Need Feel Good Stories about 3-Legged Cats

[Sweetums_Mom]

My barn kitty, probably over 10 years old, got her hind leg amputated over almost 3 weeks ago. She was in my truck’s engine when I started it up…:eek:. She lived in a cat house (heated pad inside) on my front porch but in her previous life (about 5 years ago), she lived in a garage and she was always trying to get into mine.

So, after the surgery and while she was recuperating, I kept her in a small room in my heated tack room. Couldn’t let her have the full use of the room as there is a cat door and she’s not fond of the other 3 cats. Fast forward 3 weeks and all looked good. When she first came to me 2 years ago, she did live in the tack room but was not happy and barely came in to eat which is why DH built the cat house.

I had planned on her hanging out with my friend in her trailer next to the barn but within minutes, she bolted out the door. Finally found her in the garage. She’s now there with a box and towels, food and water. She has ventured out a couple of times but wants right back into the garage.

My question and hope is, will she go back to “normal” and hang out outside and go to her cat house (food/water/shelter) or should I set something up more permanent inside the garage?

[accidental_cowgirl]

Our family had a cat that had to have a front leg amputated when it got horribly injured, we think under the neighbor’s car engine (the cat somehow dragged himself home, through the snow). My parents nearly euthanized him instead of doing the amputation, but their vet convinced them he would adapt. The cat was about 4 years old at the time. He did indeed recover and entirely adapt to being 3-legged. Once he was fully healed, he want back to his normal indoor/outdoor life (this was in Anchorage Alaska, and he regularly went out in the snow, just as before). To our family’s amazement, he even learned to leap up to the railing on our deck and catch birds “one handed”. He lived to a ripe old age, and the lack of a leg never was an issue.

[Sweetums_Mom]

Thank you Cowgirl! I guess I just need to allow her time to get used to her new reality. She’s been more active in the garage, coming out to see me when I come in, etc. She has looked outside a few times when I’ve opened the door but stayed in…although I don’t blame her…it’s been cold and yucky here!

[Brown_Derby]

I boarded with one for years. Tripod was the only cat, so situation was a little different. She had a cat door into the barn office. She had tortitude and was an outstanding mouser.

I’d set up a place for your kitty in your garage, since she seems to prefer that area–and we don’t want her crawling back up into the truck for warmth.

[dressagetraks]

I’m interested in this, too. I just today was appealed to by a friend at church who fosters. She has an older kitty (adult but I don’t think senior; I think she was using older to distinguish from her usual kittens) who is a new tripod. Her people who had had her a few years turned her in at the shelter. She got hurt, and they didn’t want to deal with the vet. So in essence dumped the cat, at least not on the street. Turns out when the shelter vet saw her, the injury was not new, crushed leg that was already well on the way to bones healing wrong. The family had just been letting it “heal.” Poor cat had to have been in pain. She was so bad finally that her people did decide to do something with her, so she was dropped at the shelter. The vet amputated. Too complex to fix at this badly healing stage. My foster friend has had her a few weeks in recovery. Says she is a total attention-starved love bug. She’s healed well. Friend is now looking for a home for this girl who isn’t going to be that adoptable, being adult and a tripod. She wants me to take a look.

Sigh. I might drop by on Thanksgiving on the way back from family to meet her. I’m a little worried about my multiple cat situation. Of course, this one if she comes would be indoor only, but I have multiple cats there, too. But my foster friend also has multiple cats, some young and frisking, and she says this one just retreats to herself when she’s had enough. Isn’t bothered by it.

[Marshfield]

I do very limited orthopedics, but usually end up doing one to two amputations per year. Most of the cats are mobile and happy 2 to 3 days post op

[Sweetums_Mom]

Thank you all! My head (and vet who did the surgery) said that she would be ok but my heart is worried. However, yesterday, I had the overhead garage door open for an hour (it wasn’t that cold) and then closed it and went into the house. A few hours later, as the dogs and I were exiting the people door, there she was wanting to come in. So, she had been out for a few hours.

She has a makeshift bed made of a box cut out in the front so she can get in and out easily and an old fleece saddle pad with some plush towels. The garage is always a good 10-20 degrees warmer than outside. I was thinking of bringing her portable heated cat house that she used before but I keep hoping that she will just go back outside like normal and only come into the garage occasionally.

Anyway, she is more mobile than I thought she would be and is already jumping up and down on things and I think I’m just overly worried about all of this. Jetlag looks a lot like my kitty!

[Sweetums_Mom]

UPDATE…I don’t know about you but I always like to hear updates… Any way, my 3-legged kitty is doing great. She’s now out and about and will actually leave the garage. She’s back to eating in her normal spot and seems to be getting around great. She still wants into the garage but I pick the times when I will let her in.

[sophie]

My neighbor’s cat is 3-legged and it doesn’t prevent him from terrorizing MY cat lol - he trees her regularly

[Big_Tag]

TL;DR: if you are a four-legged small creature, you won’t miss a leg.

I am late to this, and obviously your kitty is doing great. But years (like…25ish) ago, my dad’s office started feeding a fully functional, young, stray female kitty (we’ll call her YSFK from here on out). Fast forward to 25 years minus 3 months ago…we happened to stop at my dad’s office on a weekend for some inane reason and there were KITTENS (!!!) everywhere, and but minutes later, YFSK come hobbling out of the woods on 3 legs, all “about time you arrived. Feed these kids and fix my leg.”

Which happened. Her kittens found homes with employees (nothing says “adopt me” like kittens in the office), and YSFK had her left hind amputated (per vet, she was either kicked HARD or somehow managed to get hit by a car only on her lower leg) and literally never looked back. She insisted on being indoor/outdoor. Flew around on three legs like it didn’t matter, and was 10,000% fine on three legs till she just died of being an old office kitty.

[Sweetums_Mom]

Thank you Sophie and Big_Tag! I guess I was just so worried and felt guilty that I hadn’t somehow checked my truck engine before starting it and just hoped she would be ok! I now check and see if I see her and another kitty who hangs around the cars and sometimes honk the horn or bang on the hood. Never want to go through that again!

[Feliz]

Great update!