Cat to have leg amputated

October

Hi,

My cat is going to have his leg amputated on Monday. He is 8 years old. Before I got him, he broke his leg when he was about 1 years old and had, I think, about three operations and had pins, etc inserted. Actually this cat used to belong to Franknfurther mentioned in stickies above

Anyway, he started having problems a few months ago and apparently one of the pins had became dislodged and made it's way in the knee joint and that pin was removed about two months ago. He was ok for about 4 weeks and then it was like he was back to square one. It appears now the knee is starting to crumble and the leg has to come off.

That was a long introduction - sorry!! My question is - has anyone had a cat go through this operation and how was the recovery? The vet said he will manage without the leg which I'm happy he will, I'm just wondering how he will cope for the first few weeks.

Thanks

Feargal as Luimneach

Easy enough operation to remove either a hind or foreleg in cat. From the sounds of it the cat will be in a loss less pain when the leg is gone. The cat will be sore for a few days but vet will give him painkillers. Cats adapt easily to having only 3 legs. Your cat will be a new cat after operation.

mymo

My sister in law had a cat that had one of her front legs removed, They kept her in a large dog crate, and let her out in evenings when kids in bed and windows all closed, she was a bit wobbly for a couple of weeks but recovered very quickly and even caught the odd rabbit. They had to try and keep her in as they worried about her getting injured, but she lived for several years with 3 legs (and died of something unrelated, I think liver problem), so your cat should be fine.
Best of luck.

October

Thanks for the replies. Yes, he's been in pain for a good few months at least, so it will be a hugh improvement. Maybe now he will stop slapping my other cat any time she comes near him for a cuddle:D
I wonder will he be able to jump as well with only one back leg? He's an indoor cat but he does like to jump up onto the kitchen counter to supervise me getting his food ready and also likes jumping up on the window sills.

I suppose the first couple of weeks will be the worst and then he should adapt, hopefully.

Thanks

Taltos

OP - your vet is 100% spot on here.

You really should not be concerned too much as your cat will be much better off shortly.
Do take some time and some precautions as above, they will be a bit wobbly for a while but will quickly adapt. Also if you think about it since it is a hind leg jumping down from heights will still be just as it was so no relearning too much there in terms of how to initially land, though they may fall over once or twice until they get the hang of it.

In terms of the cat swiping at the other one to go away - don't think a leg amputation equates to a personality swap expect that other cat to get swiped a bit more in fact

Best of luck and wish your cat a speedy recovery.

October

Taltos wrote: »

In terms of the cat swiping at the other one to go away - don't think a leg amputation equates to a personality swap expect that other cat to get swiped a bit more in fact

That was probaby wishful thinking on my part:D I was thinking maybe he didn't want her near in case she hurt his leg! Maybe one day they will be friends!!!

Thanks for the reply, I'm just nervous about the first week or two!

Samba

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/bionic-cat-walks-on-prosthetic-legs/

There's hope yet, he might walk on all fours again some day soon

October

Samba wrote: »

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/bionic-cat-walks-on-prosthetic-legs/

There's hope yet, he might walk on all fours again some day soon

Wonder if my VHI will cover that