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
So today is day 7 since surgery.
Rosie and Braden eat Canidae Pure kibble and Honest Kitchen force. Both are grain free . Since coming home from surgery last Thursday Rosie has been eating 4 small meals with pumpkin and steamed plain chicken breast added. EZPZ. Beginning Monday night she was getting more finicky so I added some home made beef stew for flavor and she ate if I fed her. I have been giving her medication and greenies pill pockets peanut butter flavor. Normally she loves these and won't eat them now.
Yesterday I even gave her a few bites of pizza because I needed to give her some meds that she needed food with. By last night she wouldn't even eat anything, and quit drinking as well. The other thing that changed yesterday is that I reduced her tramadol from 2 pills every eight hours, to one pill every six hours, basically reducing it by two pills a day.
The dogs are not used to eating anything other than the regular food and a very occasional treat, like a biscuit or cookie, dog cookie that is.
Today I had my dog sitter watch her so that I could go back to work for a special meeting. He got concerned because she wasn't eating or drinking and called the vet. He took her to our general ver who gave her a pain injection (Buprinex) and said to contact her tomorrow if she still not eating or drinking.
She seems to be sedated, so I don't think it's pain, I think I blew it by giving her all these extra foods that she's not used to and trying to get her to eat. The vet thinks that maybe pancreas inflammation. Anyway if still not drinking tomorrow I have to take her back again for fluids and blood work. The good news is that her incision is perfect. We also got the pathology report today and I think he said it was chondroblastic and the cell growth rate was nine. we see the oncologist next Tuesday when she gets her staples out.
I have read about putting chicken broth in the water and trying other things like chicken and rice. She just buried her head and turns away from me anytime I bring food towards her. She is very lethargic!
what do you guys think? Do you think it's from the food? Do you think it's from decreasing the tramodal? Or something else? Has anyone else gotten through this? If so what did you do?
Much Love! Rosie the Wonder Tripawd and her worried Mom Kellye.
Here was my experience with Chance. His surgery took place exactly three weeks ago on Oct 12th:
- Days 1-4 after surgery, he was eating fine and seemed comfortable and happy
- Day 5 he started getting very lethargic and losing interest in eating. This was around the time we stopped one of the pain meds which was an injectible that went directly into the amp area through a catheter.
- Days 6-12 it was really a battle to get him to finish a meal. For some strange reason the ONLY way I could get him to eat was if we went into the bathroom together and I fed him a bite at a time with my hand. Also, he didn't like different items to be mixed together OR having it served in his normal bowl so I had to put it on a human plate and separate out everything as if a human was eating it! LOL. Like.. a pile of chicken, a pile of cottage cheese, a pile of oatmeal, etc.
- Day 13.. a turnaround! I can't really attribute it to anything in particular other than maybe things were just healing by that point and he was feeling better? He ate his first meal on his own and chowed the whole thing down without any assistance and without having to be in the bathroom!
My one suggestion would be to not taper off the Tramadol right now. We used the full dose every 6-8 hours for the first two weeks and then have been tapering off all pain meds slowly over the past week (week 3).
I wouldn't overly worry at this point which I know is hard since I JUST went through the same thing. Have you tried human baby food? Or canned sardines? Once you find that one thing that perks her interest just stick with that so she eats something. And I really do think she will come around!
Hope this helps. You're doing a great job!
Day 5 he started getting very lethargic and losing interest in eating. This was around the time we stopped one of the pain meds which was an injectible that went directly into the amp area through a catheter.
Days 6-12 it was really a battle to get him to finish a meal. For some strange reason the ONLY way I could get him to eat was if we went into the bathroom together and I fed him a bite at a time with my hand. Also, he didn't like different items to be mixed together OR having it served in his normal bowl so I had to put it on a human plate and separate out everything as if a human was eating it! LOL. Like.. a pile of chicken, a pile of cottage cheese, a pile of oatmeal, etc.Day 13.. a turnaround! I can't really attribute it to anything in particular other than maybe things were just healing by that point and he was feeling better? He ate his first meal on his own and chowed the whole thing down without any assistance and without having to be in the bathroom!
