Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Good you didn't change the litter . Thats one thing ruled out.
I had after thought and a important one. Has Lynx had urinary tract infections in past ?
Thats one thing we always want to rule out too. Since he was meowing .
The reason I suggested his old box , maybe with the step up. like you were doing was because he might prefer his old box and the smell of his old box. If you have room in there keep both in and see if he uses on or the other.
Just a way to rule things out, if he uses one over the other problems solved.
Hopefully others will have more suggestions as well and you can see what works.
Something will ,hang in there! 
no, no UTIs in the past. He meows after the urine is over his bed; He doesn't seem to meow as he is urinating as far as I can tell. I just moved one of his old snuggle places back in the room, he likes to hang out on the lower level of one of those carpeted cat trees. If he gets over the rim for that, then he can get over the rim of the litterbox. Also, they gave him a 14-day antibiotic for infection 5 days ago, not sure if it covers UTIs.
Someone is suggesting he might be inactive bc he is in pain. But honestly I dont see any signs of pain. I think he might be more "depressed" than in pain. (I would be too if I woke up without my leg!).
The litterbox with a swinging door and high rim seems kind of impossible since he hasn't done much walking, but I'll move it up here too. Thanks
Sounds like great plan on his tree. Did he get in the lower level?
Oh swinging door yeah, I dont think so either? But dont know either . Does the lid come off you can take it off ?
If it was convenia antibotic, he is covered thats good! That is ruled out then , just have to figure out the rest then.
Its a major surgery so he does need to rest, Its really early in recovery and for Lynx being older it might take him longer to recover and get going. Thats ok too.
I dont know on depressed? they dont think like us humans do thankfully.
As for pain ? You read the signs so you know what to watch for, I only know what I saw with Purrkins.
I moved his tree in and he is still sleeping in bed. He saw it but no movement. Yes it was Convenia! You are a wealth of info, thanks. I'll take the top off of his old litterbox. I'll watch to see if his appetite goes down again. As soon as pain meds were over, he was eating more. Ate a lot yesterday. I'll buy some Miralax today.
Is it mean to spray catnip on his carpet tree to get him to go over to i?
That's unfortunate. Holly had a lot of great suggestions. I always figure the cat is telling you there is something wrong if they go elsewhere other than the litter box.
It seems as though the only thing that has changed recently is the pain meds have finished. If that is correct then Lynx is telling you he is hurting. Either way you could call the vet to ask for a solution.
Mona did not use the litter box right from the beginning until I replaced the new litter with the old dirty litter from the garbage. Funny thing is that she used the litter box when the vet took her to his home for the first night after the amputation.
It never hurts to check in with the vet again. I hope things improve soon.
hugs,
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
Okay thank you. He urinated in his bed on the night before pain meds were stopped, then again last night after pain meds were stopped. I will call the vet again.
motheroflynxandleah said
Is it mean to spray catnip on his carpet tree to get him to go over to i?
Lol no not mean at all. 
Catnip wont hurt him!
Let us know if things change and if the vet has anymore suggestions please.
Hugs to you both ! Leah too!
So after consulting with a few medical people, we think it's behavioral because he's eating more, drinking more, grooming more. But he's probably still freaked out about the whole thing and doesn't want to use the litterbox. I'm monitoring him for another day to see what happens. He actually drank a lot of water today and still hasn't peed. I sat by his bed for 2 hours to see when it got wet so I could put him in the litter box. But dry so far. I also tried to put him in the litterbox anyway but he just got out. So I fully expect a repeat tonight where he wakes up wet again. Sigh. It's been 5 days post amp and still not walking but he's a senior cat so he's going to be less active than y'alls cats I guess. Too bad there aren't any parents of senior cats who comment on these threads but less common I guess.
Thanks.
Becky and Lynx
I would call Tufts back and tell them Lynx isnt walking at all yet and add second about not using the box.
Let them tell you what they think if he needs to be seen. I would Err on the side of caution and call them. Talk to who treated him again.
Just my opinion ,
Hugs, Holly & Purrkins
Good morning. I talked to a number of people yesterday. The local vet came up with the best idea, to make his space smaller today so he doesn't freak out as much. I was going to do that today, then Lynx used the litterbox twice last night! It was his old box. It is higher but I put it so that one side abuts a corner of his bed. He can topple over into the box and use one paw to pull himself up and topple back into the bed. Given that, I'm wondering if I should try to make his space smaller. Only thing i can think of is putting a tarp over the whole bedframe so that it seems more enclosed. He's hanging out in a bed in the empty bedframe. I'm also might trying to leave him alone more often instead of hanging out in his room so much. Funny, he still woke me up at 3am (with 1-2 meows) and I guess just wanted me to pet him bc nothing was wet. Rascal.
Thanks for the suggestion about the old litter box! Turns out the older box is also larger. I think the new one might also have been too small for his body.
