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
Wrigley had her leg amputated on Monday and came home Tuesday.
Tuesday
and Wednesday went very well, but Thursday and Friday she has slowed
down a lot. She is sleeping most of the time. Still eating and drinking
with the bowl put right in front of her. Gets up occasionally to
"shift".
Still pooping and peeing, but just not as frequently as she did the first 2 days.
I
am trying not to worry and remind myself this is normal- just looking
for those of you who have done this part already to confirm.
I
also am not sure about her swelling. What is "normal" . The vet said
that there would be some- hers runs right at the bottom of the incision
and a little under her belly. How long does this last?
Thanks for the support and advice.
Seanne and Angel Wrigley
Hi Wrigley and family
The activity level (or lack of) sounds about right for this time frame. It takes a couple of days for the anesthesia to work it's way out of the system and wrigley is most likely more sore now than he was the first couple of days.
As for the swelling - yes some is to be expected but be watchfull. If there seems to be a lot of fluid build up (a seroma ) you may want to get Wrigley checked out by the vet. I think someone posted pics of what a seroma looks like sometime a few months ago. A search of the forum for that term may help you in identifying any problems.
Hugs to Wrigley - you'll get there.
Connie & Radar
Wrigley's healing sounds right on track, remember to take it a day at a time & the first couple of weeks are really hard. Take it an hour at a time, if you need to!
The "swelling" you refer to is what I imagine a seroma . Seromas are normal also and most resolve by themselves given time. If it makes you feel better, you can apply some heat to them. I used warm washcloths on Calamity. Her seroma looked like a girls boobie hanging from her chest! LOL! If I remember right, Calamity's seroma was gone by the 2 week mark.
Take time to relax, this period after amputation is such a trying time. Lean on any of us here, we'll get you through it. This forum kept me sane!
Janie & Calamity
Janie & Calamity http://www.trix.....gspot.com/
thank you for the words of encouragement and advice. It looks like
the pictures posted - I hope it doesn't get worse. I can't imagine
trying to get her in a car now to get to the vet.
Another question on her pain.
She
just let out a gut wrenching screech/yelp just laying there- she is on
50 mg of tramadol 3x a day and still has her patch on until tomorrow.
When do I know if the yelping is cause to take her back to the vet. She
crawled in my lap and calmed down - is still panting quite a lot, but
calming down.
thanks
Seanne and Angel Wrigley
Hi Wrigleys family.......Im Max's mom. Max is post amp by 9 days. If you look at my past posts, I think you will see alot of similarity with what you are describing. Max also did really welll the first couple of days and has since slowed down. He sleeps most of the day and will only eat and drink if we give it to him. Water he will only drink out of a bowl with ice and water in it and his food we have to put a bit of warm broth (sodium free) with it. I, too have been worried sick over this behavior but with the help of all of the wonderful people in this forum, am takiing it day by day. I do believe that the drugs make a HUGE difference in the way that they act. Max will be done with his Rimadyl tomorrow so Ill be able to tell you if there is an improvement. When Max goes outside he doesnt want to come back in. He layed down in the yard today (we live in Il....pouring rain and cold!) and I had to lift him to get him to come back in the house. He is really just kind of out of it. As Calamity's mom said...this forum does keep you sane...so let all of us help you stay positive and calm. Im ahead of you in the recovery process, so Ill keep you informed on whats to come. Max has chemo for the first time Tue and that will be a whole new experience. This first two week period is a tough one. Hang in there!
Paula and Spirit Max
Thnaks for the update! Welcome hoe to Wrigley, all seems well from what you describe. Seromas after amputation are pefectly normal and harmless. If it is seeping, your vet can easily drain it.
Don't confuse side-effects from the heavy pain killers for additional pain. We dogs can often handle pain better than the dopey feeling and pink elephants Fentanyl can make us see. Wait until the patch comes off and see how Wrigley feels then. You may be surprised.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
You all are angels- yes you are keeping me sane. I am so grateful to have the support you all are giving me.