My one suggestion would be to not taper off the Tramadol right now. We used the full dose every 6-8 hours for the first two weeks and then have been tapering off all pain meds slowly over the past week (week 3).
I wouldn't overly worry at this point which I know is hard since I JUST went through the same thing. Have you tried human baby food? Or canned sardines? Once you find that one thing that perks her interest just stick with that so she eats something. And I really do think she will come around!
Hope this helps. You're doing a great job!
Thank you so much! Today is day 7. Day 5 we had the catheter and pain led removed too! 24 hours later she began losing interest in food/drink.
Dqy 6 i reduced the Tramadol.
It probably is pain!!
Thanks for sharing. Let's hope that after gabapentin and 2 tramadol in the morning she will eat.
So happy Chance is doing great.
Much 😊🐕❤️
I would agree with Chances mum... keep the dosage of the pain meds consistent for 2 weeks and then slowly start to reduce them. We struggled a lot day 5-8 to get Zuki's pain meds right and although they come with side effects that aren't ideal either, its comforting that although they are seeing flying pink elephants, at least they aren't in pain. I think because our dogs adapt so quickly we forget what major surgery this is, its a big deal! 🙂
Don't panic too much though, I think most of us experienced some element of diminished appetite with the cocktail of drugs they've had in their system over the last 2 weeks its not really surprising. Just you wait - day 10-14.... Wow you'll see her sparkle come back and you'll know she's feeling loads better!
Keep strong
xx
Zuki Wuggafer 30/09/06 - 11/11/16. Right hind tripawd due to Osteosarcoma. He had a strong 5 and half months as a tripawd but unfortunately a secondary issue with his spine ended our battle. He loved life, loved our family and was the best dog I could ever ask for. Truly my first love, forever in my thoughts and heart.
Read our story: http://zuki.tripawds.com/
Hey there Rosie and Mom💗🐶
Eurydice had her amp 6 months ago tomorrow (!) and she stopped eating and drinking for the better part of one month after amputation.
I had to hand feed her the whole time, she would eat hot dogs for a while and then I started giving her grilled chicken and would alternate with boiled chicken with a bit of olive oil added to the water for extra taste.
Don't worry if you give her different food for the moment, the crucial thing is that she eats and you can rest assure she will go back to eating her food once recovery is over.
As for water, I got something called Oralade at the vet, apparently it tastes like chicken and dogs love it.
I would mix Oralade with water and give her either this mix or water on its own using a syringe.
I did it for one month.
Her surgeon told me which approximate quantity she needed per day so I would spread the water intake throughout the day and make a note of how many ml she was getting to make sure her daily intake was met.
As for Tramadol quantities etc I do appreciate everybody has advice to give you and they surely mean well 💕 but when it gets to medicine I always address any questions to the vets as each dog is different and what could be the best procedure with mine does not necessarily apply to others.
Stay focused and you'll see recovery will be behind you both before you know it!
Sending you a big bear hug 🐻 and cuddles to your cutie pie 🐾🐾🐾🐶💕
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Thanks Eurydice and Mom! Last night when I went to take her out for the last daily potty excursion she was holding her TPLO leg up and trying to hop on 2 Legs. I think it's most likely pain. I tried again to feed her last night and she ate enough to take the Rymadyl and Gabapentin. 😀😀😀😥. Hopefully when we go out today the pain will be less. Fingers crossed.
Happy 6 month 🎉 and congratulations! What a day to celebrate!! Woot woot! 🐄🐄
We LOVED gabapentin post-op. My FIL is a psychiatrist and was saying that the gaba does has some sedative effects so we tried to hit it every 12 hours for good sleep and naps.
Don't try to come off the pain meds early. Milk it for all you can!
We did some sub q fluids. She is also eaten two small meals and had a dose of tramadol and gabapentin because she ate we were also able to give her the anti-inflammatory. So the last time she went out to go potty she even drink out of the water bowl. So I really think it was just pain! What a roller coaster this is!! Thanks again for the support and feedback.
