Hi all,

First of all thank you for taking the time to read my post.

My 4 year old sweet kitty has somehow managed to tear a major amount of ligaments in his right hind leg. I have three options:
1. Pay an INSANE amount of money (I'm a single 20 year old waitress) for a surgery to help repair the leg, with major rehab time.
2. Amputate the leg, which is said to have a speedy recovery, but breaks my heart. Although the cost is still expensive, it is considerably better than the price of the first option.
3. Put my baby to sleep.

I'm leaning towards amputating, because the price is better, the recovery is said to be quick and I won't have to part with my honey. But everybody seems to have all these opinions and they're driving me nuts! Some of these people don't even have pets! I need some real advice from people who have had to make decisions like the one I'm facing. In the end all I want is for him to be happy.

Thank you so much!!!!
-Tormented

So sorry to hear about your poorly paws I would go with the amputation if it was me & in your position, cats are real masters at adapting to things Im sure alot of people without pets would tell you to do option 3 we have had the same things said to us over the years good luck, hope the suregery goes well if you choose that & I hope she has a very speedy recovery x

Welcome to the mad house by the way

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All my children have paws!

Sorry to hear about your cat, but as Dally Banjo say's, cats adapt very well to this type of thing. I haven't had a amputee cat myself, but have known of a few locally who managed perfectly well afterwards.

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

Really no need to consider option 3, cats manage perfectly well after amputation, it has been said that they are born with 4 legs and a spare! ( the tail)
Depending on just how serious the damage is, there may be a risk that the repair option would not be successful and amputation be required after all, so I think option 2 is what I would advise.

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

3 is not an option, as I am sure you will agree :-). Amputation is far more traumatizing for the owner than the cat! Years ago we were faced with the same decision and went for amputation. Was naive then and somehow expected him to come home all neatly bandaged up so the large shaved hip area and big row of stitches was a bit of a shock but it upset us more than him. He adapted very quickly and was soon up and about as normal and lived happily for many years after, even still climbing trees (we were young in those days and let our cats out, we don't now and have a safe enclosed garden).

I always think it is easier for them to lose a back leg than a front as they just shift their balance and "move" the remaining one more central when they stand to balance. It is a shame though when they get an itch and try to scratch with a non existent leg so we used to scratch for him whenever we saw his stump trying to!

So prepare yourself and go for amputation, it may take you some time to adjust but your precious cat will be fine and will adjust amazingly well.

Carol

i have an amputee cat. shes fine . and has been for about 5 years since it happened

she still trys to scratch herself sometimes lol

How did this happen? Was it a gradual or sudden event? The reason I ask is because sometimes with cruciate ligament this can happen due to a degerative breakdown as opposed to trauma. Has your vet mentioned strict cage rest ( no surgery ) as an option as sometimes this can work well depending on the extent of the damage though given your cat's age etc this may present with difficulties as some hate the confinement? Is someone at home during the day?

Otherwise cat recover well from and cope well with hind leg amputation in particular.

Sorry to hear about your cat, My old cat Bobby had his hind leg amputated. He had an overnight stay in hospital, home the following morning and was 'running up and down the stairs within the week.

Mine used to do this, so I would scratch behind his ears for him and his little joint /stump would go like mad as if he was scratching

Thank you for the support everybody, I feel a bit better.

This was a very sudden thing, I came home a few nights ago and he could barely walk. I don't know exactly what happened to cause the injury, but there are no flesh wounds. My guess is that he got his leg stuck somewhere while running. The vet claims that the injury is very serious and that with the stunning amount of torn ligaments his leg will take months of pain to heal themselves and will most likely continue to be painful for him for the rest of his life. Also, I can't be home all the time, and I'm the only one he's got. The vet also mentioned splinting, but told me that this also takes a long time to heal and is very painful; many cats won't take to it and causes high risk of infection. Does anybody have any experiences of splinting their cat?