Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I just found out that my senior cat Rudy, a Maine Coon mix, has bone cancer and that we will need to remove his front right leg. I am confident that we have made the right decision to do the surgery as my husband and I are not yet ready to say goodbye.
Rudy started off with limping about 8 weeks ago, which slowly progressed to not using the leg altogether. So for the past 4 weeks he has been adjusting to be a tripawed cat. I guess that this is a good thing because his adjustment period has already begun. He has been on pain medication for about three weeks now and appears to be tolerating it well. He continues to eat, drink, and use the litterbox with three legs so I hope that he will be able to continue doing so when he returns home.
I am worried about how my other pets will react to Rudy once he comes home. I plan to keep him separated from the other two cats and one dog that we own. Fortunately, I work from home so that I can keep him in my office with me so that he is not totally alone during recuperation. But he will have to be alone at night because we have another cat that stays in our room and I don't want them to fight. Rudy has the tendency to "pick on" Mimi but maybe not if he is healing from such a major surgery.
I have two days to prepare for Rudy to come home and I am beside myself with anxiety for him and myself. I am just happy that the source of his pain will be gone and after he heals he will feel so much better.
Hi Rudy and family, welcome! Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
You sound really confident overall, which is great! Feeling anxious is totally normal, it's a big unknown but thankfully lots of members here have paved the way so you can see that even big kitties can do great on three. Did you see our 3-Legged Cats Forum Topic? Or our Trikitties blog posts? Our e-book, Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats is also full of helpful tips.
Rudy sounds like a great, strong cat. And he's still a kid! We've had many members here with kitties much older.
Osteosarcoma in cats is rare but we've seen plenty of cases here so you're also in good company there. And luckily it doesn't act as mean in cats as it does in dogs.
It's smart to keep the fur kids apart during his recovery. Chances are Rudy and Mimi will be fine after a few days but at first he may act defensively because the pain control may make him feel vulnerable. Thankfully you can be home to monitor things so that's terrific.
Did you talk to your vet about his pain management yet? We find that if pain control is good when the animal comes home, recovery is so much easier. Definitely find out what kind of meds he will be given. Our article, Best and Worst Pain Meds is a good one to read before you chat.
I hope this helps! Stay tuned for feedback from others!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Sorry you find yourself here, but as you can tell from Jerry's informative and supportive response, you are in the right place.
Jist want to add my best wishes to your sweet Ridy (and Mimi too) for a successful surgery and uneventful recovery. We are all here to help you navigate thru recovery and into a painfree quality life!
And agree, you sou d very pawsitive and confident as you move forward. Just more validation you are doing the gest path forward for your Rudy
((((((((((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!
Thank you so much for the encouraging words. I am waiting for the doctor to call this morning to see how Rudy is doing.
I have decided to set Rudy up in my office while he is healing. He has a brother that he is very close to; in fact, Rudy tried to breastfeed Shmuley when we brought him home. Just to be clear they are both boys. 
I may allow Shmuley to visit Rudy for short periods of time, depending on how Rudy feels.
Aww you are so welcome.
Rudy sounds adorable. Sounds like a mama cat trapped in a boy cat body! And Shmuley may be just what he needs for a good recovery!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi and welcome
So sorry you had to join us and dealing with osa! Your attitude is excellent and will carry you both thru recovery! And yes, being anxious is NORMAL!
We all do things a little differently in recovery; here is a post you can read on how we all dealt with multicat households. Take what works for you & your furmily.
How Did You Prepare Your Other Cats for the New TriKitty
We hope you heard from the surgeon and Rudy is recovering well and ready to come home soon?
Stock up on some yummy stinky wet foods to help in recovery and find out what meds they will send you home with & how long. Make a little den in your office for recovery. Purrkins chose the closet in the spare room to recover in, I set up a little bed in there for him, and I camped beside him;)
We will keep an eye out for your posts; if we can help in any way, don't hesitate to ask!
Hugs,
Holly & Purrkins 💝💝💝
Hey it's been a while, how is Rudy doing? Just thinking of you and hoping for a good update!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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