Mom Kellye, Rosie the Wonder Tripawd and her faithful sidekick Braden
Those are great news 👏🏽👏🏽
Rosie is drinking and eating 🍼🍗🍖 and you are keeping her pain under control 💊💊💊
Keep up the good work 👍🏼
Sending you lots of hugs and cuddles to sweet Rosie 💗🐾🌹💗
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Zuki said
I would agree with Chances mum... keep the dosage of the pain meds consistent for 2 weeks and then slowly start to reduce them. We struggled a lot day 5-8 to get Zuki's pain meds right and although they come with side effects that aren't ideal either, its comforting that although they are seeing flying pink elephants, at least they aren't in pain. I think because our dogs adapt so quickly we forget what major surgery this is, its a big deal! 🙂Don't panic too much though, I think most of us experienced some element of diminished appetite with the cocktail of drugs they've had in their system over the last 2 weeks its not really surprising. Just you wait - day 10-14.... Wow you'll see her sparkle come back and you'll know she's feeling loads better!
Keep strong
xx
Thank you. This really helped. She drank a bit of water and about ate a cup by hand. Progress. Day 7 today. Staples come out day 12. Thanks for all!
❤️🐕❤️
This is certainly progress! I'm so pleased. Yay for sweet Rosie!
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Alrighty Rosie the Wonder Tripawd Dog, your Mom wants ro get off this roller coaster, okay? I know it's still eearly in your recovery and ups and downs are normal, but they freaknus humans out!! 🙂
Soooo glad to hear she's feeling better AND resting comfortably! Rest, rest, rest!!
Keep us in the loop, okay?
Lots of hugs to all!
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!
Rosie and Kelly --
Chance and I made this little video for you. Hope it helps give you inspiration to get through these next couple of weeks!
We are new here, and our big guy Cooper is about at the same post-op point as your Rosie. Glad to hear that she has stabilized, and things are looking up.
After surgery, Coop was sent home with Vicodin (no other meds), which was great for pain, but really knocked him out and made his digestion slow down, and, he started burping a lot! His surgeon said that we could give him a Pepcid (Famotidine)10mg tablet, 1 hour prior to each meal (we're feeding him only morning and evening to try and stay regular). The Pepcid seems to have helped Cooper with his burping, drooling and also with his appetite. Of course, anyone thinking about giving Pepcid would need to check with their own vet to ensure that this is OK, and that there are no contraindications with other meds.)
Hope your girl continues to improve, keep us updated please.
hoppalong & Cooper
hoppalong said
We are new here, and our big guy Cooper is about at the same post-op point as your Rosie. Glad to hear that she has stabilized, and things are looking up.After surgery, Coop was sent home with Vicodin (no other meds), which was great for pain, but really knocked him out and made his digestion slow down, and, he started burping a lot! His surgeon said that we could give him a Pepcid (Famotidine)10mg tablet, 1 hour prior to each meal (we're feeding him only morning and evening to try and stay regular). The Pepcid seems to have helped Cooper with his burping, drooling and also with his appetite. Of course, anyone thinking about giving Pepcid would need to check with their own vet to ensure that this is OK, and that there are no contraindications with other meds.)
Hope your girl continues to improve, keep us updated please.
hoppalong & Cooper
Thank you for sharing. Rosie, Cooper and Gabbar all were the same week.
A trio of Tripawds! 🐕🐕🐕
So - the difficulties with eating has got us on a different schedule. I can go back to 2 meals a day and give the Rymadyl at breakfast and dinner. So can leave off the 2 small meals. Still having to hand-feed her and entice her with peanut butter toast, but at least she will eat her kibble and honest kitchen regular food.
Today is a better day. She slept outside for a nap, and laid in the grass, in the sun. When I went to check on her she was on her back, legs up and scratching her back. When she saw me she flipped over and sat up with a great big smile. 😀😀 Relief!!!
Staples come out Tuesday and she has an appointment with the Oncologist. Board Certified. Looking forward to hearing about how we can kick cancer's butt to the curb.
I want to add some pictures of the pack but can't find the instructions. Anyone have a link?
thanks all!!
1 Guest(s)
