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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
The feedback I have already received from people has been so helpful. I just downloaded "Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats " and read a lot of it, very helpful!
We are trying to prepare for when our cat gets her stitches out in 3 days and comes home. She has been confined to 1 small bedroom that has a mattress on the floor with a cat bed and blankets etc. but NO direct sunlight which she loves, I feel so terrible about that! We hope she will FINALLY be able to be with her 2 sisters in 3 days! Advice for what we need to do to prepare our house for her? Will she need to be confined to one room? Or can she go freely around? We have 2 tall cat trees and several scratching posts with perches. I bought a set of stairs for next to the bed but wondering if I need more? I feel like I prepared for her to come home from surgery and still did not prepare well enough. I've learned a lot from just day to day. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Hi! You'll want to check in your vet about this, but after getting his stitches removed, our Jonesy was given the go ahead to roam the house freely. He was 11 at the time, about to turn 12, and seemed to know his limits and didn't go where it wasn't safe to go. His age, and the fact that he was a rear-leg amputee, probably had a lot to do with that. He just couldn't jump like he did before. He was great on the stairs, though -- I would just marvel at how he seemed to glide right down!
If your kitty is younger and more rambunctious, there may be more needed to make sure the house is safe for her. Off the top of my head, it seems like a good idea to make sure the tall cat trees are next to something she won't have trouble getting up and down off of, like furniture or other non-slippery surfaces. If you think she will want to go to higher spots, just make sure she has a way to get up and down and that there are no slipping hazards. If she consistently tries to go higher than you are comfortable with, and you can swing it, maybe reevaluate your cat furniture situation, i.e. several shorter cat trees.
When Jonesy was recovering, he was around our other cats. Is there any reason that your kitty's sisters can't come into the room for a visit?
Melissa - mom to tri-angel Jonesy and (only) four other felines
You are so well prepared just by being here and asking great questions (and reading the e-book!). Melissa's absolutely spot-on with her tips, she said exactly what I would say. Your vet will likely give the go-ahead for resuming normal activity. It's smart to add little touches that can make climbing and descending easier around the home. And if you're up to it at some point, building a catio would be such a treat too! I just love those things.
I think that about the only thing I would add is when you reintroduce her to the girls, just be mindful about their interactions during the first day. If they've ever had any scuffles after one has been to the vet and the others haven't, it's just something to monitor. Otherwise though, sounds like you are pretty darn prepared!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
She's 6 1/2 and pre-amputation had to jump up on everything! She's moving around pretty well in the room she is in, I'm amazed in just 10 days what she can do. She is just frustrated being in one room. The vet told me she absolutely HAS to be away from the other 2 cats. Not knowing how they will respond to her and to protect her incision. At this point I have 2 days left as much as I want them to see each other I'm holding out. They don't fight with each other at all. When she came home from the biopsy with the cone on they didn't know who she was so there was a lot of hissing but that's it.
I bought 2 more sets of stairs yesterday just to be safe. At this point like everything else it's taking it day by day and learn as you go. Thank you all again for the feedback. This sight is going to save my sanity!!!
Let me tell ya', you are absolutely prepared! You've asked what questions, you've provided good background information on your kitty, the pack and the recovery arrangements. I know the feedback from Melissa and Jerry, as well as the ebook, helped tremendously.
Once those stitches come out amd the "reacquainted ritual" is done, all of you will be so happy! Yoir kitty pack will blend in again just fine....may take a little bit of fussing, etc, but they'll get there👍
Can't wait to celebrate stitch removal day!!
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!
You've got this! You are prepared with a capital P!
I think your vet is smart to make it clear the other cats should stay away until the incision is healed. It's such an ordeal when something goes wrong with it, better to be safe.
Can't wait to see how she does this week. Just a couple more days and you all get your freedom!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Great idea purchasing the extra stairs -- they will definitely come in handy!
And the separation of the cats really is a good idea. In our crew, Jonesy was the oldest, and he was pretty mellow and kind to the other cats, so they respected him. Once he got back, we kept a good eye on everyone, just in case, and the aggression was limited to a hiss or two from one other cat (and not the cat I would have expected it from). If it was a different member of our crew (Simon), having the other cats around during the recovery period wouldn't have been such a good idea.
