u/TheBuzzAndGlow

Posted here a few months back when it looked like my Stormy might become a tripod, and whelp, here she is, minus one leg. Surgery and recovery have been going really well, which is a relief after some extra drama leading up to it. All tests show that the mass was a localized sarcoma and she should have many more years ahead of her.

However, in true Stormageddon dramatic fashion, my overlord has been lodging complaints about not being able to jump up and take her proper place between me and the other human on the bedsheets with us every night and yet gets offended when I try to lift her up. I was looking at purchasing her steps to get up with us since the stool that I tried did not meet her approval, but I have been overwhelmed by the options.

Can anyone recommend steps to return the Queen to her rightful place?

She has an increasingly large growth on her right hind leg. Fine needle aspiration was inconclusive last week at the vet where they took 42.5mL of fluid and it's starting to fill up again. He thinks it might be an injection site sarcoma. We are looking at potential wedge biopsy and/or amputation.

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She was born mid February 2012 and I adopted her the following summer and she is my heart and soul. My college roommates and I named her Arya Minerva Stormageddon, and she is my Stormy girl, my baby, my aggressively snuggly and incredibly fickle queen. I call her my lord and Savior as she gave me comfort during some very dark periods of my life. She and I now live with my husband (whom she likes, but not as aggressively), our human toddler (whom she mostly avoids), and our other 11 year old cat (whom she mostly tolerates and sometimes likes).

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My primary concern is for her ongoing quality of life. There are no known other underlying conditions but I know anesthesia always carries some risk. I'm also concerned about potential recovery from amputation as she *obsessively* grooms herself and tries to do the same to me and my other cat.

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Anyone have experience with an older cat becoming tripod? I'd appreciate any well intentioned advice, comments, or similar stories, whether good, bad, ugly, or some combination.

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Included a picture of the Inspector General herself, testing out the human baby's playpen and toys for cat tax.