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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Hi everyone,
I stumbled across this website after finding out my cat, Oliver, has a large tumor on his rear left leg. When first diagnosed last month, our options are amputation or wait it out. We thought maybe we could wait it out and it was something he could live with but it has only been getting worse over the last few weeks. He has had to wear a cone because he’s constantly trying to lick/bite it and it is now ulcerated, leaking fluids and larger so we have decided to move forward with amputation. He will be going in for the surgery tomorrow.
we are of course concerned due to his age and the decision has not been made lightly. Reading all of the amazing success stories on here has definitely helped us become more at peace with the decision. He still has so much life and spunk to him - he still tries to jump on and off our bed in the morning after waking us up to tell us it’s food time, he still enjoys watching the birds out the window and sleeping in a sunny spot. We hope the recovery will go well but know that it will be a rough couple of weeks. He’s not putting weight on that leg anymore and it’s very clearly bothering him so we’re hoping this is the right decision.
We’ve made him a recovery room area and I will be working from home to watch him (36 weeks pregnant as well but we do what we need to do!)
I’ve been reading a lot about modifying our home once he recovers. We have all hardwood so I ordered some traction step covers to help him go up and down the stairs and a ramp to get on the bed so he’s not tempted to jump.
Any advice or words of encouragement would be nice! We hope Oliver has a good recovery and a few more years ahead of him.
Hi Stephanie, welcome! I'm so glad you posted, just sorry you had to be here (especially at a time like this for you..yikes!). And poor Oliver! Deciding what to do for any animal is tough but especially for older ones. But it sounds like you are on the right path to get his pain treated and remove that bad leg. You do really great research too! I'm glad you saw all the senior cat stories and did your research about What to Expect 🙂
Older cats can do fine on three legs if they are otherwise healthy. Sounds like he is in really good hands. Just make sure his pain management is good, as that is one of the keys to a good recovery. Do you know if he will come home the same day or spend the night? You want to make sure his clinic has staffed 24-hour care if he stays. And if he comes home with you it may be challenging the first couple of nights, since he will be out of it from the pain meds, but it gets better, I promise.
One thing is that he is averse to a cone, you may want to get a recovery suit for him. It sounds like he could be the type of cat who goes after the incision area (not unusual) so you want to watch that very carefully.
We are having a Tripawds Zoom call tomorrow night if you want to join us!
Just wanted to give an update on Oliver! The surgery went well yesterday and they kept him overnight. We picked him up this afternoon and they gave us pain meds (onisor) and antibiotics for a week. I already have gabapentin at home from when they gave it to us to manage his pain with the tumor so hoping that will be enough to keep him comfortable during recovery.
We have him confined to a spare room for now but as soon as we put the carrier down he has been trying to walk all over! Great sign that he’s doing well but I also don’t want him to overdo it so we’re keeping him calm and laying down. I know recovery can have its ups and downs but hopefully this is a good sign! He has used the litter box no problem too.
Used the litterbox already??? YAAAAAY FOR OLIVER!!
Already showing his Warrior spirit by trying to walk all over??? YAAAAAY FOR OLIVER!!!👏👏👏
Just catching up and want to congratulate you for having everything prepared for j9s recovery. Glad you still jave some Gaba on hand if needed (with Vet approval of course)
Update when you can and try and get some rest yourself. It is very exhausting mentally and physically getting to this point in the amputation process. Even though recovery is no picnic for a couple of weeks, you can start to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that that bum leg is gone and Oliver will now have a quality pain free life!
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!
Wow Oliver is rockin recovery! 
I'm so glad things are going well. There may be some ups and downs so don't be too surprised if that happens. Please keep us posted and know that we are cheering you on!
Day 4 of recovery and Oliver is no longer on his pain meds but seems to be his normal, happy and cuddly self! I have the gaba just in case but he’s doing just fine. He’s not loving being confined in a room away from us but it’s a small price to pay for a good recovery! If only we could explain that to him. He’ll be getting his stitches removed July 9 so we are going to keep him in his room until then!
The incision looks good, no new bleeding or oozing. We’re so happy with the decision, even though the days leading up to his surgery were tough we think this really gave him a few more years.
WOW!!! No longer on pain meds and wanting to be his feisty self?...
WOW!!!!!👏👏👏👏 Seeing a recovery like this is why we do what we do. It only gets better and vetter!
Still take things slowly and definitely still watch for pain signals .
Thanks for the update
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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