Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello!
My cat Gideon got his hind leg amputated 2 days ago. He's healing wonderfully and we have him in a cone right now, but he has already managed to take it off once! Our vet suggested using a onesie to cover it instead, and we would love to try it but are having trouble with the logistics. How can we cover the site without also preventing him from using the litter box? Do we just need to watch him and take the onesie off when we think he needs to use it? Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks 🙂
Welcome to you and Gideon. It's great he's doing so well. Sounds like his pain is under control too? YAY!
Onesies are tricky on the rear. A traditional onesie will need to be removed when he needs to use the litterbox. These posts may help figure out the logistics:
Baby Onesie Recovery Suits for Cats
And see this video:
Also, you might want to check out this post to help keep the cone on him.
The Houdini Cat Cone of Shame
What was the reason for amputation?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you, those are really helpful! He is doing well- ate and peed right when he got home from surgery, and is pooping and purring now 48 hours post-op. The fentanyl patch seems to be working well for now- we're starting to research how to tell if he needs pain meds when we switch to oral meds soon. He's always been very vocal (especially when he wants snuggles) so I think it might be hard to tell sometimes...
Last week he jumped off a shelf (which he's done a thousand times before), landed wrong, and got a bad break right at his knee. No idea why it happened that time but... here we are! They could've repaired with pins and wires, but we couldn't get that surgery booked for weeks and the amputation was only a 5 day wait. Plus, if the pins didn't heal right we'd just be amputating later anyway, so it seemed like the best option.
Hi and welcome to you and Gideon,
We have had many members ask about using onesies on rear leg amputees. Please let us know if it works for you and Gideon. I agree it's tricky, and if it does cover the amp site well enough, you would have to pull up or off to go potty. I have not seen this video interesting they put it on backward 🤔 I still see a potty issue.
I am sorry to read about the accident and glad Gideon was a candidate for amputation. I don't think this is talked about enough accidents can and do happen in the home. We have had several kitties join for this reason. We lost a senior kitty from an accident in the house; he fell off the kitchen table (compound fracture); he was not a candidate for surgery; we had to let him go.
If you have not already and can take the shelf down & after recovery, provide safe perch's for Gideon; add some steps to assist him in getting his needed height.
Brilliant Gideon is comfortable eating, going potty!!! Meds will be needed after the patch. Imagine us, humans, three days after an amputation; it is no different for our animals. What oral pain meds did they send you home with?
We have all kinds of information to help you with pain indicators in cats. In addition, cats are masters at disguising pain; these should help you.
Acute Pain Cat Carer Guide - Recognizing and managing acute pain in cats
Feline Grimace Scale to Assess Acute Pain
They now have an app you can download
Keep us posted, please.
Rest is best, Gideon.
Hugs, Holly & Purrkins 💝💝💝
Thanks for those resources, definitely helpful! So sorry to hear about your senior kitty, I can't even imagine!
We haven't taken the shelf down (we use it for storage and the top shelf is empty, that's where he liked to sit), but will make sure he can't get up there anymore. He could never jump up straight from the ground, but went ground to couch to shelf, so we'll be moving the couch.
We will see if he needs steps, as this was the only high perch he had. He also likes to jump on top of the refrigerator, so figuring out how to prevent that will be interesting... He is only 2 y/o and is already (day 3 post-op) trying to jump over baby gates we have up when we let him out of the kennel! Very agile boy, we're sure he'll adjust to 3 legs just fine in good time.
They sent us home with Buprenorphine, and we have Gabapentin as well from previous issues (FLUTD). I haven't asked if we can use them together but the vet said we can start with the Bup. and switch to Gaba if needed since we know it works well for him. We'll definitely be monitoring closely and our vet is really responsive, so she'll surely be helpful with pain management 🙂 I haven't seen any signs of pain so far from the guides you provided but he is just really vocal! I'm sure being in a kennel is no fun but we don't feel comfortable with letting him out full time yet especially since he tries so hard to jump over/onto things, and is so good at getting his cone off/grooming around it. We plan to let him out most of the day tomorrow once we have that extra layer of protection with the onesie!
Your welcome & thank you😘 don't it was tragic, and the last thing I thought as we rushed Garfield to the er. I did not know what would happen, but I was sure he was coming back home. 💔 You are fortunate Gideon was a candidate for surgery. It is never fortunate we have to lose a limb, but it is better than a life.
I'm not surprised Gideon is trying to jump the baby gate ; we stacked them three high, and they still wanted to jump them. The only solution is an enclosed room or crate/kennle as you are doing. We had instructions to restrict movement for 2 weeks, and we did that by staying in a spare room. No fun; Purrkins & I both were over it, but it was the only way to keep his movement restricted. I can only imagine a 2-year old yes, you will have your hands full. The meds will help slow him down.