Well,
I just took Wrigley up to the vet ( our regular vet, not the one who
did her surgery- they are closed today). I was in a panic because all
of a sudden she developed a huge swelling on her neck- top of the
incision-I just needed the vet to tell me it was OK. I am so afraid I
am going to miss something and cause more harm. He tried to drain it,
but wasn't too successful. Quite a bit of blood came out, but not what
he wanted. We are back home and sleeping with an ice pack on the large
mass on her shoulder.
The patch comes off tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
Thanks so much.
Seanne and Angel Wrigley
My people were concerned about what seemed to be a new mass above my incision after the surgery. Turned out to be scar tissue ... perhaps that's why the needle drew blood. Seromas usually form below the surgery site where fluid will build up.
Sounds like all is well. The best thing you can do is try to relax and remain strong. Just take it one day a ta time ...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Be careful about using warm compresses. When I did that Titan's seroma burst. His was pretty extreme (those are the pics posted on here) I could actually see inside of him because the staples came apart from the build up. Keep Wrigley as low key as you can. I know its hard but it will help her recovery in the long run. Stay strong
Heidi and Titan
Calamity developed a "knot" in her neck after she surgery as well as her seroma "boobie". the knot in her neck went away as well as the seroma .
She yelped in pain for quite a while during the first 10 days. We had to assume it was phantom pain & put her on gabapentin as well as adding another patch when her first one wore out. Lots of dogs do differently on different pain meds. We felt Calamity needed more to control her pain. Maybe the fact that she had almost a year on tramadol & metacam made a difference in her pain tolerance.
You can read Calamity's blog to compare Wrigley's healing if you wish, it might help.
Janie & Calamity
Janie & Calamity http://www.trix.....gspot.com/
Titan said:
Be careful about using warm compresses.
Good reminder Titan! Our recommendations for using Bella's Hot/Cold Pain Relief Pack mention to use a cold compress if there is swelling. Use heat when there is stiffness but no swelling, like for bad hips.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Wrigley - I hope you're feeling better after the pain patch came off today...?
The first 2 weeks are really, really hard to get through - Zeus didn't have any swelling or seeping or seromas, but he did pant the entire 2 weeks he was on the pain medicine. I took him into the Vet a few times during those 2 weeks more as a sanity check for me I guess and they said everything was healing well and that the panting was normal.
We'll keep you guys in our puppy prayers...please keep us posted on how she is feeling.
Love Mom and Zeus
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Wrigley is doing better today. The swelling on the neck appears to
have moved to the belly. She is having just a little oozing out of the
bottom of the incision.
She didn't sleep well last night. Had a tough time getting comfortable. My daughter and I took turns sleeping at her side.
I
took the patch off early this am. She ate a little breakfast, went out
to go potty- and drank a little water. She seems to be very alert-
watching my every move. She layed down in the lawn and soaked up
a little sunshine.
She's been laying low and I am trying to keep
her just laying around. Definitely not as much yelping so far
today as there was yesterday.
Thanks to everyone for all the
words of wisdom and encouragement. You truly are heaven sent- I can't
imagine this journey without you all.
We'll keep you posted.
Seanne and Angel Wrigley
Glad to hear Wrigley is better today. Zeus's mom talked about panting and Max does that occasionally too. If I give him water with ice in it when he is panting it seems to help. I can relate to the sleeping at their side. I havent slept in my bed since the surgery and spent a couple of nights on a dog mat under the kitchen table next to Max. I have become one with the couch!! 🙂
Keep up the good work Wrigley and hang in there. Its a stressful and scary time but it does get better!
Paula and Spirit Max
It sounds like things are turning around for Wrigley now. Bonnie reacted the same way and we took the pain patch off the second day after surgery. We used Bella's pack on Bonnie non-stop after surgery. We kept a replacement pack in the freezer at all times. It also helped protect the stitches so I really liked that. It is not exceedingly cold and Bonnie really liked having it on.
It took a long time for Bonnie to get back up to speed. All dogs go at their own pace. She let me know when she wanted to get up most of the time, but sometimes I would just start helping her up by picking up her back end. She still likes help every now and then.
I know what it is like sleeping on the floor. We put a mattress down on the tile, but it was still hard. The worst part was getting up off the floor.
It's all worth it though. Wrigley knows you love her and that is all that matters.
chris-bonnie
1 Guest(s)
