…along with a four legged kitten. Stumpy seems healthly, though still very young. I have been nursing him, but one of his back legs is gone,the wound is completely healed so there is no danger of him dieing from that.
I am against euthanasia,in most cases,and since he seems healthy(other than a missing back leg) I hesitate to put him down.
I have seen a few adult three legged animals before,but it was always one of the front legs.
Have any of you dealt with this before? Do you think he will survive?
Again I don’t want to put him down, if it can be helped,any advice to help his chances?
If you are not going to take him, I wouldn’t bring him to a humane society. He may eventually get euthanized. I’m not sure if they all do it. So don’t quote me on that. But if you truly care for him and cannot take care of him yourself. Spend a few bucks and place an ad for a free three legged cat. Someone will take him. Saves him from sitting in a cage at the humane society. I think most people who come to a human society are not looking for a three legged animal. I could be wrong, but I’d think his chances are lower there.
The animal rescue group with which my husband and I are affiliated has had several tri-pawed kitties. At least one was, like your little guy, missing a hind leg. This is not a severe handicap for an indoor cat, and if the wound is well-healed, I doubt that he’ll have any problems related to the missing leg.
Bless you for taking care of a needy animal. We have taken in several cats with disabilities, and they are as sweet and loving and frisky as our other pets. It may be my imagination, but they seem to express gratitude, which isn’t something that one expects from a cat.
i’ve seen film clips of 3-legged dogs who could run around every bit as well as a fully-equipped model. unless you’re going to stick little Stumpy back out in the wild, he could (and should) have a long and happy life in someone’s home.
Three-legged cats can do quite well. This site says that cats that lose a leg in kittenhood and grow up with only three legs tend to do even better than cats that lose a leg in adulthood. The site linked above says in fact that losing a front leg is more serious than losing a back leg for a cat, because they use the front legs for landing after jumping, while they use the back legs for propulsion. Your kitten may not be able to jump as high as other cats, but he should be able to do most of what cats do.
I should give you one warning about three-legged animals, though. My sister had a three-legged dog for many years, and the dog had perfected this pathetic “I’m just a poor little three-legged dog” look, which she would give you when she wanted a treat, wanted to get on the bed with you, wanted her belly rubbed, or anything like that. I don’t know if cats do that (or for that matter, if all three-legged dogs do it), but it was really hard to say no to that expression…
Smart three-legged animals know that humans feel sorry for them, and they use it to get what they want.
Thanks for the posts so far,sounds encouraging.I may keep him, but he won’t be able to be an indoor cat.The other cats I have stay outside, are well fed, taken care of, and seem real content to hang around the yard, never venturing that far, AFAIK.Think that’ll be ok? I would prefer to find an indoor home for him,however,once he is ready for that.
If you have no alternative but to keep him as an outdoor cat, then give it a try. However, you must be aware that tripod kitties are at much higher risk of being killed by loose dogs than non-disabled cats are. Both of the twin tripod kitties who lived in my neighborhood were killed that way. (Tripod kitties can certainly get around, but the fact remains that their ability to escape is compromised.) And. of course, I would get him or her sterilized as soon as he/she is old enough.
Oh yeah. I once rescued a kitten whose hind legs were completely paralyzed. The vet didn’t think she’d make it, but amazingly she made a nearly full recovery, though her hind legs give out on her sometimes. And yes, that cat does seem grateful. She’ll reach out and stroke my face with her paw, sometimes. Amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it.
A friend of mine had a kitten who lost a hind leg. He did fine even as an outdoor cat. Although once and awhile he’d go to scratch himself and his stump would just wave in the air, offering no itch relief at all.
IME, three legged animals are often adopted before their 4 legged contemporaries. Before exposing your healthy cats to this unknown entity, I would strongly recommend determining the cats feline leukemia status.
We’ve got a three-legs who lost her left hind leg as a tiny kitten. She doesn’t know any different - she can run, jump (though not super high, and she does a hilarous bobble move beforehand to judge the distance), play just like any other cat. She’s indoor-only and I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with her being an outdoor cat even were I inclined to have outdoor cats. She does try to scratch her left ear with the leg that isn’t there anymore, so we scratch her ear for her when we see that stump wiggling. She does seem to have some sort of PTSD condition wherein every once in a while the muscles in her stump will seize up and she’ll freak out and try to get away from the whatever it is that’s hurting her. We need to bring her into the vet to get her some kitty prozac or aspirin or something because it’s been happing more frequently. Overall, however, she’s a sweet, mischievous kitty and gets along just fine with only 3 legs.
When we went to the local shelter to adopt a kitten, we fell in love with her at first glance and didn’t even think about the 3-legs thing. Luckily we got there when we did because there was a whole list of people who got there after us who wanted her as well.
Cats missing hind limbs have the extra value added benefit of not climbing on the kitchen counters or bookshelves.
Don’t forget to deworm him and his sibling before you bring them in. And, for Og’s sake, keep them inside! If nothing else, another caring neighbor will pity the poor abandonded legless cat and “rescue” him from you.
If you can’t keep him inside, I recommend trying to find him another home. He simply cannot escape from danger as well as a 4-legged cat - and they get killed all too often outside.