Excellent on the meds that's what Purrkins was sent home with Buprenorphine and Gabapentin; we had instructions to space the gabapentin and buprenorphine one hour apart and not give at the same time. Please do discuss this with your vet. I highly recommend both meds; the gaba will help with any nerve pain. The buprenorphine will take the place of the patch. Great on no pain signals so far!
As for the fridge, yes, it's a tough spot. We had steps in front of the fridge for Purrkins. Oh yes. Our permanent solution we ended up putting a door on our kitchen! We close the kitchen off when we are not home and at night to prevent Purrkins from getting up and down there on his own. Maybe you can look into a cat tree to give him a different safe lookout in the future. They love to be up high and see all angles.
Steps are to protect the remaining limbs as much as possible. You want to think long-term on three legs and reduce the impact on those wherever you can. Purrkins took right to his we placed them in front of his favorite lookout spots, and at our bed anywhere he had to jump down. We put treats on each step to show him the way that's all it took. I know not all cats are agreeable, but they are trainable.
You are right; Gideon will adjust beautifully to three & you will be amazed! Never under estimate a three legged cat;)
I hope the onesie works for you both. 🤞🏻
Keep us posted, please!
Hugs and scratches to Gideon!
Holly & Purrkins 💝💝💝
Oh geez, yeah maybe I should've suspected a baby gate wouldn't work 😂. Keeping him in our bedroom is our next step. The kennel practically increases his activity since he tries so hard to get out. He's now (since my last post) taken to standing on his front legs with the one back leg up on the walls of the kennel. Decided that's probably worse than anything he can do in our room so now he's out
Also since my last post he's managed to get around the cone again and pull out two staples!!! We're in contact with the vet and they're giving us good advice, I guess I just want to vent about it because this is not what I thought would be the hardest part of recovery. I thought pain management and wound dressing would be the biggest concern right now, but nope... He's a wild child for sure!!
I also talked to the vet abt meds, and they said using both together isn't ideal but not off the table. If he needs both for better pain management we can talk again but for now we'll stick with just Bup.
I'm curious what height you consider needing steps. Our beds is less than 2 feet off the ground- do we need steps for that? And what do you recommend for places we don't want him to get, like counters and tables? Is it better to put up steps that encourage him to climb up places we don't want him? I know that even if we don't put up steps he'll still jump up, but we've always tried to discourage him from getting on the kitchen counter and table, so I'd rather not start encouraging him now...
The door to the kitchen is such a great idea! We're in an apartment, so probably can't full-on install a door but we can make something work 🙂
thanks again for all your help, i'm so glad to find more people going through this!
Hehe 😁 We all learn as we go. We only know about the baby gates as we have tried and failed with three gates🙄 And not all cats or animals are the same; we know good luck keeping a cat from jumping up and over. Four gates stacked might do it? We only tried the 3.
Oh yes, the bedroom would be better; wants out that is causing more harm than good. Ugh, no, Gideon no pulling staples already! What did the vet suggest?
Don't let him get under your bed if at all possible. We put our mattress on the floor. You will need to access him for his meds and monitor the pulling of the staples.
Great questions! We do things better safe than sorry here for the above reason.(garfiield) If we can prevent an accident, we are going to. We want to preserve those 3 legs and keep them in the best shape possible. Minus a limb, regardless of which one is affected, takes more force. Here is a good visual of how weight is distributed on normal, front leg amputee, rear leg amputee.
We want our tripawds to grow old as gracefully as possible being down a leg already puts them at increased risk for arthritis. It's all about protecting what we have left. We don't want to see injury to another limb then what? Things we should consider.
We all do things a little differently here, but I think we can all agree that we want our tripawds happy and healthy for as long as possible—adding steps, adding traction (via rug runners or yoga mats, and watching their weight are all important.
If you ask me on the bed my answer is yes. Ask a rear legger member and I'm not sure what they will tell you? I know some have said their cats won't use the steps. We have never had that experience Purrkin's brother even uses his steps. It is what a pet parent does for senior animals help them get where they are going; we do it sooner on 3 legs.
No, you do not want to encourage them to go to areas you don't want them to go. But if they are determined to go you can add a safer option, like a cat tree for Gideon, and encourage him to use that. Then move that to the desired human location later.
We did not figure Purrkins would be jumping right back to his favorite lookout on the kitchen cupboards a little over two weeks after surgery, we were WRONG! Sure enough, he did, so we added the steps to help him get down. Rather than me climbing up and physically removing him. Then, as time went on it was a pain in the arse moving steps; we had to come up with another solution; we added a cat tree that helped him safely get his needed height. Then we moved the cat tree to an ideal spot for the humans and then added a door to the kitchen to close it off altogether. It's a screen partition. We added brackets and hung it, and added a latch to close it.
