On Monday we had to have Artie's leg amputated. Backstory: when we adopted him from the shelter, they told us that his front left leg was broken when he was turned in and it never set right. As a result, he always walked on his elbow. Unfortunately, Artie never realized he was disabled and was 100% kitten. The arm ended up swelling up and though we tried to get the swelling down for over a month, it became infected and the vet advised amputation.
When researching amputations, I found it helpful to read about other cats' experiences and see photos. So far our experience has been very good. Our vet amputated the leg on Monday morning. The vet had originally planned on performing a forequarter removal (leg and shoulder). Monday morning, he called me and said that really active cats have the tendency to bump the brachial plexus, which is full of nerves and lacks protection after a forequarter removal. This can cause quite a bit of pain. Since he had a chance to witness Artie's crazy energy level, he decided to remove the leg up to the area between the shoulder and elbow, which left ~1 inch of a small stump (really barely noticeable).
Yesterday morning we picked Artie up. He was wearing a cape, which he hated.
I read about other people using baby shirts instead of the capes/cones, and my vet gave his okay on using these. I went out and bought a pack of onesies for newborns at Target. I cut off the bottom part, and tried it on Artie. He was much happier with it than the cape. The larger size (0-3 months) might have worked better for the armhole, which sits slightly high on Artie; but the neck on the 0-3 months would probably be too loose (which would allow him to lick his stitches). After the initial fitting, I cut off the sleeve that his arm slips into (so that side is tank top style), which solved the high armhole problem. Then I sewed up the sleeve that covers his amputation site (so he can’t get to the stitches,). So far, he hasn't been able to get the stitches.
He is on buprenex for the pain and hasn't exhibited any signs of pain. He is confined to a large dog crate until his stitches come out in 10 days (8 days now). His walk is still a bit unsteady on 3 legs, but he is able to walk some and use his litterbox. He is still playful (wrestled in his cage with his stuffed rat)! He purrs when we visit him. He is our sweet boy.
His brother, who is usually very nasty to other cats after they return for the vet, snuck in the room behind me. He ran up the cage and didn't hiss at Artie.
This morning, he slept in the bed next to Artie's crate!
When researching amputations, I found it helpful to read about other cats' experiences and see photos. So far our experience has been very good. Our vet amputated the leg on Monday morning. The vet had originally planned on performing a forequarter removal (leg and shoulder). Monday morning, he called me and said that really active cats have the tendency to bump the brachial plexus, which is full of nerves and lacks protection after a forequarter removal. This can cause quite a bit of pain. Since he had a chance to witness Artie's crazy energy level, he decided to remove the leg up to the area between the shoulder and elbow, which left ~1 inch of a small stump (really barely noticeable).
Yesterday morning we picked Artie up. He was wearing a cape, which he hated.
I read about other people using baby shirts instead of the capes/cones, and my vet gave his okay on using these. I went out and bought a pack of onesies for newborns at Target. I cut off the bottom part, and tried it on Artie. He was much happier with it than the cape. The larger size (0-3 months) might have worked better for the armhole, which sits slightly high on Artie; but the neck on the 0-3 months would probably be too loose (which would allow him to lick his stitches). After the initial fitting, I cut off the sleeve that his arm slips into (so that side is tank top style), which solved the high armhole problem. Then I sewed up the sleeve that covers his amputation site (so he can’t get to the stitches,). So far, he hasn't been able to get the stitches.
He is on buprenex for the pain and hasn't exhibited any signs of pain. He is confined to a large dog crate until his stitches come out in 10 days (8 days now). His walk is still a bit unsteady on 3 legs, but he is able to walk some and use his litterbox. He is still playful (wrestled in his cage with his stuffed rat)! He purrs when we visit him. He is our sweet boy.
His brother, who is usually very nasty to other cats after they return for the vet, snuck in the room behind me. He ran up the cage and didn't hiss at Artie.
This morning, he slept in the bed next to Artie's crate!
