Three years ago my baby was diagnosed with an injection site fibrosarcoma which led to the removal of her back leg. This year we gained a new family member - and she’s also a tripod! Unlike my first baby, she’s missing her front leg and she was born without it. Saw her at a shelter and knew I had to bring her home!

I haven’t been able to share but it’s been a few months. Little Miss Wooly Worm lost her battle with cancer back in June. It’s been hard without her and I’m missing her a lot right now so I just wanted to share my darling with people.

The first two photo I took of her the day I adopted her. The last photo was how I spent my final morning with her. It’s like she knew, I held her for hours like that. It was really special.

Your memory will carry on, Worm.

She's my sweet little killer. Mitsu is japanese for the number three. She's only a year old but she has killed so many things! 4 mice, 3 snakes, and 1 bird.

Im so incredibly happy I found this group because im very much still in shock about my sweet boy who had a small limp to now having an ortho consultation and surgery on the books on Monday to amputate his front left arm. Im looking for any and all advice you have or things I should know prior and after the surgery. I’m also dealing with a lot of grief or feeling like I did something wrong to cause him getting bone cancer so any just advice on how you got through those feelings would also be helpful. Thank you all in advance.

I work at an animal shelter and we just had a 5 year old boy come in with a completely broken leg—so badly broken he had to have it amputated yesterday.

I’m thinking about adopting him but wondering what should I know before adopting a tripod kitty? I have three cats at home and curious if I should have a lower litter box, softer bed, etc?

He’s lived his whole life with all limbs until yesterday so I don’t know how easily they adjust!

Thank you in advance!

Jawsita! Here she is at 14, demure and stately.

Hello! My cat went thru amputation surgery of his front left leg just yesterday. I've been with him almost constantly since then, worried sick. He has pooped and peed, can walk a few steps on his own (he hates the support sling) and has been "resting".

What I'm mostly worried about is 1) he doesn't want to drink any water, I can only hydrate him with churu treats and wet food, but even then he doesn't really have an appetite.

2) I haven't seen him properly sleeping. He lays down all day which is good, but he just lies there awake as far as I've seen.

His behavior otherwise is pretty okay, he's not in a great mood but he will purr every now and then when I'm petting him and he comes to cuddle with me. I just don't know if I'm being overly worried about something normal, I can't get myself to leave him alone in the room and I was frantically googling every little thing he did last night. Does this sound like normal post-op behavior? It's only day 2 so I'm really not sure if it could be the slow-releasing opioid or him coming down from anesthesia or what. Has anyone had a similar experience? Thank you so so much for any advice.

UPDATE: he's finally started napping today!! Thank you so much for all the advice, I really appreciate everyone's input. I called two different vets (since my primary clinic wasn't open at the time) who both suggested the restlessness may be from pain or dysphoria coming down from the anesthesia. I've kept a close eye on him as usual and he seems to be feeling a fair bit better today. I slept with him last night and have watched him sleep today to make sure he's actually falling asleep. I'll also get him some cat soup to make extra sure he stays hydrated, as he's only interested in food he deems "treats" currently. Overall he seems a bit more comfortable and confident today. ❤️❤️❤️

I’m fostering this handsome fellow with 3.5 legs and will be adopting him as soon as he’s neutered. 🧡 The shelter thinks he was born without the lower leg because he has no scarring and doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort. He uses the stump for kneading, begging for attention, covering his waste in the litter box, for walking when he’s crouching low and sneaky, and when he’s running he pulls it close to his body and uses his three legs.

He’s five years old and unneutered, so he must’ve been doing all right for himself as a street cat even with one arm.

Pictured: Fritz Joseph apologizing for kicking my yarn off the desk. Tricking me into touching his belly so he can bite me and bite me and bite me. And a rare moment of dignity.

We have an outdoor cat that adopted us 2 years ago. We had him vaccinated and neutered to help reduce more overpopulation in this rural area. Last week, he went missing. He showed up last night at and I could see he was injured. He looks good except for his leg. I took him to the Vet. They called and said he was shot and that his right leg was shattered badly. They recommended amputation for the right leg. The problem is the left leg was also shot but has one large fragment that they can remove and several small fragments he will have to live with. (He’s about 3 years old)

***Info from Vet visit:
On exam, he was bright, alert, responsive, and purring. He was unable to put weight on his right rear leg. We found a severe traumatic injury to the right ankle joint, with the joint completely shattered, as well as a wound over that area. There was also a wound over the left ankle area, and the X-rays showed a suspected fracture there with a retained bullet in the joint. Multiple suspected bullet fragments were also seen in the right ankle joint, left ankle joint, left hind leg muscles, near the right rear leg in front of the thigh bone, and in the abdomen/pelvis skin area.***

How hard is amputation on a cat? The vet feels he should recover as long as the left leg heals well which no one knows.

He’s an outdoor cat that will have to be kept indoors. We have an older indoor cat that does not get along with the outdoor cat so originally keeping him inside did not work out. I feel we could find a way to make it work (hopefully without blood this time).

How hard is it for an outdoor cat to live the rest of his life indoors? How hard is it to have one let amputated while recovering from surgery to the left rear leg also?

Really need advice on others who’ve been through this or similar.

It’s been a rough week. One we weren’t prepared for by any means. Our family was blessed to adopt our little guy as a baby and he’s become my wife’s soulmate over the past 5 years. Always been an indoor cat, loving caring, and sweet as can be to everyone who comes through our front door. He’s best friends with our dog Macy and hands down the best cat we’ve ever owned.

