My Cat Tiger Hit by Car: Struggling to Recover

[scott_alexsk]

Today my cat Tiger went exlporing and while crossing a road got his leg crushed by a passing car. My dad and I took him to the vet. When we laid him down on the table a bone fell out of his leg and the vet threw it in the garbage. He is going to live, but he is going to have nearly his entire back leg amputated. He will still have his hip and some of his femur. We will be getting him back on Friday. Any comments with ways to help my cat are welcome. I am curious about ways to make it easier for him to get around and shorten the recovery process.

-scott

 

[Evo]

Today my cat Tiger went exlporing and while crossing a road got his leg crushed by a passing car. My dad and I took him to the vet. When we laid him down on the table a bone fell out of his leg and the vet threw it in the garbage. He is going to live, but he is going to have nearly his entire back leg amputated. He will still have his hip and some of his femur. We will be getting him back on Friday. Any comments with ways to help my cat are welcome. I am curious about ways to make it easier for him to get around and shorten the recovery process.

-scott

Oh Scott, I am so, so sorry to hear about your cat. I am glad that you found him and got him to the vet in time.

My daughter's roomate has a dog that went through the same thing and has three legs and it is such a cool dog.

Just give your cat plenty of love. Your cat will enventually adjust to the change.

I know you will give it lots of love.

 

[tony873004]

My friend's cat lost a leg. On cold mornings it liked to crawl under the parked car, jump up into the engine compartment and nap next to the fan.

After a few months, it ran just as fast as before. Everybody loved that cat.

 

[Loren Booda]

My sincere regrets. I had two lovely (indoor) cats, both who lived to the age of 16.

Our local Humane Society publishes a list of about 20 hazards that outdoor cats might meet. It is astonishing how many situations a cat can encounter outside to get in harm's way.

 

[berkeman]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Yeah, cat's are not too bright when it comes to cars and tires and engines and comfortable places to sleep. My favorite neighborhood wild cat got run over (by me, rats) when it slept too soundly on top of the tire of my car back in high school.

I've seen little cart things used by small dogs who've lost a hind leg. Have you seen those?

 

[Moonbear]

Sorry to hear about your cat. It's good you were there to get him to the vet quickly. Cats recover amazingly well from amputations. Your vet will be able to give you specific instructions on antibiotics or painkillers the cat should be treated with. The main thing will be keeping the wound clean and trying to keep the cat from licking it too much. You may have to change what you use for his litter so it's not fine clay material that will get into the wound and cause infection. If you still have a low-sided litter pan from when he was a kitten, that will easier for him to get in and out of while recovering, and shredded newspaper is a good substitute for litter until the wound has healed (don't punish him if he misses the litterbox while healing, he might not be able to help it). Other than that, good nutrition will help him fight off infection, which this sort of injury is susceptible to, so make sure he eats, even if you have to spoil him with tasty tidbits you might not normally feed him.

You might have to help him with walking a bit until he figures out how to balance on 3 legs (just to offer support while he learns to get his balance), but it won't be too difficult for a cat. They're amazingly good at recovering from such things.

 

[hypatia]

My family adopted a three legged cat when I was young, we called him Tripod. Honestly, there was nothing that cat could not do.
Hope your kitty heals well.

 

[Loren Booda]

My uncle had a cat, Tom, whose leg got crushed in a raccoon trap. Nevertheless, most of the wild cats on his farm today are Tom's progeny.

One of our Siamese, either Salt or Pepper, got too close to the fan blade of our RV while basking in the warmth of its engine. Thanks to the quick action of my brother, then about 12 years old, we got the cat to the vet without any lasting effects.

 

[scott_alexsk]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. His operation went well they say, and we will be picking him up in a little while.

-scott

 

[Evo]

Is he wearing a cone on his head? When my cat had surgery, he had to wear that plastic head cone to prevent him from licking and tearing out the stitches.

Keep us informed on how he's doing.

 

[Loren Booda]

I hear the "cone" doubles as a megaphone for assertive felines! Good suggestion, Evo.

Missing 1/4 of one's legs (cats) beats missing 1/2 of one's legs (humans). Remember "Tripod."

 

[scott_alexsk]

Yes he is back now and he has a cone on his head. He seems to be in a lot of pain and he occasionally tries to move around and screams. He does not want to stay put. Right now we have him in the bathroom on some blankets, in his (cat?)house. According to the vet, we are supposed to let him move around a little, but prevent him from undoing his stitches, easier said than done. He is facing into his cathouse so we think it allows him to roll around, but not get out. He seems to be calming down now, though usually there is a continual growl.

-scott

 

[Math Is Hard]

Yes he is back now and he has a cone on his head. He seems to be in a lot of pain and he occasionally tries to move around and screams. He does not want to stay put. Right now we have him in the bathroom on some blankets, in his (cat?)house. According to the vet, we are supposed to let him move around a little, but prevent him from undoing his stitches, easier said than done. He is facing into his cathouse so we think it allows him to roll around, but not get out. He seems to be calming down now, though usually there is a continual growl.

-scott

bless his heart. Did they give you any pain meds for him?

 

[scott_alexsk]

Yeah, we have some pain meds, but we are supposed to wait until tomorrow to give it to him. He is attempting to move around. He has gotten in and out of his cat house several times, with much frustration, but it is clear that he is beginning to learn. I wish he would just go to sleep.

-scott

 

[Math Is Hard]

I know. It's really hard right now. Be patient with him. He is so lucky that he has a wonderful, understanding person like you to take care of him. Just keep doing the great job that you are doing. They adapt really well to losing a leg - I've seen it over and over. Keep up the chin scratches, the soothing talk, the tuna fish broth (with the vet's permission, of course), whatever you can do.

 

[hypatia]

Our cat use to scratch his head with the missing limb{phantom limb}, and his head would move like he was really scratching it.
Glad to hear he's moveing about, that's a good sign!

 

[Astronuc]

Yeah, we have some pain meds, but we are supposed to wait until tomorrow to give it to him. He is attempting to move around. He has gotten in and out of his cat house several times, with much frustration, but it is clear that he is beginning to learn. I wish he would just go to sleep.

Scott, I'm sad to hear this. He is lucky to be alive.

I think there is little that humans can do for animals who have been injured, other than being kind and tender to them. It will takes several weeks for the injuries to heal and likely he will try to behave as if he still had the leg. It will take awhile to adapt. Be careful about letting him out if there are dogs around. Without two back legs, he's vulnerable.

Good luck with giving him medicine. I had the task of medicating our cats and that was difficult at times.

 

[marlon]

My favorite neighborhood wild cat got run over (by me, rats) when it slept too soundly on top of the tire of my car back in high school.

I have had the exact same experience once.

marlon

 

[Kurdt]

I hope your cat recovers soon and enjoys such lovely cats things as frolicking after butterflies and chasing bees.

 

[scorpa]

That's so sad, I'm glad he is going to be ok.

 

[scott_alexsk]

He is doing better now and is currently sleeping. The swelling is going down and he seems more comfortable. Yet he is surprisingly outgoing at certain times. He wanted to get out of the bathroom earlier, but we could not let him because of the stairs... We have not heard him growling for a while. Last night he was much worse. He seemed to still be in fight-or-flight mode because of the drugs, and he constantly tried to run away and hide under things. Interestingly after he got hit by the car, he ran around the house about 5 times, according to my sister. Now he seems to have gotten his head back and is calm.