Purrkins dad was assigned to the permanent door, but that never happened;) This works regardless.
When Purrkins first lost his leg we started out with three sets of steps and moved those around as needed as we learned we had problem areas and added to. We have modified all areas for Purrkins thru the years; we call the house Purrkins palace because it is set up for him on three. We have moved furniture closer together for tiers too.
To give you an idea of what we do and places we put.
We have different height steps
A two steps measure 16 inches tall
A three steps measure 20 inches tall
A four steps measure 24 inches tall
Making a way to go up and down easier is the goal with steps, furniture, boxes, whatever works and you can make happen.
See how things go and reaccess, as time goes on, is my best advice—being mindful of Gideon's three legs. You already are by asking the questions, so kudos to you!
Happy to help in any way we can.
Holly & Purrkins
🫂💝💝💝
Thanks, that chart is really interesting and helpful! I'd heard a front leg is harder but I never knew the weight distributions
Purrkins sounds so funny, and very well cared for! I love the kitchen door, definitely something for us to consider
He does already have a cat tree as well as two lower perches (a window shelf and a bench, both about 2ft up. maybe we'll need stairs for those but they're not as high as counters/tables). He usually likes to sit on his cat tree, but when we're getting his food ready or cooking in the kitchen those tables and counters are irresistible! We'll learn over time what works I suppose, and I'll start setting up box steps today to try them out.
The vet suggested a onesie or recovery suit and maybe a round blow-up collar- he was getting to the site by getting the hard cone under a raised area of the suture, so if he can't move his head back there at all it may work better? Who knows... if all else fails they'll give him some more sedating drugs to stop him from trying to reach it but obviously none of us (vet included) want that so it's really a last resort. For now it's just watching him like a hawk making sure he doesn't get to it again!!
Yikes I just got caught up on Gideon's amputation story. Poor guy! I immediately thought of Holly's cat (she was the first to make us aware that things like this can happen) and am so glad you were able to converse yesterday. Her knowledge is priceless!
How is he doing with the cone? I agree that a double cone can work, we had to do that with our Wyatt a few times. Hopefully you can go grab one so he doesn't need sedation.
As for modifying the house, yes whatever you can do to aid in his landings and jumps is helpful. Cats are smart and he can learn to take the easy way. Some training might be needed but he will let you know if it's necessary.
Keep us posted on what's working!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We hope to hear you guys had had an uneventful night & you were able to do the double cone or onesie & it did the trick?
Yes, see how things go after recovery you will know if you have trouble areas. The kitchen is the worst area to trikitty proof!
Hugs & chin scratch to Gideon, please!
Holly & Purrkins💝💝💝
Well we went to the vet to get the staples redone, and also bought a new cone and onesies (then bought more onesies because apparently he’s size 3-6 months not 0-3 😂). By the end of the day he was just sleepy, probably so done with us messing with him and putting on new cones, onesies, etc.
today he’s doing well and the double cone seems to be working! Only issue is he can’t lie down with both so we’ll go back to the onesie plus one cone at night so he can sleep better. He peed in the onesie this morning and it did get wet, so more troubleshooting to do there…
I’m going back to work now for the first time since the injury (my partner is with him though). Feels so weird to leave him after not leaving his side for like 2 weeks 😭
Oh, Gideon, glad he is patched back up, and you could get another cone and onesies. I figured going potty being a rear leg. He went anyway, that's good! Let us know if you do find a workaround.
Great, the double cone is working! Whoo-hoo. Fingers crossed tonight will be uneventful!
I have to say you have the best attitude going thru all this; that's goes a long way! Gideon will do great picking that up from you!
Oh yes, it will be tough leaving him, and glad to hear your partner can be home. Hopefully, they can keep you posted, so it's less of a worry. Your partner can figure out the wet onesie workaround
Thanks for the update!
Give Gideon a smooch from us, and hopefully, he is done dismantling himself.🤞🏻
Hugs,
Holly & Purrkins💝💝💝
Oh that is too cute that's he's a bigger 'baby' than you thought! But at least you found some options to help him, especially the double cone. We are keeping the Tripawd Power coming your way for an easy night.
Hop you made it through the work day OK! Bet he was glad to see you when you got back.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you both! My partner has been sending pictures and keeping me updated, luckily nothing is going on. I’m still at work now but will definitely be posting Gideon onesie pictures tomorrow!
For any other back leg tripawd parents reading: the onesie is actually pretty good! I kept checking the placement and it shouldn’t block pee or poop- I think it just got soiled bc he peed right when he got up and it shifted in the night. It’ll take some readjusting but if you check it every so often you shouldn’t need to take it off to use the box! But also buy a few just in case lol
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