u/Oriainson

Before Surgery - you can see the tumor on his front left leg

Just got home after overnight hospital stay

Was like this for most of yesterday...all doped up on meds

Buddy had his surgery on Monday and came home Tuesday afternoon. He was completely out of it due to the topical pain med they used (which is a 3-day pain reliever). He was walking on his own and used the litter box. His resilience is incredible and I'm very proud of him. Not sure most humans would be the same.

It's now Day 2 and his personality has come back a bit after a long night. Felt like I had a newborn in the house all over again. His recovery room is my bedroom, so I was awake at every tiny sound.

He still has not eaten anything yet (been 24 hrs without eating), but he is drinking water. I am hoping this is normal and that he will get hungry enough to eat today. Today he started purring again when being pet, which is a great sign!

So far, so good! 🤞🏻😺

I posted earlier about this being a possibility, but now it's real. My 14 yr old boy, Buddy, is having his front left leg amputated tomorrow. Reading all the uplifting stories on here has been very helpful for his human owner who has been very upset over all this.

I do not doubt that he is resilient and will get through this, but I have one major concern that has been keeping me up at night.

My boy is the finnickiest of all finnicky cats. He will only eat one type of food and only one type of treat. He must be one of those "super tasters" that some people are.

The problem has always been trying to medicate him for anything. All I need to do is drop a few grains of a ground up pill and he will not eat. He's been prescribed gabapentin for just over a week and I cannot get any of it into him.

I have tried everything short of spiking his food with catnip (still pondering this one).

I am VERY anxious about how the heck I will be able to successfully medicate him post surgery.

I know there is a liquid option, but he's been difficult to medicate this way, as well. Plus, I am apprehensive about trying to administer this with his wound. I typically need to practically be sitting on him to be able to get liquid meds in him.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? Or is there another option that I don't know about?

Oddly enough, he's fine with injections between the shoulder blades, but I don't think this will be an option, correct?

My beloved 14 year old baby boy has a tumor growing on his front left wrist. Had X-rays, blood work, & biopsies done. Definitely cancerous tumor but she could not define the type, although she believes it’s bone cancer.

Normally she wouldn’t suggest amputation at his age but he’s a healthy boy overall and she thinks he’ll be okay. No guarantees concerning the cancer/spread, obviously. Although she did say he could live another year or surprise us and go even longer.

I’m conflicted about the right path to take. I have 3 options: amputation, palliative care, or the final option (I’m not ready for that one 😞).

My concerns about amputation are mostly about his age and recovery. Has anyone had an older cat handle this successfully?

Also, I have stairs…will he be able to handle going up & down w just one front leg?

This guy is my best friend and this has been heartbreaking from the beginning. I’m not sure what to do or if my choice will make his life worse.

I would love any input, stories, or suggestions.

Thanks in advance!