r/TripodCats

First off, I just want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. Our fundraiser reached $705!!! Our original goal was $500 so I could cover the rest on my credit card, and we actually surpassed it. That took a huge amount of financial stress off of me, so thank you all so much for the love, support, shares, and donations. It truly means the world to us.

Kit is already hobbling around and doing surprisingly well! She’s been giving and getting lots of love. Right now I have her staying in my small bathroom since I have other animals in the house. I’ve been considering getting one of those pop-up play pens so she can have her own safe space while still keeping her movement limited during recovery. Does that sound like a good idea?

Also, they didn’t send me home with any medication, not even pain medicine. Is that normal? I know I should’ve asked while I was there, but it didn’t really hit me until I got home.

I’m also unsure what to do about the cone. They said she could take it off to eat, but I’m nervous that if I remove it, she won’t let me put it back on afterward. Any suggestions?

Any other recovery advice is welcome! I don’t have a ton of experience with cats, and I’ve never gone through a surgical recovery with an animal before, so I’m learning as I go. Thank you all again for everything!

Jack was found under a car with a badly injured leg in March. He is still sorting out the phantom leg thing, but he is just a goofy and gentle boy. We sure are glad he’s chosen us.

Hey everyone I posted in this group a few months ago after my cat Dexter was diagnosed with injection-site sarcoma, and I just wanted to come back and say thank you again for all of the support, advice, and kindness people showed us during a really scary time. Especially thank you to the Redditor who reached out and mentioned the possibility of reimbursement assistance for some of the medical costs I honestly would not have known to even look into it otherwise.

I also wanted to share our experience with the reimbursement process in case it helps someone else going through this incredibly painful situation.

After Dexter’s diagnosis, we contacted Zoetis directly and opened a case. They gave us a case number and asked us to have our primary veterinarian contact them as well. Our vet was wonderful and reached out to them pretty quickly, which I think helped move the process along.

One important thing to know is that this appears to be a voluntary/case-by-case reimbursement program they are not obligated to reimburse anything, and there are no guarantees. In our case, though, they were incredibly compassionate throughout the process.

The first reimbursement we received was around January for about $2,062. At the time, we didn’t yet realize how many additional expenses we were going to have afterward (additional scans, lymph node surgery, follow-up care, etc.).

Once we got further into treatment and realized we were nearing the end of his major care plan, we gathered ALL of the remaining invoices and receipts and submitted those as well. We submitted the additional documentation in March.

Because the second reimbursement request was larger, it had to go through veterinary review on Zoetis’s side, which took longer. In May, we were approved for an additional reimbursement of about $3,700. Altogether, they essentially covered the full cost of his treatment.

The biggest things I’d recommend if anyone is going through this:

Open a case with the manufacturer directly

Keep every invoice and receipt

Make sure your primary veterinarian is involved and has the case number

Be patient, because the review process can take several weeks

For us, Zoetis communicated both with our vet and with us directly throughout the process.

As for Dexter himself — he’s thankfully doing really well right now. We ultimately decided not to pursue chemotherapy after discussions with our vet because of the aggressive nature of the cancer and concerns about quality of life versus benefit. Right now we’re focusing on monitoring and keeping him happy, and he’s currently back to acting like a very energetic three-legged menace 😅

I know how terrifying and isolating this diagnosis can feel, so I just wanted to share our experience in case it helps someone else feel a little less alone. 💛

The adventure continues….

My boy has been recovering at a remarkable rate and I’m truly impressed by the resilience of this creature. He’s been himself again…until yesterday…

He now has some sort of cold that is making him miserable. Runny nose/eyes & sneezing. All clear liquid, so no signs of infection, but he’s now fatigued and very unhappy.

Called the vet and I have to monitor him to ensure it doesn’t get worse or become a URI. We see the vet on Saturday for surgery follow up.

It breaks my heart. He just wants to lay on me and sleep right next to my face at night (he’s never done that before).