Becky and Lynx
ps. I should note that I called Tufts ER vet and they said maybe he was losing control of his bowls and to bring him in right away. I talked to a family member who is physician with cats with every ailment in the book. She said the surgery was on his leg not on his organs and this was unlikely. Then I talked to someone else at Tufts ER and she said that maybe his kidney disease got worse and I should bring him in. His recent blood test showed normal kidney values but a bit high and minimally concentrated urine, suggesting early signs of kidney disease. So my cousin thought that was ridiculous that his normal values would suddenly accelerate to advanced kidney disease in 5 days. She thought it was a behavioral issue. Then I talked to my primary care vet and he made these behavioral suggestions. Turns out he and my cousin were on target. I would normally have no problem with bringing Lynx in but HE would have a problem and would be traumatized by going back in the carrier after the amputation so I wanted to avoid it.
It sounds like you got great advice. I always forget that cats are creatures of habit and it's probably best not to change too many things. Mona made that very evident when she didn't like the new, fresh litter and made it known, but I was slow to figure that out.
Does Lynx like toys? If so, you might get him moving his front leg by teasing him with something like a feather that he has to reach out for. It's a good way for him to stretch the leg and to be stimulated. I don't believe cats get depressed, perhaps bored so play may help. Bring him out to some other rooms where he can safely explore, a bathroom may be good.
His back legs will be good so you can work on him sitting up like a meerkat by reaching up for food. I believe there are a few cat rehab sheets somewhere on this site. Purrkins used a good one so might be able to attach it for you.
It's time to start playing Lynx!!
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
I'm glad you called the vets, always good to get some professional advice just to be safe.
Yeah 🎉🎊for the old box! Thats great hopefully that will continue! Is Lynx moving any better today. Thats progress him getting to his box!
Have you tried moving his food a bit away from him so he has to get up to get the food.
Just a little move see if that gets him up and trying more. Food is motivation usually! Did the diffuser come? Use it when it comes even if its just him in the room you might see a difference in Lynx with that too. Certainly wont hurt to try it anyway.
Kerren mentioned the rehab sheet here is that link core strength is important for tripawds , This covers everything http://www.anim.....b787af.pdf
It has a lot of great information in it! See if any of those ideas you could use on Lynx. It covers a lot of information and a lot of great ideas to try now and in the future .
We do core exercises with Purrkins and his brother does them also because they get treats lol. If you can find a treat that Lynx loves that helps . Might be surprised what he will do.
I know Lynx is 15 and that is going to make a difference in all aspects. He probably sleeps alot at 15 so keep that in mind .I had 2 cats get to that age and older ,they both slept all the time. Even Purrkins at age 6 sleeps a lot just what cats do. Cats can sleep 16 hours a day, and older cats up to 20 hours a day.
Purrkins tires easier and faster on his 3 legs then he did on 4 legs. Another factor to keep in mind. It takes more work to get around on 3 legs.
Your paying more attention now to him and noticing more so maybe his sleeping isnt abnormal for him. Major surgery, sleeping is healing.
I still would try to get him up and moving in any little way. Move his food bowl a little , As Kerren already suggested a feather toy possibly, fresh catnip, catnip toy. If he is stimulated by catnip.
Again just throwing some things out there hoping to help in his recovery!
He had his leg amputated ,its major surgery and the meds went thru his entire system. Some of those meds have side effects!
Im not at all trying to scare you, just want you to be aware anything can change in a cats system. Just so you don't rule things out entirely.
If he doesn't continue to show improvement , I wouldn't hesitate to call again or take him in.
We just want to see Lynx continue to heal!
Hugs! Holly & Purrkins
Okay thanks for all of the suggestions. The diffuser still hasn't arrived in the mail so I just went and bought one. I can't smell it myself but 10 minutes after I plugged it in, Leah (the sister cat) came upstairs to see what was going on. She hasn't been curious to come upstairs since he came home.
Thanks for acknowledging that Lynx is an older cat. He typically spends most of his time sleeping but comes to find me 2-3x day for petting. (while Leah likes to hang out with me all day in the same room and is sleeping most of the time too). He's also motivated to hang out in his favorite places. I wonder home much p.t. I'll get him to do lol. But I do want him to walk to his favorite places in the house, walk to get his food and litterbox, all of which involve stairs. So we've got to start somewhere!
Oooooh glad to hear the diffuser is something that will help! And I also think that a smaller space will really make a difference overall. That's awesome he used the litter box.
Lynx will get strong, step by step. You're definitely doing everything right by starting slow and not expecting too much too soon. When we try to put ourselves in our Tripawd's paws, it really shows us how challenging it is to be on three paws. Try it yourself, literally. Get down on all fours, but lift the leg that Lynx is missing. Then try to walk around and do things, you'll see that it's tough! They make it look easy.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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