Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
New member bad English, please bear with me 🙂
I have read some posts but I would like a more specific answer…
I have two cats. I found the first one in 2011 2 months old and the second one a year later at about the same age. The first one didn’t get along with the second so after 10 long years of bullying I gave the first to my mom. Now he has been diagnosed with spindle cell soft tissue sarcoma on his plalanx (front leg between the second and third paw) and as you understand the vet said the only way he has a chance for cure is total amputation of this leg. We haven’t seen any other metastasis and maybe he will make it through the surgery… he is almost 13 years old and fat 7,5 kilos but he is bigger than the average cat.
If he survives will he adjust? Or am I condemning my mom to a life that she cannot leave the house because the cat may fall or break the other front leg?
I have read a lot about cancer, about amputation, about statistics, about changes I have to do in her house to make it easier for him but it is possible he won’t adjust… it’s possible he will die one year later of some other underlying condition which is not apparent yet it’s possible he hates it….
Anyway I took this decision, I will try to make it work because he may have 2 or 3 good years and leaving him untreated as my mother believes and to die when his times comes is not easy for me either, but I am afraid of the recovery period. I cannot believe it is as easy as everyone says it is …
Thank you for your time sorry if my thoughts are confusing!!
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
Hi Anna, welcome. Your English is GREAT, no apologies necessary.
The problem with not amputating is that a tumor like that will eventually grow, rupture, make a big disgusting bloody mess all over the house, and your cat will be in excruciating pain. An amputation or euthanasia decision will have to be made under pressure. So why wait?
I wouldn't say that recovery is easy, but it's not as hard as you might imagine. Animals adapt so much better than we give them credit for. IF your cat's pain management is good, recovery will be smoother. There may be a problem or two (usually just a matter of adjusting pain control), but generally after a few weeks your mom's cat will be back to their usual self.
As far as all those What If questions....nobody can predict the future. Anything can happen, sickness, whatever, good or not good. We rarely hear about an animal breaking their other legs after surgery but I can't guarantee that won't happen either. It's rare, though. But the important thing is to make a decision that you can live with, knowing your cat's unique purrsonality.
See our Amputation on a Very Old Cat posts to learn how other older cats adapted to amputation.
Thank you for taking the time to respond!
It took him over 2 weeks to heal from the biopsy alone (they took only 3 pieces 0,4 cm) ..see my point?!
I have read these posts but thank you for pointing them out … amputation is probably the right choice because as you said I feel it would be more difficult for me to leave him untreated.
These days I am adapting the home environment to ensure safety and comfort for him so let’s hope he survives first (19/7/24 is the big day) and adapts later 🙂
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
I know there are much more qualified people than me to respond. However, my dog had a biopsy (10 year old lab) on 6/12/24. He had finally pretty much recovered by 6/29 but still had the large cast. On 7/1 I had his leg amputated. It was a very hard decision for me and I do still wonder if I made the right decision…but I do really think I did.
For me I made the decision because there really was not a decision to be made. It was let him limp and be in pain from the soft tissue sarcoma in his back left leg and possibly fracture the leg and than eventually euthanize him when I felt the pain was too bad or amputate the leg and get rid of the pain and hopefully buy him some more time. As he was completely happy and full of life I felt the only thing I could do was the amputation. I won’t say it has been easy because it has not. However I still have my dog with me and he doesn’t seem to be in pain. As it is only two weeks post amputation and he has a wound on one of his other legs he is not back to himself. Maybe 50% of what he normally is like. I know it’s still early in his recovery so I am trusting the recovery process and that he will once again be his usual goofy self. I really think he will.
I hope this helps. I know what a big decision it was for me to make and while I have my moments I really think I made the right decision for me and my dog.
Thank you Amy for sharing your experience!
I ve read a lot of scientific literature on cancer, a lot of posts here, several articles etc and I think that the best chance of cure is to excise the primary tumour quickly before it spreads.
I am not questioning my decision since this morning (it’s 11:11 here in Greece) and Purrkins post from 2016 helped me a lot.
