Our boy was hit by a car on Boxing Day, shattering his right femur. It was too badly damaged to plaster, so he had a femoral head ostectomy (basically, the head and neck of the femur where they join the pelvis have been removed entirely, and a "false joint" of cartilage will grow. It's usually very successful in cats and should give him 95% of his original mobility back.)
The operation itself was successful and cat is healing well. However, he's still knuckling over with the foot, dragging it behind him rather than placing it properly - although he will sometimes place it correctly and try to bear a little weight. The vet has examined him several times since the op and concluded that he does have some feeling in the foot though perhaps not as much as he should, so he doesn't properly recognise that he's dragging his foot. She suspects that a fragment of the femur may have compressed the sciatic nerve after the accident.
The vet has referred for physio, which seems a good idea to build up the strength of the leg and help mobility, but also for acupuncture, which I'm less sure about. She said that sometimes it can be very helpful for nerve re growth and may help the brain "remember" that the foot exists. But it's not cheap, and I'm wary of paying possibly hundreds of pounds for a therapy which is no better than a placebo.
Has anyone's cat (or other pet) undergone acupuncture with positive results? Or any experience of femoral head ostectomy/other leg surgery and recovery afterwards?
Thanks - from me and limpy boy :)