Missy’s first month

This was the picture that broke my heart. Posted on facebook, on a swap shop. Needing a new home. She was injured and they couldn’t afford to take her to the vet.

So, I contacted them. Said she had been gone 4 days and came home dragging her leg. She was an indoor/outdoor cat, mainly outdoor.  They said they had been told her hip was out of place. 2 or 3 years old, spayed.

I said ok. We met and I picked her up. After talking with them found out the injury was weeks old. The actual reason they wanted to rehome her is they were tired of cleaning up after her. They had put her in a spare room, without a litter box.  Also it wasn’t a vet who said her hip was out of place, it was a friend.

Her first day with us was November 21st, 2017. Discovered she had no use of, nor feeling in her left rear leg.

The next day was her first vet visit. Given the once over, blood work, the works.  Her hip was broken, also broken right scapula. All the breaks had healed.  No other injuries, not a scratch anywhere. Blood work was good.  Decided to just take her home and see how she manages with her leg.

She stayed in a spare bedroom since I have 3 other cats. She was in there about a week before I moved her to the “cat room”. The room with litter boxes and food, that has to be gated due to my dog.

It was obvious the leg was a hindrance. She sat on it, was rubbing the fur off the top of her foot from dragging it. Just seemed to get in the way so I called the vet and we discussed amputation and decided that was the best option. Date was set for Dec. 7th.

Here she is the day before surgery, cool as can be. I was nervous but she was pretty non-chalant about it all.

A few hours after surgery. Surgery was at 11 and this was about 4:30. She was up and trying her best to get out. She was still a bit wobbly but doing fantastic.

During surgery the vet found that her femoral nerve pretty much looked as if it had been sliced in two.  Only good thing is she has no feeling where the actual incision is.  Feeling stops about a half inch from her spine down the leg. She does have feeling in her tail and full use of it, but from hip down on the left side, nothing. So she had some discomfort from surgery but no severe pain.  There is no irritation from the stitches, so she hasnt seemed to notice them at all.

First day home. Missy came home Dec. 8th. She was ready to be home! All the other pets gave her a good sniff and she settled in. She ate, used her box, the settled in for a good nap.

The next day, diarrhea began. She was given oral antibiotics to take, so I knew what the problem was. The next day I didn’t give them to her and by that night her stool had firmed up. Called the vet the next day on Monday the 11th and took her in and she got a shot of antibiotics so she wouldn’t have to take any oral. She’s a small girl and severe diarrhea after surgery wasn’t a good thing!

Today is day 9 after surgery and she’s doing fantastic. I got carpeted pet stairs for both sides of the gate so she can now have free roam of the house. My dog thinks stairs are evil so we’re safe for awhile there. She’s now one of the pride of my cats, everyone gets along. She has chosen her favorite sleeping spot on the couch. She can now jump on the couch, but anything higher she can’t do yet. She is running, playing, and enjoying life as a total house cat.

She goes back to the vet the 21st to have her stitches removed.

So, in less than a month she’s gone from an outdoor cat to a total indoor cat. New home, new cat housemates and a dog buddy, and to top it off, had a leg amputated. All that and she’s as chill as she can be and enjoying life.

I had no intention of getting a fourth cat, but this was meant to be.