Any experiences with leg amputation?

[UhhOhhh]

Our beloved cat had an accident and badly cut his back leg. He initially had a toe amputated. He then got a small infection and had a debriding procedure. He can be a very angry fellow at the vet, he has to have his bandages changed every 3 days and so far they haven’t managed to do that without fully sedating him. Today we managed it but the vet has suggested that he might need to have his leg amputated.

His wound is not healing as they would like and putting him through sedation and the stress every 3 days does not seem fair.

Vet has reassured us that he can live a normal healthy life with 3 legs but its a big decision to make. He’s a young very active cat. Has anyone had any experience with leg amputation or how their cat coped afterwards? Of course I want him as healthy and happy as possible, I just don’t know when is the right time to decide.

I don't have any personal experience but there is an infamous three-legged cat in my town that has a loving home but still decided to get on the local bus to Bristol airport (had to stay in a hotel before coming back), and regularly pops into the local Lidl. He is definitely not impeded by his lack of a fourth leg.

My cat Ghostie broke her back leg when she was about a year old. The vet tried plastering it but it didn't stay in place so they recommended amputation. It's taken me longer to recover from a sprained wrist than it took her to recover from the operation!

Within a matter of days she was hopping around like she was born with only three legs. Honestly it hasn't held her back at all. Very occasionally she'll lose her balance if she's trying to reach for something or jump somewhere that's a bit of a stretch, but other than that, she is grand.

I swear she is faster now than she was on 4 legs. I keep her indoors now but she did a runner out of the front door one day and had a great time for two weeks, exploring the local area. A few people saw her but she was too quick for anyone to catch. They couldn't believe it when I eventually caught her and showed them that she was a tripod 😁

Not sure if I understand correctly but surely stress from sedation for weeks or mo the is better in the long run than an amputation?

This is very reassuring. He is a character for sure. Every morning I have to sneak out to go to work, otherwise he attempts to follow me and even tried to board the bus with me once. Although he has been indefinitely grounded now.

This is what is making it harder, he’s so adventurous and active. But putting him through these stressful and painful vet visits every 3 days is equally awful, with no guarantee that it will heal anyway.

We have to sedate him at home with the hope that he’s calm enough, which has not been the case so far. So they have to keep him in and put him to sleep. That comes with risks. Every 3 days. Not to mention that costs over £200 every 3 days. We could do that for months and it still doesn’t heal. I don’t know what is the better option, I’m really wrestling with it.

Here’s the boy in question.

My cat had his rear leg amputated and lived a further 7 happy years

So we got a dog cage the biggest you can get and he had to stay in that while he healed

Honey on his wound helped it heal in the most amazing way

Puppy pads lines the cage for his mess and we could wild cuddle him daily and entertain him

He couldn't jump as high but still hunted etc

At around 6 months old, my cat had her front leg runover, they decided to amputate the leg (I'm rather fuzzy on the details as it was about 28years ago) she went on to live a full & active life for the next 17 or so years.

Ghostie has always been very active and adventurous. She wouldn't be calm or stay still for long enough for the plaster cast to work. I did speak to the rescue that I had adopted her from and they recommended going for amputation rather than the stress of her having to have continual vet appointments and not being able to run around. The healing time was less for amputation than for the plaster.

It does feel like a horrible decision but it really isn't like an amputation on a person where you lament when you once had etc. If I were in that position again with another cat (although hopefully that won't happen) I would opt for amputation straight away rather than the fuss of trying the plaster and trying to get her to be calm and still for a few days.

My Marv is a tripod. We got him from the shelter who said he was a stray and think he's got his leg stuck somewhere, managed to yank himself free but in doing so badly damaged his leg which was removed. When we went to see him he was the softest most affectionate boy and already seemed well adjusted despite the op only being a few weeks before. He's an oldish lad, who loves to sunbathe in the garden pleased that his stray days are over. He can't get up very high but moves like lightning at the promise of food or potential bird sighting.

Cats do really well on three legs, they recover from an amputation really quickly. However - if you cut one leg off a cat, it’s fine, but if there’s ever a problem with any of the remaining three legs, it’s much more complicated - for that reason, especially in young cats, I do prefer to go for the short term pain/long term gain situation if I feel there’s a decent chance of keeping the leg.

I’d be guided by your vet on this one and don’t be shy about asking them bluntly what they feel is in his best interests - obviously they can’t make the decision for you (especially regarding how much money you are able/willing to spend on redressing every few days) but they can help you to weigh up options.

Our old cat became a tripod and was still able to get about pretty well, although she was quite old and fat when it happened so not the most active in any event. But she could get up stairs surprisingly quickly. The only thing that bothered her was that she couldn't use her missing leg to scratch behind her ear- she'd forget her leg was missing and try, and her little stumpy bit at the hip would move as though she was scratching. So we used to scratch her ears for her.

My neighbour's cat lost a leg as an adolescent and was unbelievably agile. She could jump from the ground onto fences and walk across the top, scale roofs etc.

I looked after a cat while my friend was abroad who had to have his back leg amputated because of cancer. He was only about 5 at the time and very active. I was advised to keep him inside while it healed but he proved to be an escape artist (along with his sister) and managed to not only open doors but wrench the wooden cover I had put over the catflap off. I spoke to the vet and he said it was stressing him out keeping him inside and to let him out as normal and monitor carefully. Which I did and he healed really well.

Obviously I don't recommend doing this as every case is different but they manage fine as tripods. He was scaling the walls and running around as normal. He was like a tank after a few months as his front two legs and chest became more muscly as they were doing more work.

He lived to be an old gentleman and the cancer never came back. He was amazing!

I am currently in hospital,,I just had my right leg chopped,,I was told my wheelchair wouldn't be suitable for the flat until i hav it decluttered ,,upto 5 thousand pounds they have estimated the cost ,am outraged anyone hav any advice or had the same problem,,

@Jw1 this thread is about cats having legs amputated, not humans. So ask @MNHQ to live it to a board you will get more support on. I hope your recovery goes well.

My apologies,