We have a 2 year old cat named Lily who got caught in barbed wire and since we couldn't find her was stuck there overnight. We did not find her till the next morning.
The vet tried to save her leg but the gash in her belly was nasty and the inside of her back leg had lost circulation and so it had to be amputated. She was SO sick. They stapled her up at first and she would growl any time she moved or we tried to move her because she was in so much pain. The difference after her leg was amputated was AMAZING. She was SO much better.
She overall is doing really well. The amputation was about a month ago. I have read a few threads on this board about cats flip flopping and having trouble at times. Most of the time she does pretty well, but when she tries to go backwards, has been sleeping or is scared or excited, or just sometimes for no apparent reason starts flipping back and forth as if she is trying to put down her missing leg and over compensates or something. She gets quite frustrated when it happens and will sometimes make a crying meow and flop or throw herself onto the floor for a rest, or sometimes just sit for awhile. Other times she will keep flopping around for a while before she gives up.
I have read on this board that it improves over time but I was wondering how long it normally takes for it to improve. It is so heartbreaking watching her frustration and her confidence takes a battering each time, but she is a very brave kitty because she keeps on trying. She is a fighter, that is for sure! Last night she was having lots of trouble but right after she climbed up onto the back of the couch which is quite thin, walked along and sat up there for a while. So brave!
Anyway, I would love to hear your experiences on how long it took for that issue to improve in your kitties who had their leg amputated. We want to get her a playmate kitten once she has gotten past the problem and has her confidence back as she is no longer going outside and we want her to have some play time.
Flip Flopping on 3 legs
Re: Flip Flopping on 3 legs
My TK didn't have an amputation, but she had her legged pinned when she flip flopped like that. Hers was from pain. Is your baby taking any pain meds? I'm wondering if she needs gabapentin for a phantom-type pain.
Re: Flip Flopping on 3 legs
She is not on pain meds, and doesn't appear to be in pain, but I guess it is hard to tell. Her entire leg was removed from the hip so she doesn't have a stump. I am not sure how that effects things. She did it at the last vet visit when she had her stitches out and the vet didn't seem at all concerned.
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mahisehar
Re: Flip Flopping on 3 legs
If possible, it might be worthwhile to get him an appointment with a canine rehab therapist, to see if they might be able to fit him with something that would support the leg, or to ask if there are some exercises you might do to improve his comfort and mobility. I don't know if they could help, it's just an idea.
Re: Flip Flopping on 3 legs
I took her to the vet not long after starting this thread and the vet felt she was having trouble because she wasn't strong enough in her back leg. So she suggested physio by way of massaging her leg muscles and shoulder muscles daily to help with lactic acid build up etc as her muscles were quite tight.
As time went on (a couple of months) she improved quite a bit and she now no longer has problems with the flip flopping. She is occasionally a bit stiff on waking but that is about the extent of it.
We have gotten another kitten in the effort to keep her more active by playing with the kitten and it seems to be working quite well. After an initial few days of 'getting to know' each other they have started to play together and are getting along quite well. We have also bought a new cat tree to help encourage playing, just waiting for it to arrive. We did have one, but it was a small one. Now we have two indoor cats we decided it was a good idea to get a bigger one to help keep them entertained.
So thankfully things are going much better with our darling girl. She just needed a bit more time to get used to using her single leg muscles a bit better.
As time went on (a couple of months) she improved quite a bit and she now no longer has problems with the flip flopping. She is occasionally a bit stiff on waking but that is about the extent of it.
We have gotten another kitten in the effort to keep her more active by playing with the kitten and it seems to be working quite well. After an initial few days of 'getting to know' each other they have started to play together and are getting along quite well. We have also bought a new cat tree to help encourage playing, just waiting for it to arrive. We did have one, but it was a small one. Now we have two indoor cats we decided it was a good idea to get a bigger one to help keep them entertained.
So thankfully things are going much better with our darling girl. She just needed a bit more time to get used to using her single leg muscles a bit better.