Anyone else deal with this?

https://gofund.me/6a7dd5b3a

Hi guys, I don’t use Reddit much but could use some help. My baby Rowena broke her arm a couple months ago. She got it stuck under my treadmill(not on) between the belt of it and a metal bar. I was in another room when I heard her howling, I ran in and saw my other kitties pouncing on her while she was trying to get it out. I didn’t realize she was stuck and tried to grab her, she latched onto my hand and messed it up badly and I couldn’t get her unstuck. I called my fiancé to come home(I was scream crying because I was bleeding badly and my baby was stuck) He drove home speeding, but neither of us could help her and she was still panicking. She threw herself upside down and I believe this is when she broke it. We went to the vet and they showed us X-rays, she broke both her bones in her arm. They recommended surgery, a splint, or amputation. They said the surgery had alot of risks, so we went with a splint. We came back every 2 weeks to get it changed and checked on. They thought it was healing correctly until this time when we did more X-rays the bones should have been aligned by now and we should have seen a lot more healing. Her actual skin has been getting so irritated being in the cast. She’s already had a skin infection and I feel awful having to keep her in a dog crate like they recommended. But she’s not healing well, so they want us to consider amputating her arm. I already have a tripod(got him from shelter after amputation) so I know she can adapt and be okay but I still feel awful having to do this. But I just want my baby to be okay. Things in life are expensive, even more now, and things happen. So I’d like to ask for help for my baby. Even if you just read this post I appreciate it ❤️ (Also here is the vet receipt from our visit yesterday when we got X-rays and a splint change. It does show that we’re going in for another splint change in 2 weeks because we haven’t started the amputation process because we don’t have the money yet.)

Out of my 5 cats, he is the only one who likes to scale the back of this cat tree without the steps. He is also the only tripod. He amazes me every day!

Little bubby is still desperate for scratches even in her state. Sweet girl. Her Pelvic surgery and possible amputation is this weekend if her anemia levels keep rising in the same trend!
Please if you can we need all the support we can. She is owned by no one however my neighbours and I are doing everything we can to give her a second chance at life! Unfortunately it comes at a cost. We’ve never had to help at this level before so all help is greatly appreciated! 🤍🤍🤍

Donation link straight to vet account we’ve already built up:

https://business.mamopay.com/pay/vetdubfzllc-14556f6fb09e

Details of quote and vet, xrays etc are on my original post!

Almost a year since amputation and she is better than ever. It improved her quality of life so drastically

The first photo is my tripod AJ, who passed on 3/23/26. Love you velcro boy, forever & always.

The second photo is his tribute I've had for a few weeks. Her name is Tipsy & I exclaimed she had 4 legs when I first held her.

I will never forget AJ or let anyone else forget him. Tipsy is just perfect & she is loving all of AJ's cardboard things. Another box cat.

Edit: She has a black beauty mark next to her nose. So FN cute.

Edit#2: Thank you for the upvotes. Each one hugs AJ. Thank you for the reward!

​Four months ago, I found him trapped inside a storeroom in our building. He was starving and had a leg injury so severe that it required amputation. (Please check my previous post for a picture!)

​Now, he has fully recovered and is a spoiled house cat with his own list of tantrums. Because of his missing leg, I decided to keep him indoors. I named him Dabbu because, well, he lived inside a Dabba (box) during his treatment.

My younger brothers (15) cat got injured and needs a leg amputation I nor my family have the funds right now to afford the whole $900 amputation. I’m currently in school and both my parents work and can hardly afford to pay the bills let alone pay for this cat’s amputation. I’ve listed the go fund me if you feel inclined to contribute we would greatly appreciate it. I did contact or local humane society and the aspca in our state but neither of them could assist us. My main goal is to hit $500 and I can squeeze by the rest on a credit card. Thank you for taking the time to read our story!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-kit-emergency-surgery-needed?attribution_id=sl:1f3b6e89-044d-48cc-b473-54e1fbea9047

Update: we are currently at $375!!!! Only $125 to hit our main goal!!! I truly can’t believe it and we are so thankful for everyone who has like, shared, commented and donated. I truly cannot express how much it means to us. If you would like to follow our journey you can follow my brother on tik tok https://www.tiktok.com/@finnatic\_official?\_r=1&\_t=ZP-96QMuYspgOV Thank you guys again!!

*Update to my Update* The Mirataz seems to be working! He’s not eating a lot at a time, but he’s always been a grazer. 👍🏼

Day 4 and he’s now wearing a donut 24/7 because he started licking the wound. Surprisingly, he has no issues with it at all!

How long will he need to wear it?

Still not eating much at all and getting skinny. Vet gave me Mirataz to increase his appetite. 2 doses in (last evening & this morning) and a very small improvement. I’ve found it helps to pretend I’m eating w him at the bowl. Nothing I wouldn’t do for this guy.

Anyone have experience w Mirataz? How long for it to work? I’m concerned about him getting weaker and it making this worse.

Other than that, he seems normal. Purring loudly & very affectionate as always. Can’t wait to put this behind us! 😵‍💫