Cat needs hind leg amputated

[MrsSwears2Much]

Hi all. My gorgeous girl was attacked on Sunday night, and after close monitoring the vet has decided her leg can't be saved.
Can I get tips to make the recovery and future easier for her.

My cat had his front leg amputated, after a dog attack many years ago (he is no longer with us) Had to keep him in a cage for a week, although we did let him out to eat and use the cat litter tray. They are able to adapt quite quickly, my cat scaled a 6 ft fence after a few weeks trying to escape.

Just have to keep her calm and try not to let her do too much the first few weeks.

Your poor cat. They recover well though from what I’ve heard, animals are very adaptable compared to humans.

Poor cat, but I will say both dogs and cats cope remarkably well and I’m sure they’ll be fine soon

Poor thing. She's gorgeous.

My cat was hit by a car many years ago and had to have her hind leg amputated.
We cat-proofed the small bedroom (blocked off the gap under the bed etc) and made it very comfortable as a safe space for her while we were out at work, and she was climbing the six-foot garden fences again within 6 weeks.
She's now 15 and going strong, though she's now pretty arthritic and on daily medication.

She has one of the most beautiful cat faces I have ever seen.
I foster for an animal charity and unfortunately we do deal with cases like this quite often, I can reassure you that generally cats recover very well from amputations and go on to live long, happy and active lives. Just follow all the advice from your vet carefully and keep an eye on her. She might need some adjustments at home but she might not, it really depends. As with all things, lots of fuss, attention and healthy food always helps with a good recovery. Wishing you and your gorgeous girl all the best.

Aww. No advice but I've seen three-legged cats out and about and they seem to manage fine. I hope the amputation goes well.

Oh my what a beauty, no advice I'm afraid, but wishing you well, I'm sure she'll surprise you with how well she adapts.

I have a few ikea bekvam stools to help her jump onto higher surfaces. She needed them a lot to start with (even to get onto the sofa/bed). Now she just uses them to get onto my desk or the window sill, which are obviously a lot higher. She initially needed quite a low, shallow litter tray, bit over time she got better at using a deeper/higher sided tray.

If you're going to keep her as an indoor cat from now on (mine is, but not all tripods are) remember to adjust food accordingly. The last thing you want is her to gain weight and increase strain on her remaining limbs.

On the bright side, no more counter surfing!

join ‘ boris’ recovery’ it’s a fb group lots of good advice

Thank you everybody.
I will look out the kids old bathroom stool to place by the sofa. And buy a lower litter tray. I also bought an orthopaedic bed for her as I read a firmer bed is better? I'm just so sad for her. She is my little shadow and I don't want her personality to change after the trauma.

My friend’s ginger lad lost a back leg after a horrible encounter with plastic wraps and a fence. He brought home a pidgeon for his dad two days after surgery... Friend genuinely wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or horrified - Kev didn’t break sweat nailing it, let alone burst any stitches.

They adapt brilliantly, and Kev was still the same slightly bonkers killing machine he was before the op.

One of my childhood cats had 3 legs. Tbh, after he had healed he lived a pretty normal life until he became an old cat. Then he needed a bit of help jumping up and down from things, eg windowsills, beds so we built him lots of 'ramps' (piles of books, boxes etc) for his favourite places.

He couldn't accelerate very well so we were very careful about him not going on roads and near dogs. We changed to keeping him in at night. But he lived a long and happy life!

You'll need to take her lead and have a quiet safe place for her to recover in if she needs it. Sending her healing vibes!

Our little felix type boy managed fine on 3 legs. He was well known - and well fed in our neighbourhood!

My lovely cat Boy was three legged. He was a big hulking tabby and lost his hind leg when he was 1 year old, a year before I acquired him. I did make him a bit aggressive towards other animals, which is why he came to be rehomed. I think he was so used to being the alpha, and then suddenly felt very vulnerable which manifested as aggression. He was a soppy old boy really though.

He could be quite lazy, and easily over ate so we had to be careful not to overfeed him. I think it's easy for three legged cats to get overweight, and hard for them to shed the weight once they do. We gave him dried food in a puzzle feeder to keep him stimulated and stop him guzzling too much in one go.

He died quite young, at about 7 years old. We think he had heart failure, and I wonder if it was due to the extra strain of carting around his big body on three legs. I'm no vet so that could be nonsense, but might be worth keeping an eye on.

I miss my Boy. He was a great cat, and his three legged-ness only added to his character!