My mom is wondering though that it would be easier or better for him to leave it untreated and to die whenever he s supposed to. I think I would be sorry if I took that decision because of the possible metastasis and pain. Then it would be late for me to save him. The docs said that spindle cell sarcomas are rather aggressive and proposed no chemo or radiation pre or post surgery.
I believe you took the right decision and since your dog survived and is back home pain free eating drinking etc the hard part is over. Recovery is a unique process for every animal so little steps everyday will bring the desirable results.
You cannot do anything else than helping your dog to feel better and this will make you feel better as well.
My cat for example is aggressive, he cannot be handled easily by the vet, when he is in need of pills of antibiotics for example he won’t take them, we have to mix it in the food and after some days he stops eating. He doesn’t drink or eat with the cone. That’s why I am so afraid of the recovery time if he wakes up from anesthesia since he is that old (13). I really don’t know what I am afraid of more the surgery itself or the recovery period…But I think this is the only way so we have to go through this with him - for him and make our best…
I really hope your dogs gets better quickly. I really hope you feel relieved soon.
Me and my cat Gioukas send you all our ❤️.
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
I wish all the best for you and your cat.
My dog was also diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma. It sounds like you made your decision and it was basically what I thought too that I had to at least give him a chance for a some more pain free time before his time was up.
Sounds like your cat may be a little more difficult than my dog but my dog was a rescue who I got at 7 years old. He is dog reactive—-has gotten so much better with lots of training over the three years—and he also had major problems with the vet. In September I wanted to get a blood panel on him and it couldn’t be done without sedating him. With this vet and the x ray, biopsy, amputation and many bandage changes to his front leg wound that started….he has been a pretty good dog with the vet. I feel like he knows he is vulnerable and being helped so he has been on pretty good behavior.
I won’t lie….i think the recovery process is difficult. I was scared to pick my dog up the day after the amputation. It sounds like you may have trouble giving medication to your cat….my dog is super food motivated so I never worry about that. It’s hard to see your beloved pet looking in pain and confusion…but just know I think they know we are doing the best we can for them. We hit the two week mark yesterday at times it has been maybe a little harder than I anticipated but mostly we are just getting through it. Everyday is not necessarily an improvement. We will have a great day and then there the next maybe not quite as good and that has been a little difficult for me to accept. However, I just had a super nice cuddle with my dog and he seems to be headed back to being himself.
Good luck to you and your cat and I hope you update us.
Thank you Amy!! I will update because I feel better talking to people who know what I am going through and are educated about the situation. The people I am surrounded by do not understand why I am doing this and I feel alone although, they support me the way they can I suppose..but really I feel better after finding this discussion forum which will help me advocate for my cat because I live in a small town and we have only a handful of options for our pets..
Yes my cat is sedated for blood works X-rays or ultrasound… which is very stressful for him. He always vomits during the process he even bites or scratches us under sedation! Anyway hopefully I ll post in a few days … thank you again for your support!
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
Hey there,
not sure what happened to our last posts during maintainance but they are gone:-) or I cannot see them!
In my last post I thanked you all for your support and told you that Gioukas made it through the surgery on Friday. He is still in the clinic and waiting for the call… I hope I will pick him up today if everything is ok.
They didn’t let me see him during the weekend and have no idea how he is doing.. they did send me a video of him hissing at the vet which means he was alright at the time haha.
Anyway my stomach hurts from the anticipation .. I will update as soon as I have news! I really missed you during this long weekend!!!
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
I just got back from the vet. He has to stay inside a couple more days at least because he has to take his meds through the iv. He is not in a good place right now. He is very stressed, dirty, wearing an e collar. He didn’t eat from my hand.
The front leg on the iv was really swollen and I asked the nurse why is the bandage so tight ? She said you are right and we cut it halfway so it can get better. I got furious because they didn’t care to check on him .. they sedated him once more to remove the drain bag… I think it is too soon but ok … and he has a bandage on his chest area for incision protection. I think it’s too tight but she said it’s ok.
