Anyone have experience with a cat losing a leg?

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ahab

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My 12-year-old cat was just diagnosed with having a fibrosarcoma on her right hind leg (most likely vaccine-related). The recommendation from the lab and the vet is to amputate the leg (x-rays show it hasn't spread to the chest/lungs) for the best changes of survival.

Has anyone been through this, especially with an older cat? The vet tells me that cats adapt very well to losing a leg, even at her age (he said they joke that dogs and cats are "born with three legs and spare").

Jon
 
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mews2much

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My Friends Dog had Cancer in her leg and it was taken off over a year ago and the dog is doing good. She was 10 when it happened. The Vet made her walk on 3 legs before it was done to see how she would react. Sadly my friend died from Colon Camcer June 11.
 
xocats

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Hi Jon, welcome to TheCatSite

Your vet is right....
tripod kitties do really well.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...leg+amputation
Above is a link to a member previous thread about a similar situation.
Also, you can use the search option the this forum to look up other related info.

Here is a member's thread about their kitty who had an amputation....
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...leg+amputation

There are many more threads here about amputation...
You will find TCS a wonderful place for much needed info and support throughout this journey with your kitty.

What is your sweetie's name?
 
bella713

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In a state of misery w/o my Bella
My
Bella
had lung cancer that went to her bone(unheard of in cats) she was 12 and we had to amputate her left hind leg and she did wonderfully as far as getting around without the leg, it was useless anyway
 
booktigger

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I had an 11yo who's leg had to be amputated due to an accident when she was younger. She did really well, the vet let her come home a day sooner than she had said, so she had it amputated on the Wed, brought her home on Thurs evening, and on Fri, she was trying to get out of the cage!! She had her stitches out, so came off cage rest, wanted to go out, but I wouldnt let her - 2 days later, she had managed the stairs and the bed, so I allowed her to go outside. She could still outrun me even with only 3 legs!! her thread and pics are on here somewhere. Sadly, she had to be pts due to unrelated issues 7 months later.
 
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ahab

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Thanks for the info...I'll check out those other threads.

Her name is Molly, and I've had her since she was six weeks (picked her from the litter when she was 2 days old).
 
xocats

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I am sending precious Molly lots of loving thoughts and healing vibes.


TCS has a pictures forum, if you would like to share Molly's picture with us.
I wish you both well...
please keep us updated.
 
abbycats

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Originally Posted by ahab

My 12-year-old cat was just diagnosed with having a fibrosarcoma on her right hind leg (most likely vaccine-related). The recommendation from the lab and the vet is to amputate the leg (x-rays show it hasn't spread to the chest/lungs) for the best changes of survival.

Has anyone been through this, especially with an older cat? The vet tells me that cats adapt very well to losing a leg, even at her age (he said they joke that dogs and cats are "born with three legs and spare").

Jon
Click to expand...
I had a Scottish fold who had Cancer(sarcoma) in her hind leg. We first tried with surgery to remove the tumor but it came back. It was then suggested to amputate her leg. I had all kinds of mixed emotions about it but I wanted to give her every opportunity to live. She did really well for about 6 months after her leg was removed. She adapted really well to 3 legs. The Cancer had evidently spread through out her body during all of this and she lost her battle. I took her to 2 different vets during all this and If I would have had her leg amputated in the first operation I think we could have caught the cancer before it had spread.
 
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ahab

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Yeah, it seems like I'm getting the right advice from the vet...amputate now and the chances of getting it all are much better.

 
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My sister's cat has only one front leg. He lost it in a farm accident (before being adopted by my sister). He's about 3 years old and caught a mouse not too long ago. What a guy!!!

Good luck with you cat, Jon. I hope all goes well
 
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ahab

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Thanks MAXCAT08 (and everyone else). From everything I've heard and read, I feel like the aggressive treatment (aka amputation) is the only option here if we want to have our kitty for a while longer.
 
booktigger

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I think you would be doing the best thing - one of my other cats had a suspected tumour in her knee, and the only cure for that was amputation. Sadly we couldnt do it due to arthritis in her hips, but if not, the vet would have been recommending it. Good luck.
 
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The latest: I brought Molly into the specialist today, and he told me the same as the other vet and decided to due the surgery later this afternoon. He said Molly can either come home tomorrow or Saturday at the latest.

I'm at least relieved to have what's necessary taking place now. The leg needs to go, and the tumor is bothering her more, so no reason to put it off.
 
bella713

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Originally Posted by ahab

The latest: I brought Molly into the specialist today, and he told me the same as the other vet and decided to due the surgery later this afternoon. He said Molly can either come home tomorrow or Saturday at the latest.

I'm at least relieved to have what's necessary taking place now. The leg needs to go, and the tumor is bothering her more, so no reason to put it off.
Click to expand...
Well good, The sooner the better...many vibes for Molly and for you
 
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Sweet Molly.


Sending mega vibes for a successful surgery and a quick healing.
Thank you for taking such good care of your precious girl.


Molly
 
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She'll do just fine. I had a cat called Mr Binks who had 3 legs. He got attacked by a fox. Anyway, even after he got it removed he could run like a bat out of hell! The only thing was that he sometimes forgot he only had one back leg and used to try and scratch his ear with a stump, bless him. But he was just fine, adapted very well and lived to a ripe old age
 
xocats

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Friday morning check on Molly.

How is your sweetie pie?
 
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