You've probably thought of it already, but since it will have been a couple of weeks since they've been together, taking it slow would be a good idea. Kind of like when you bring a new cat home. Open the door a crack and gauge the reaction. If it's not good, keep trying, and maybe feed them on both sides of the door. If there is aggression at the door, setting her in your living area in a carrier or pop up playpen is great for keeping it safe while exchanging scents. I volunteer for a rescue, and one of our long-time fosters swears by that.
It sounds like you and your kitty are both doing great! I'm sure she will continue to impress you with how well she adapts -- looking forward to hearing about it! Cool Tips for Tripawd Cats will continue to help you in the days to come, too. I didn't get it beforehand (wish I had -- we moved on the amp very quickly), but it helped us a ton even after the fact. 😊
Melissa - mom to tri-angel Jonesy and (only) four other felines
Sounds like you have planned this all out very well! When Huck was recuperating, I let one cat in at a time to his room to visit. For them it was more of a meet and greet as Huck had formerly lived outdoors. Once I saw that the one on one's went well, I supervised them all in his recovery room.
Even though your cats are already a family, you might want to consider that before giving free run of the house over. Just make sure they are interacting ok and nothing over the top.
I put one of our cat trees right up against the back of our loveseat so that if Huck had a mishap he had a soft place to land. He is every bit as good getting up the trees as the others are. I stopped clipping nails when Huck came to be a family member. I am always mindful to make sure nobody gets ingrown nails, and if Huck does lose his balance his talons grab on ... so far so good almost 4 years later.
I have 2 sets of cat stairs. One for our bed, the other for my desk as those are his 2 most favorite places to jump up on to. I would definitely recommend making sure the favorite areas are covered if she needs help. That will come as you see what her behavior is on three once she has full run of the house.
Good luck! I think you will all be just fine 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
The knowledge shared on this site truly defines INVALUABLE!!!! ♥️
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!
Absolutely invaluable!
So Jackie, without nail trimming, Huck gets around well? What about the other cats? Do they get nail trims or no?
Since we don't have a kitty, this kind of info is especially helpful so we can all learn together. Tripawd Parents are Pawesome! Thank you!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
In my experience, trimming nails for cats is more to reduce pointiness so that they are less destructive to furniture, curtains, etc. We actually don't trim, either. If we observed any claws that were ingrown or overgrown, we would, but they tend not to get that way. Scratching posts, etc., will often help them keep the nails short enough, but then what is short enough is open to interpretation. 😊
I would say that, with tripawds, you would generally want to avoid trimming so that they can get as good of a grip as possible with the claws they still have!
Melissa - mom to tri-angel Jonesy and (only) four other felines
Fascinating! It's totally opposite when it comes to Tripawd dogs!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yes, agreed!🙌 All my life i clipped just the tips so they weren't so sharp. All but Andy always just sat on my lap and it was easy peasy.
Rene, i don't trim any of them now. They play pretty hard and i feel like if i did there would be an unfair advantage.
I've seen Huck do a "superjump" too many times and i know if he didn't have that traction he could get hurt.
Soo... we jump once in a while over an overly affectionate knit or pounce. Otherwise it's all good.
When i was a tech i learned quickly to keep an eye. Both cats and dogs can get nails embedded into the pads. Cats with extra toes are more prone to it.
❤❤❤
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Well heck I learned something about cats! Thank you for sharing, I had no idea it was even possible to not trim nails for a cat's benefit. The things we learn here!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I just wanted to update everyone who replied to this topic. My cat is home and got her stitches out this yesterday morning. The other 2 cats did a little hissing but that was all. The vet told me I could take her cone off but have to watch her to make sure she doesn't lick the crap out of her incision or I have to put it back on for the next few days. This was quite annoying and frustrating since I thought this was the end of "the cone". I put it on last night and will have to again for the next couple of nights.
This is the interesting part. So when they brought her out after getting her stitches out the nurse said she doesn't have to take the Gabapentin anymore not unless she needs it. I was perplexed and asked a couple of questions. Fast forward, we get home and 2 hours later she has a full episode. I gave her the Gaba and called my primary vet. She said yes keep giving it to her 2x a day for the next 10 days and then we can taper her off of it. Yet again learning to advocate for my cat.
So other than all that she's been moving around, learning what she can jump up on and what she can't and her sisters are being pretty good when to her when she doesn't have that damn cone on! Thanks again everyone!
1 Guest(s)
