Just wanted to let everyone know how the cat has faired with amputation. (original post 7/07) She had her front leg amputation surgery July 11th and came home the following day. From the beginning, she has eaten like a hog and has no problems with jumping on the bed. After the vet removed her bandage, she decided to wash the area and to try to stratch the staples out. I would put a baby shirt on her to protect the area, and would find it on the floor several hours later. We went to the vet last Tuesday to have the remaining staples removed. Hair is starting to grow back.
While I was at the vet, I asked him a question. When I brought the cat home she had no problem going into our bathroom where the food, water and litter pan stays. It now seems for the last week, the cat has decided to stay under the bed. The litter pans were empty and she wouldn't come out from under the bed to eat the dryfood. I later discovered that she found another spot for the bathroom which was 1 1/2 feet from the bed. I clean it up and moved the litter pan next to the bed, which she has been using. She only eats the dryfood when I am present. I had to move a water dish under the bed when I realized that she wasn't going into the bathroom anymore. She will come out from under the bed to have wet food or dry food, but she will not come out unless she is hungry. After she eats, she does hang out for a little bit to be petted and then retreats under the bed. She is afraid of the sound of the central air turning on, the traffic on the road, the sound of me switching off the light, the clinking of a fork and a spoon, etc. It also seems that she is scared of fast movement. I don't know what type of life she had before she came here. I know something tramatic happen since she was missing her front paw when she showed up at our house. I wonder if she was mistreated in the past. I think she was in pain when she came back from her surgery and wasn't paying attention to noises and movement. Now that she feels better she is reacting to every sound. The vet said eventually she will get over it.
She still doesn't have a name yet. I am waiting for her personallity to come out.
Chantal
Update: Kitten amputation
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Bendy Kitty
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Re: Update: Kitten amputation
Glad she is adapting and healing from the amputation.
I'm a little unclear, was she friendly before the amputation and now is skittish?
Even tho the operation went well, to her it might have seemed like more pain when she woke up and maybe that made her more skittish?
I certainly made the carrier = bad vet visit connection when my mouth was very painful, even tho i had never minded carriers and often slept in them before.
Hopefully she will come around soon. I'd say just keep on patting her when she is out. you coudl try dragging toys within reach of the bed and see if you can get her to creep out slowly. Mom has done that with many a shy kitty, sometimes it works and sometimes not, but even if it didn't draw them out she would see little paws there waiting for a toy when she came in the bedroom.
shirts can be challenging to keep on! we found that making several holes in the neck of the shirt and threading a collar through it helped. but it sounds like you don't need to do that anymore.
headbonks to you and the lil kitten
bendy kitty
I'm a little unclear, was she friendly before the amputation and now is skittish?
Even tho the operation went well, to her it might have seemed like more pain when she woke up and maybe that made her more skittish?
I certainly made the carrier = bad vet visit connection when my mouth was very painful, even tho i had never minded carriers and often slept in them before.
Hopefully she will come around soon. I'd say just keep on patting her when she is out. you coudl try dragging toys within reach of the bed and see if you can get her to creep out slowly. Mom has done that with many a shy kitty, sometimes it works and sometimes not, but even if it didn't draw them out she would see little paws there waiting for a toy when she came in the bedroom.
shirts can be challenging to keep on! we found that making several holes in the neck of the shirt and threading a collar through it helped. but it sounds like you don't need to do that anymore.
headbonks to you and the lil kitten
bendy kitty
In loving memory of Bendy Cute Kitty 9/15/00-4/23/12
Meet the cats at Bendy's Home http://www.alittletlc.com"
Meet the cats at Bendy's Home http://www.alittletlc.com"
Re: Update: Kitten amputation
She was going into our master bathroom to eat and to go to the bathroom and would go hide under the bed afterwards. A few days before I took her to the vet to have the staples removed is when she would stay completely under the bed. Before that she would go into the bathroom to eat. Now I have to wave the dish of food for her to come out. If she is not hungry, she stays put. If she is thirsty she will not go into the bathroom anymore. She now has a dish of water under the bed.
When she first arrived, she didn't purr or play. She now purrs when I pet her or when she eats. She would growl when I moved a ball or a yarn mouse around but would make no attempt to play. She just started to pick the underneath of the bed. Last night she moved the catnip snake that has been under the bed with her. I shook the snake with a pen and she gave out a long growl.
When she first arrived, before the surgery, she occasionally growled as she was laying down or as she was washing herself. She growled last night when she was moving the muscles where her leg was amutated. I don't know if this growling is part of her personality.
My other cats only growl when something major is going on. All of my cats are very nosy, and help to inspect grocery bags, shoes, etc. This cat has been here almost a month and I don 't think that she has explored our bedroom.
I have been able to pick her up and pet her since I found her in the yard. She seems to get tired of being petted very quickly. Twice I raised my arms to yawn and she winced like I was going to hit her. She looked unsure when I continued to pet her and didn't hit her. Because of this I think she has been hit in her previous life. It is just my husband and I and we haven't had any vistors. The other cats are in the rest of the house.
Chantal
When she first arrived, she didn't purr or play. She now purrs when I pet her or when she eats. She would growl when I moved a ball or a yarn mouse around but would make no attempt to play. She just started to pick the underneath of the bed. Last night she moved the catnip snake that has been under the bed with her. I shook the snake with a pen and she gave out a long growl.
When she first arrived, before the surgery, she occasionally growled as she was laying down or as she was washing herself. She growled last night when she was moving the muscles where her leg was amutated. I don't know if this growling is part of her personality.
My other cats only growl when something major is going on. All of my cats are very nosy, and help to inspect grocery bags, shoes, etc. This cat has been here almost a month and I don 't think that she has explored our bedroom.
I have been able to pick her up and pet her since I found her in the yard. She seems to get tired of being petted very quickly. Twice I raised my arms to yawn and she winced like I was going to hit her. She looked unsure when I continued to pet her and didn't hit her. Because of this I think she has been hit in her previous life. It is just my husband and I and we haven't had any vistors. The other cats are in the rest of the house.
Chantal