to go. I feel like I have a baby that needs 'tummy time' on the floor. He prefers spending most of the time on the couch which is soft and comfy and he can certainly get up and move himself around on there but I do try and get him down on the carpet a lot which is a hard surface. The blankets on the floor that you see in pictures have no cushion to them. As soon as I put him on the floor he tries to hop right back over to the couch or the air mattress (been sleeping downstairs with him) and jump on them, which doesn't work! Oh and today is our last day of pain meds... fingers crossed!
Kitty Jail
You poor thing, lol 
maybe he needed privacy so that he could "concentrate" on pooping, lol. At least it was confined to him?! He does look like he is feeling better There are exercises they can do to build core strength after he is all recuperated and suture free. Given his size, I wonder if one of those balance discs might not be good for him to try. It is ok, he looks fantastic! He will get this once he starts to become a little more mobile.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
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