Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Please post questions about pets who are expected to undergo amputation or who have already undergone amputation here, as well as pets born with missing or incomplete limbs.
Post Reply
kalakitty17
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:46 pm

Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by kalakitty17 »

Hi everyone - I am new to this board and am would be very grateful for any insight/help/suggestions you could offer me. Thank you in advance.

Kizzy is our 6 month old kitty and two weeks ago she broke her leg. She was playing, well actually she was running at top speed throughout the house, and she jumped to the 2nd story banister, flew right over it and landed on the hard wood floor. Her leg was bleeding and she couldn't walk (I initially thought she had broken her hip). We rushed her down to our vet and the x-rays showed that her leg was the only break but it had a piece of bone broken off and coming through her skin. We were advised of our options, all of them scary, and we went with what they advised, amputation.

She did very well in surgery and for the first week after but since that first week she's had more and more trouble walking. Yesterday and today have been the worst yet. She will stand up and start to walk but then it's like something happens and she will start to kind of trip backwards,very jerky, awkward movements, and then she will fall or sit down. Sometimes she will even meow, I am not sure if it's out of pain or frustration but it is not her 'happy' meow. She has gotten to where she is getting up less and less - who can blame her?

I have searched the board for similar problems and did find a post very similar but it did not include what they ended finding out. We have talked to our vet and they keep telling us if she is eating/drinking/eliminating normally we should not worry but we ARE WORRIED! Kizzy had been out of pain meds so we got more for her from them last night but they don't seem to make a difference. We are thinking of bringing her back in today but I feel that they will just tell us the same thing.

From what I have gathered in my 'research' it seems like she may be suffering from phantom pains, spasms, or nerve problems. Has anyone else's pet had this problem after an amputation? Does it eventually get better? Is there anything we should be doing other than meds/heat/massage? Please reassure me you don't think it's anything more serious! I know no one can really do that but it would sure be nice to hear. Actually any information would be nice to hear. It's just so hard to see your pet suffer as all of you know. I am so grateful that I found this site, I have learned so much already.
Attachments
IMG_1796.jpg
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14360
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by critters »

:red: What a cute little tortie baby! I suspect she's having a hard time with balance or adjustment for some reason and that it'll pass. If, however, you think it's phantom pain, Neurontin/gabapentin is excellent for that.
User avatar
luvmytripod
Posts: 497
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:54 pm
Location: Chesterville, ON, Canada
Contact:

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by luvmytripod »

Does she still have any stitches? If so, that could be causing some discomfort. It's possible that things are just readjusting/healing and it feels weird and it bothering her. (She's very cute, by the way :wub: )

Jaida had some weird "episodes" for the first few weeks. I was never really sure what caused them. She'd suddenly flinch backwards towards her amputated shoulder, hunch up, and refuse to move/walk. She also screamed when this happened. This was all even with strong pain medication, mind you. It was very distressing for everybody. We would just let her rest her body weight on our legs until she calmed down, then she'd be ok again. I found that if I applied some pressure to the side of her body with the amputation, it was less likely to happen (it usally happened when she pottied or ate for some reason).

I don't know if it's exactly what your kitty is experiencing, but the good news is that these "episodes" gradually started to lessen, until one day they stopped altogether. I think your vet is right...as long as everything else is ok, hang in there, support her and love her, and she'll get back on track.
User avatar
SmokeyBearsMom
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:33 pm

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by SmokeyBearsMom »

What a beautiful baby you have! I am a fairly new amputee owner myself. Except, my Smokey is missing his front right leg. We dealt with something similar with Smokey. He would walk backwards and sometimes have extremely loud cries that were far from his norm. I started to notice that the only time that he would cry out was when that little muscle would wiggle where his leg was-I am assuming that the nerves may not have been fully healed up or that he was just frustrated that he no longer had a leg?? After about a month after his staples were removed, he went back to being his same ole self! I sunk deep when I found out my baby was having his leg taken off! But, I will tell you this-I have never seen my boy feel better in his life..He has lost alot of weight (He was a big one 16 pounds and only 2 years old) He is alot more active and plays every chance he gets. Give it a little while longer...Your kitty will adjust very nicely. If I knew then what I knew now..It would have saved me a weeks vacation a work and ALOT of tears! LOL Good luck!
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by CarolC »

SmokeyBearsMom wrote:I will tell you this-I have never seen my boy feel better in his life..He has lost alot of weight (He was a big one 16 pounds and only 2 years old) He is alot more active and plays every chance he gets. Give it a little while longer...Your kitty will adjust very nicely.
That is such a wonderful story about Smokey. I wanted to give you a link I thought you both would enjoy, but it is down right now. If it is working tomorrow, I'll post it. :)
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by CarolC »

Thankfully the links work now.

Image
Image

This is Tiger and his gallery page is here:
http://www.handicappedpets.com/gallery/tiger0407/index.htm
User avatar
SmokeyBearsMom
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:33 pm

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by SmokeyBearsMom »

HEY!!! He looks just like my boy... same leg and all! LOL
kalakitty17
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:46 pm

Re: Kizzy cat having problems 2 weeks post-op

Post by kalakitty17 »

Thank you all so much for the advice and support offered during some terrifying times for us. I apologize for not coming back sooner to thank you and give you an update.
Hopefully Kizzy's story will help ease some worried parents in the future.
Kizzy's post-op difficulties got steadily worse after my last post. She was to the point that she would not walk anymore out of frustration it seemed. Every time she would try to get going remaining muscles seemed to pull back and it would flip her over. It was AWFUL to watch! It was EVERY time she tried to walk! Violent flipping/cartwheeling.
We took her back to the vet a few times and they couldn't figure anything out but gave her gabbapentin and taught me massage techniques (that seemed to make it worse and her miserable). We had an appt. to take her to a specialist when all of a sudden she started to get better! Slowly but surely she improved and now she is back to full of energy little girl she was prior to her accident. I still worry and always will but that is just me, not her.
Thank you all again.
Post Reply