Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Ok he’s eating small frequent meals and drinking a lot. He just peed on his own! I’m so worried he’s too big / unstable with three legs. He’s perking up a bit after some food / water. So worried about him
WELCOME HOME KIP!!! Great that he ate and drank! Drinking and peeing are important. Getting a good appetite back may take a few days. Just feed him whatever he will eat.
No worries about being wobbly or not getting up yet. No worries at all. Kip is recovering at his own pace in his own way. He'll get his sea legs. Just had major surgery, adjusting to three all while on good pain meds...nope, he doesn't feel like running a marathon yet!
Try and sort of wait it out as far as potty until he really shows he needs to go. That way he may be more inclined to put.more effort I to getting up. You can use a sling from a towel to try and help him stand and go out to potty. If he has an "accident " in his bed, that's o,at. That happens at first sometimes.
It is EXTREMELY important that you put forth a strong confident energy.!! Kip will definitely pick up on it of you are apprehensive and u certain and scared. It you convey strong pack leader energy, that will help him feel confident that everyth is okay. When you go to help him up, approach him with an upbeat and fun attitude. He'll figure things out and will be able to jo tompotty before you know it.
What pain meds domyou have? The dose and frequency? In a day or somyoy may need to tweak them if you feel he's overly medicated...or, not enough. Your Vet can guide you IF adjustments need to be made.
Some swelling is normal, as well as some bruising. If there is any oozing discharge that appears bloody or smelly or has pus, let your vet know.
Sounds like everything is a fairly "normal" recovery. Stay patient and confident! You've got this!!
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!
Okay...PS...just saw where he peed!! YAY!!! 💩 may take a few days!
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!
Thank you!!!! He got the injectable pain meds during surgery. He’s on tramadol (two pills every 8hrs), Gabapentin (2 pills every 8 hours), an antibiotic and metacam - waiting to decide about metacam bc I’m not sure if he has enough in his system to not get an upset tummy. He’s not panting but he is a little Whiney which he never is. When I sit with him he stops whinning so I don’t think it’s pain.... I just am not sure
His pain plan sounds good. The Metacam should help with the inflammation. If you have any hot dogs handy, or some of that "portion ", should be enough to coat his tummy.
My Happy Hannah was quite whiny and quite restless the first several days and nights, but did really show a mother pajn signs. I have to say my "energy" was NOT strong and confident at first! I did find this site until day Six and thought for sure I had made a ho mistake! This great community pulled me back from the edge, took away my fear of being "all alone" and helped me gain the co and knowledge to know she would get pas reco and her sparkle would come back! And it sure did!!
So just give Kip some reassurance pets, maybe a gentle massage and lots of smooches. Also give him a bit of time to just relax on his own as the massages kick in and calm him.
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!
Ok - he’s had about 10 cocktail weenies so maybe I’ll do metacam in an hour! It’s definitely my energy. He’s fine when I’m not in the room. How do I fix that?!? Thanks for the support!!
He got up and got into his ortho bed and then moved off it and then I used the sling to get him into the bedroom on his other ortho bed
KIPMIS ROCKING THIS RECOVERY!! He's doing a great job moving through this recovery step by step and at his own pace.
Well, you've got the "rubber band" technique. So, before being around Kip, zap yourself , change your state of mind andnyour physical posture. Stand tall, pull your shoulders back! Repeat a little mantra: I am a strong and confident RockStar Recovery Role Model for Kip!" Then walk into that room like the Warrior that Kipmis! And he is a Warrior!!!
Remind yourself the hard part is over. Surgery was a success and recovery doesn't last furever!!
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!
Thank you!!!! He legit went into the bedroom like “leave me alone mom”🤣. He’s resting comfortably in his bed so I’m going to reset and follow him to bed soon!! Do you think it’s good to give the gaba and tramadol at the same time??
Kip is such a smart boy. He knows rest is the best thing he can do. And yes, just like hokmans, he needs a little "quiet time" to reset too. Good job!
Of course, not a Vet and not giving Vet advice. But what I can tell you from my experience on the site is that giving the Gaba and the Tram an hour or so apart seems to work well in keeping pain under control. It keeps pain meds in his system on a consistent basis and never gives the pain a chance to "break through".
Hopefully you can get a good night's sleep. This first part of rec is exha for the hoomans and rest crucial!💤💤💤💤💤💤
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!
Thank you!!!!! Kip just ate another small portion so he’s a trooper!!! Going to try to space the meds a bit better tmrw!
Awww....so proud of this boy! 👏👏👏He is showing improvements in so many ways! We love celebrating them with you!!
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!
Good morning! Survived our first night as tripawd parents! Kip is sleeping for about 4-5 hour chunks then gets a bit restless. He woke up at 12am and peed again at 1am. He also ate / drank a little bit more. He walked 3-4 feet from rug to his ortho bed around 2am. I brought him to the bedroom around 230 and he slept until 7. He just ate a full breakfast and a little extra with his pills. The swelling is down and some of the fluid seems to have reabsorbed which is good but bruising is still pretty bad. Is all this normal?? He didn’t wag his tail when I sang him his AM song but he is giving puppy kisses.
It sounds like Kip is doing fantastic in his recovery! And you are doing an amazing job helping him through each step! In my experience with Griffin, the bruising will get worse (spreading and darker in color) before it gets better, but it did not concern our surgeon. I took pictures each day to track the bruising and to have photos on hand to share with the vets in case it got worse (and just to feel like I was doing something helpful!). Fingers crossed that Kip's recovery continues to be smooth sailing! ~ Stacy
Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com
Thank you!!! I’m doing the same with the pictures around bruising and staples just to make sure I don’t miss anything. I’m grateful that you can at least see his penis today (so weird I know) but the swelling was so bad yesterday I wasn’t sure if it was damaged from a catheter etc but he seems good). He seems a little more solid today and when I let him out of the bedroom he pulled ahead of me. I’m a little concerned because now he’s a little whinney. He has never been a whiner even after the two TPLOs and broken femur. He stops whining as soon as I come over and talk to him so maybe he’s bored?? I tried to give him a frozen bone and he licked it a few times then lost interest. Any ideas?!??
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