the vet called, Butchie is out of surgury, and alert..they will keep him for the night on meds..I will be giving him meds and dressing the amputation site.

Thank you all for your prayers for us...and if you can, continue for a speedy healing for Butchie.....if I can not do anything else..he will know LOVE for as long as we have him.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Answers

We've seen a lot of phtos of your cats--you have one of Butchie?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

I am sure I do....but I will have to find one....I had a plan, will email you privately for your thoughts...(evil, vile snort!!!!)

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

I think Butchie's the middle one, yes?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Butch is the long haired one..Orange 1/2 main coon...up close you will see his white "mustache and goatee" we called him Col. Saunders when we where dropper feeding him as a baby that was kicked out of the hay mow......we habd raised him...then at 6 months he had a diabetic stroke.....we nursed him through that....and have always watched out for him..... we truely thought he was bringing up the rear as usual that night.... he has always walked with his head cocked funny since the stroke...... He has never known fear from people since he has grown up thinking humans are catpeople that raised him.

I looked for a close up, and only have them in a box...will find one and try to take a picture of it for you. And I will take pictures through tears of him "healing and learning to walk, ect.

I could have had him put down...I think you might understand the reason we could not "play God" for the second time in a week. Instead we have an 800.00 vet bill, but hopefully , I will use this low point in my life to once again understand......it is in these valleys in life, that we do indeed grow.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

No, you should not have had him put down. Three-legged cats and dogs manage amazingly well--there are several up for adoption in Durham that were rescued from leg-hold traps and lost their legs, usually a back one, but even front-leg amputees do quite well. Lucky he's not a human and so has three others to walk on and doesn't have to manage with only one. . .

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Question: Can a three-legged cat live a normal life?

Answer: Because of their small body weight, cats do very well after the loss of a leg. Their human friends often take longer to adjust to the change than they do. It might help, however, to make the cat an exclusively indoor cat. It's reflexes and ability to avoid predators may be a bit hampered. Another helpful move might be to provide a few stools where the cat chooses to get up and down from things, such as beds or a favorite window sill. If a front leg has been removed, jumping down can be painful if one leg has to catch the fall from three or more feet up. If a rear leg is missing, it may be difficult to provide the torque to jump up onto high things without a stool halfway.

See Tripod's story here

And this Viennese kitty:

at this site

Here's Lucky, one-eyed, three-legged: More here

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Also here. Good info on other disabled cats at this site.

THREE LEGGED CATS

The loss of a limb sounds catastrophic but 3 legged cats adapt well and are usually as agile and active as 4 legged cats. The loss of a limb would be catastrophic to humans, but our limbs are more specialised (2 for walking, 2 for manipulating things) while a cat's limbs are all used for walking. Three-legged cats need help grooming areas that would normally be groomed by the now-missing leg. Don't expect a recent amputee to be 'back to normal' immediately, but don't be over-protective. He must work out his new limitations and how to compensate for a missing leg. He must build up additional strength in his other limbs. He can't do this if you carry him everywhere.

After an initial adjustment period, which is sometimes painful to watch, he will probably be able to jump and climb much as before. If he has lost a hind leg, he may not be able to jump as high. If he has lost a foreleg, he may find landing more difficult, especially when jumping down from a high place. At first he will make some mistakes and you can expect some minor (hopefully) injuries, but he will quickly work out his own limitations and even find alternative routes to favourite places.

It is important that a three-legged cat is not allowed to become obese because he has fewer limbs on which to distribute his weight. It is also important that he get exercise, gentle at first to help him adapt to his condition and more active later on to strengthen his remaining limbs. Most 3 legged cats adapt well enough to become as active and energetic as they were before losing the leg - but you can't expect this to happen overnight and it may be painful to watch him adjusting.

Some kittens lose a limb very early on because the umbilical cord get tangled round it and stops it from developing, because the mother cat is inexperienced and mishandles the kitten (sometimes biting off the kitten's paw due to a fault in her grooming behaviour) or through some other birth defect which caused the limb to be deformed. If the leg is amputated early in life, the kitten grows up on 3 legs and doesn't know any different. There are very many happy and healthy cats in the world whose nickname is "tripod".

Story of CNN's anchor's two 3-legged cats, Tripod and ILean.

Here's another one, Isabel whose story is here

And how about Smudge:

story

There are lots more but I think these stories and pictures will make you feel better, SAR.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

YOU... Dearheart...are an ANGEL... I am smiling and choked up, as I am not looking forward to our first look at him tomorrow...this has sure helped!!!!!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Moi? Angel? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Sar, I just remembered the bit up there about placing stools in strategic places. When Sooty was getting a bit doddery, I bought a couple of step stools. They're the plastic ones, easily available at Lowe's. Pariticularly handy was the two-step one with a heavily textured nonskid surface. Also, Sooty really enjoyed:

From Drs. Foster & Smith

And this looks useful:

at Drs. Foster & Smith

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

We have a barn cat who tore ligaments in one hind leg. The vet recommended against surgery--partly because of the cost, but mostly because it doesn't always work with cats. Although Punky still has the leg, it will not support weight, so he is functionally three-legged. He gets along just fine. He's just a bit slower than the other cats.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

My coon developed something along the line of hip dysplasia when she was older and lost the use of one of her hind legs. She was fine until the very end when she had no strength. Meanwhile, I singlehandedly kept Rubbermaid in business scattering their stools around the house.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

I bet Dan could build a few neat "aids for the physically challenged," yes? Carpet scraps available from your nearest carpet installer :) (Or his dumpster.)

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001