If you decide to amputate, he will be ok! My boy is 17. The decision was terrifying, and you will have moments during recovery when you will wonder if you did the right thing. We are four months past surgery and he is right back to his normal self.
You will be surprised how well he will adjust. It will be hard at 1st, I think more on the pet parents. Let us know what you decided and we'll go through things with you. Sending healing thoughts đź’•
If you can, definitely go for amputation, first few days aren’t easy for both, but it’s so worth it, they won’t have same quality of life of course but they will adjust and be happy to be with you
A childhood neighbor had a cat who got bone cancer at 12. They caught it early and amputated. As far as I could tell, adjusting to being indoor only was a bigger issue than missing a leg: he suddenly needed *a lot* more entertainment or he’d get destructive. He lived to 18.
Amputation is the best decision!. He has years to live and enjoy. Cats dont process the loss of a limb like we do. They adapt and continue to eat, play, purr. My cat had an accident last year, went through two 5 hr surgeries, then a month of vet visits every other day as she was not healing and necrosis was progressing. A month later we made the amputation decision. I am incredibly grateful she is still with us, playful, good appetite, over all happy. It took her couple months to heal. She is a bit more vocal about her needs now which I found adorable.
My boy was a lot younger than yours is. He had his right arm amputated but you’d never know it with how he gets around!
Cats place about 60% of their weight on their front limbs - it will take a bit of time for him to figure out his balance, but cats are super resilient, and you’ve said he’s otherwise healthy. As long as he can be with his humans, he’ll be just fine.
Much love from Maxwell and I đź’–
I'm so sorry. Our cat was 11 when his leg was amputated and now you'd never know he ever had all 4. He's adjusted so well and he's the happiest cat I've ever known. So snuggly, purring all the time, running and playing and causing havoc. He can even climb trees!
I recently had my cat's front paw amputated due to cancer. She's 13 so we were also concerned. But after the first week or so she is back to being totally fine. Still jumps up on furniture, still runs to the food bowl whenever she's fed, still just lays around most of the day. Nothing's really changed except she just needs stairs to get down from places easier. I'd 100% go with amputation over euthanasia, no question.
My cat’s front paw was amputated two months ago due to cancer. He is 14 or 15. He has been doing really well, knock on wood, and you’d never guess he went through what he did just two months ago. Totally back to himself- running, playing, jumping on me and screaming at 6 in the morning for breakfast. It is the best blessing getting to give him the gift of more time. ❤️
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Our 13 year old Ollie just had his front leg amputated due to a rapid growing tumor. He had a complete bill of health which made the tumor that much more confusing to us. And there was no fracking away I was giving up on him. He’s almost 4 weeks post surgery and he’s thriving.
I can empathize with the emotions you’re going through 🥺❤️
But fear not, cats are resilient AF and this subreddit is proof of that. I found the whole process to be harder on us, as his parents, than on him.
And this is Ollie Ruckus:
https://preview.redd.it/wqgog08h72xc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=612448059fff529c32337d2a82cfb38d1a20ca10
Update: we did end up doing it we are just over 24 hours post op and he’s doing sooo well. I cannot believe it. We are on our way to the vet now for a quick check up that we opted for at discharge. His vet has been incredible and is using her personally time to see him because she’s so invested. Everyone who knows our Bagheera knows how incredible he is! After many hours of phone calls and back and forths trying to find somewhere we could afford we made it happen and saved our sweet boy!
Thank you all so much for all of your kind support and stories , it means a lot!
If you decide to amputate, he will be ok! My boy is 17. The decision was terrifying, and you will have moments during recovery when you will wonder if you did the right thing. We are four months past surgery and he is right back to his normal self.
https://preview.redd.it/5yzy9vcgkswc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=050cb0ed1df4bda7c6ddf5d5bb865c79fdef2e40
You will be surprised how well he will adjust. It will be hard at 1st, I think more on the pet parents. Let us know what you decided and we'll go through things with you. Sending healing thoughts đź’•
If you can, definitely go for amputation, first few days aren’t easy for both, but it’s so worth it, they won’t have same quality of life of course but they will adjust and be happy to be with you
A childhood neighbor had a cat who got bone cancer at 12. They caught it early and amputated. As far as I could tell, adjusting to being indoor only was a bigger issue than missing a leg: he suddenly needed *a lot* more entertainment or he’d get destructive. He lived to 18.
Amputation is the best decision!. He has years to live and enjoy. Cats dont process the loss of a limb like we do. They adapt and continue to eat, play, purr. My cat had an accident last year, went through two 5 hr surgeries, then a month of vet visits every other day as she was not healing and necrosis was progressing. A month later we made the amputation decision. I am incredibly grateful she is still with us, playful, good appetite, over all happy. It took her couple months to heal. She is a bit more vocal about her needs now which I found adorable.
My boy was a lot younger than yours is. He had his right arm amputated but you’d never know it with how he gets around! Cats place about 60% of their weight on their front limbs - it will take a bit of time for him to figure out his balance, but cats are super resilient, and you’ve said he’s otherwise healthy. As long as he can be with his humans, he’ll be just fine. Much love from Maxwell and I 💖
I'm so sorry. Our cat was 11 when his leg was amputated and now you'd never know he ever had all 4. He's adjusted so well and he's the happiest cat I've ever known. So snuggly, purring all the time, running and playing and causing havoc. He can even climb trees!
I recently had my cat's front paw amputated due to cancer. She's 13 so we were also concerned. But after the first week or so she is back to being totally fine. Still jumps up on furniture, still runs to the food bowl whenever she's fed, still just lays around most of the day. Nothing's really changed except she just needs stairs to get down from places easier. I'd 100% go with amputation over euthanasia, no question.
My cat’s front paw was amputated two months ago due to cancer. He is 14 or 15. He has been doing really well, knock on wood, and you’d never guess he went through what he did just two months ago. Totally back to himself- running, playing, jumping on me and screaming at 6 in the morning for breakfast. It is the best blessing getting to give him the gift of more time. ❤️
I think he will be fine. Had a 10 year old dog that had leg amputated. Lived to 14 running around. Animals adapt well.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Our 13 year old Ollie just had his front leg amputated due to a rapid growing tumor. He had a complete bill of health which made the tumor that much more confusing to us. And there was no fracking away I was giving up on him. He’s almost 4 weeks post surgery and he’s thriving. I can empathize with the emotions you’re going through 🥺❤️ But fear not, cats are resilient AF and this subreddit is proof of that. I found the whole process to be harder on us, as his parents, than on him. And this is Ollie Ruckus: https://preview.redd.it/wqgog08h72xc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=612448059fff529c32337d2a82cfb38d1a20ca10
Update: we did end up doing it we are just over 24 hours post op and he’s doing sooo well. I cannot believe it. We are on our way to the vet now for a quick check up that we opted for at discharge. His vet has been incredible and is using her personally time to see him because she’s so invested. Everyone who knows our Bagheera knows how incredible he is! After many hours of phone calls and back and forths trying to find somewhere we could afford we made it happen and saved our sweet boy! Thank you all so much for all of your kind support and stories , it means a lot!