Front leg amputation?

Does anyone know about front leg amputation? I have a five month old kitten that I've named Oliver. I got him as an 8 year anniversary present from my girlfriend from the animal shelter. We went and picked him out together about two months ago. When we talked to the staff there they told us the heart breaking story of him. He was found in the cold winter of Wisconsin outside, with a broken front right leg but, it had mended itself and his wiskers were cut but, he was looking alot better when we saw him. We took him home with us that day. We took him to our vet the next day and he has been with us since. He started to limp on his right leg about a week ago but, here in Wisconsin the weather is changing to spring so we thought that it maybe the weather and that with humans you know how your bones hurt when you break something?? Well, it just wasn't getting better so I took Oliver into our vet and he took x-rays of his front legs. His left leg is perfect. His right elbow is crushed. At five months old Oliver already is 9 pounds and the vet said that he thinks that Oliver is going to be a very big cat when he is an adult. The vet gave us two things that we can do for him and those are amputation of his right front leg or to fuse the bones together and have his leg stiff. We are leaning towards amputation but, we are just not sure. Does anyone have anything to say on the subject? The only reason that we were leaning towards amputation is that we think that if, you would land on something that was stiff right out in front of you wouldn't that hurt more than not having something there? We just don't know. Oh, I just don't know what to do...Front leg amputation?
I went with amputation. You are right, a stiff leg will actually restrict your cat's natural life and activity more than having a missing limb. I remember one of my cats trying to walk, let alone run, without tripping all over himself when he had a splinted leg after an injury -- it really stressed him.



My cat McBuff had his hind leg amputated. It didn't take long for him to adapt very, very well -- he's 17 now, but you wouldn't believe how fast he could move with only one back leg when he was a youngster! -- and he didn't have a stiff leg to get in the way of jumping, running, squatting in the litterbox. He is showing signs of joint stress now, but as I said, he's 17. A missing front leg is actually easier on a cat than a rear one, so I don't foresee any major issues.



Good luck, and I am sure losing the leg will be an easier and far better adjustment than a stiff leg. A stiff leg he will know is there...he won't realize the leg is gone.



ADDED: If the leg is stiff, your cat will likely start walking/running with it out to the side and you run the risk of shoulder dislocation on a regular basis.Front leg amputation?
It can be a tough decision for you. The problem will come up later in the cat's life as he will probably have arthritis pain in the injured leg.



Apparently animals do very well with only three legs. Ask the vet is losing a front leg is better than a back one. Since Oliver is young he can adapt better now than he would later on in life.



I do hope you will have him be an indoor cat if he has only three legs. He might enjoy going for walks with you on a leash.
i would amputate with how crazy and playful cats are i would think the fusin would be uncomfortable and would hold him back. good luck
Amputate. When I was a child we had a lab that got hit by a car. The elbow never healed right, and he had a lot of trouble running, and like Suzy said, he was always dislocating his shoulder. My parents finally had the leg amputated and he was a lot happier and friskier and still was a great Frisbie catcher and swimmer. It took no time for the amputation to heal, but I remember it seemed like forever for his leg to heal, and he couldn't swim and labs love to swim.
My baby had bone cancer almost 2 years ago and had his right front leg and shoulder removed. He was up and walking on three legs eight hours later. He spent 3 days in the hospital recovering and had a pain patch for 10 days. We went back and forth to the vet for a few weeks after. The first weekend home was hell on earth. After that Taffy got used it and adjusted his walking to walk easily. He puts his left front leg in the middle similar to a tripod. We have to be careful with his weight and put more effort in playing time to ensure he has at least one hour of exercise a day. For me it was remove the leg or he would have died in days. I'm very happy we did it and Taffy is a very happy little boy. Be aware though personality changes may occur do to the trauma of the surgery, hospital and such. But talk it over with the vet. Good luck!
There's a yahoogroups group called Handicats, sign up over there and ask about amputations, at least three owners in the group have had their cats go through this and can give you feedback.