I left some chicken chunks on his plate and call them later to tell me if he ate them.
But there is more… as she was trying to get him wear the collar he was resisting and she pulled him from the iv tube! I didn’t yell and I didn’t collapse I just tolde her :you are hurting him please stop! And she said that this doesn’t hurt and he is ok!! I mean wtf??!!!! (Sorry) now I don’t know if the iv is off and maybe he isn’t hydrating and if that’s the case they have to sedate him to get it in again… it’s so sad..
I will call the vet and tell him about my doubts. I think Gioukas is resilient enough to hold on until Thursday but not much more. I think they want him gone as well because he is difficult to handle but I am telling you he is not that hard. They behave as if the cage has a tiger in it. They should get someone who can handle aggressive animals.. anyway I am rumbling.. I feel awful because I know if he comes home tomorrow he won’t eat or take meds for 2 days at least, that’s why I think he has to stay in. On the other hand the conditions there are not optimal and the more he stays the more difficult will be to get back being him..
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
Anma, I'm sorry the posts disappeared, and I'm so glad you are back.
It's really great news that Gioiukas made it through surgery! You're right, he IS resilient and he can absolutely get through these next few days. This is the toughest time in recovery. It's really hard to see our animal at the vet in a situation like this because we do know them better than anyone else. It's also tough for us to know when veterinary care is on track or going off the rails. so I totally understand your stress.
Just keep asking questions as calmly and respectfully as you can manage (it's hard, I know!), and see if it might be better for you to bring him home after those two days are up. Once he is with you he will be so much happier and probably eat, drink, and rest more than he would at the clinic.
Keep us posted OK?
Thank you Jerry for keeping me on track:-)
I visit him everyday because I don’t want him to think I’m leaving him there. https://www.dro.....&dl=0
this was on Friday I couldn’t take a picture on Monday but I will today! I talked to my vet he reassured me about his condition and he said the only thing is imposant now is for gioukas to eat. I told him he won’t eat in there, so he will keep him maybe until Wednesday and Thursday I will take him home. He will try today or tomorrow to remove the iv and understand if the cat is in pain without the opioids or not and then we will discuss about getting him home…
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
Thank you for the pictures. I am glad you are able to visit Gioukas everyday. Gioukas is very sweet looking and looks like a fighter to me. Looks maybe a little confused to be in the position he is in but really looks like he wants to recover and come home to you. Hope to hear from you with continued recovery. Hang in there. Sending positive thoughts and energy to you and Gioukas.
Thank you Amy! I hope so too because I saw him today and he didn’t even look at me.. I felt he gave up but I have faith! The iv is off and tomorrow evening he will be home with us. The vet prescribed gaba and another one I cannot remember. He didn’t eat anything since Friday.. hopefully in his house without the collar under supervision of course, he will eat…
I read about roger as well I think he is doing great! Let’s all be happy for having them back home with us and hope for the best!
Ps I uploaded videos … they seem as pictures??
Gioukas the first born -*Ntoris the wise*- Kimi the cat
I misspoke. It was a video I watched and not a picture.
I am glad you will pick up Gioukas tomorrow. I must agree with you I am worried about him not eating. Hoping you get Gioukas home and eating as soon as possible. Also sorry you felt Gioukas wouldn’t look at you. Probably just stressed out and working on recovering…I am hoping.
Hi Anma!
Wow thanks for those great videos, they really show him in detail. What I am seeing is that his eyes look bright, and he sure looks like he has a fighting spirit. I agree with Amy, I think he is just annoyed and confused. As for him not looking at you, Gabapentin can cause sedation so it could be that the medication kicked in right before you arrived. I wouldn't panic about that.
Yes, getting him to eat is critical. Usually what we see is that for most animals who won't eat at the clinic, if there are no other underlying conditions, taking them home will kick start their appetite.
I am so glad you will have a homecoming for him tomorrow! Keep us posted.
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