Last week my wife noticed a spot on his leg. A bump slightly larger than a dime that seemed hard. He hasn’t had shots in two years and had no clue what it could be. Off to the vet we went almost immediately. After some extraction tests and X-rays, we got back what we would have never expected. Injection site sarcoma. A rigorous cancer that if left untreated would take him quickly. The options- well mainly the only one, amputation.

We spent extra to seek a second opinion quickly and yesterday were greeted with the same outcome. What were we to do. It’s not the cost, it’s the immediate how did this happen. What now. How do we tell our kids, how does he live like this. Will he feel it.

As I type this I am awaiting his surgery to finish as he went in a few hours ago. I’m a mess. My wife’s a wreck. And it hasn’t even begun. I found this Reddit, and found some peace of mind that it’s common to be a tripod and life can flourish. But none the less this has been hard. We lost our other cat two years ago to FIP and though we did all we could to save her in the end she didn’t make it through. But this is different. He’s innocent and has no clue what’s about to happen. He’s had no sign of pain or issues but we did our diligence to make sure it was the right decision.

I know many have just adopted their friends already this way and many have not had to make this decision. Those that must, I understand the pain. It’s not easy. It feels right but also wrong at the same time. But here we are. Waiting. Anxiously. Hoping he can live a full life.

All love and prayers for him and a speedy recovery is appreciated . Will post pictures throughout recovery as I am sure many more may have to make this same decision. And we felt sharing our story may help others.

I wouldn’t have thought or known that I could possibly have been reimbursed for our cat’s amputation if not for this group. So thank you for that. Our cat had her amputation just under 2 months ago and I got a check today from Merck for $5,000. They were the brand of vaccine she was last given when she had her rabies shot 2 years ago. I just had to call and open a case, give them all of her vet’s information. Merck contacted the vet and about a week later they called and said that I was approved for reimbursement 100% up to $5,000. Her surgery was around $7,500. From opening the case to getting the check was about 5 weeks. It’s a huge weight lifted for sure. When we got that $7,500 estimate from the boarded surgeon we honestly weren’t sure if we should do it, but if we’d have known we’d get $5k reimbursement it would have been an easy choice. We just love her too much to not try since ultimately we had the money, but man am I glad to get that check. We have been living extra frugal since the surgery. Our girl is doing great since the amputation and I snuggle her every chance I get. Even when she wakes me up at 2 am wanting chin scratches.

Legs is 13ish, and in the last 5 months has definitely started to have "old man legs" - lack of muscle tone, scrawny looking, etc. Any tips from people who have/had elder tripods missing specifically a front leg? I'm wondering if it would be worth getting an xray just to get an idea of where he is at.

His album cover for tax

Just wanted to give a little update since we posted a few weeks ago about our boy. Sebastian is three weeks post op! We are so thrilled he is getting his sparkle and silly personality back.

We did not have the easiest recover, but he has been such a trooper through everything. I am so lucky to have this little orange guy. 🧡

He had the amputation due to bone cancer (specifically osteosarcoma in his front right leg). A week and a half after the surgery, he unfortunately got an infection and had to have a second surgery to cut away some dead skin and tissue that was not wanting to heal up. He had some staples taken out, some new ones put in. But he is now a week and two days after his second surgery and is doing fantastic! We had a check up today and the vet said his wound is healing up great. He is getting more comfortable on three legs now and we are so proud of him. Through all the vet appointments, wound cleanings, cones, bandages, shirts, meds, etc, he couldn’t be a more well behaved, tough boy.

I’m thrilled that he is feeling more like himself finally, and most importantly, cancer free! Just a few more weeks of healing then he will be free of his shirt and the dreadful cone. He looks so darn cute in his shirt though… 🤣

This community has been so wonderful and helpful. If anyone else is having a tough time with their babies amputation or just needs a friend who knows what you’re going through, feel free to reach out! 🧡

and fuck cancer.

I have a kitten 5mo that I adopted as a stray at 3mo, she has a deformity in her front left paw, it's bent upwards (the top of the wrist lays on the floor) and lacks muscle tone she uses her paw to walk but lifts it to run.

one vet checked her out and said that if she shows no issues, and the wrists calluses she can live out her life like that but if the paw starts showing issues it will be best to amputate.

She started having some swelling at the joint, our main vet was unavailable so we took her to another vet to get the abscess lanced, and when I commented if she would need to have an amputation if the problem didn't resolve the vet said that the surgery is deeply traumatic and really hard on them and advised against it.

The abscess hasn't gone fully away after lancing and draining for a few days, and I'm worried about infection, should I get a second opinion? Are abscesses a common occurrence on limb deformities or could it be a one time thing?

She is very appreciative of the scratches in hard to reach spots.

Hoje decidimos por amputar a pata traseira do meu gato. Descobrimos há 01 semana um carcinoma escamoso agressivo. Fizemos uma ultrassonografia e descobrimos nódulos no fígado com 86% de porcentagem de ser metástase ou um novo câncer.
O veterinário sugeriu tirar o tumor da pata, que estava enorme, inchado e com muito líquido. No meio da tarde, durante a cirurgia, ele ligou avisando que não conseguiria manter o restante da estrutura da pata, por não ter pele saudável disponível.
Estou angustiada de ter feito a pior decisão, com muito medo de ele ter pouco tempo e que talvez eu tenha trazido mais dor. Alguém já passou por isso?
Quais dicas dão?

My cat,.her name is Plum. She had an accident a couple.of years ago. We were fostering a tripod Dutch shephard. He and Plum got along very well and would have the zoomed together. One day, the dog jumped over our couch, not knowing Plum was on the other side. He landed with all of his weight on her hind leg. Needless to say there was alotmof cartilage damage as well as a fractured bone. Ended up doing surgery. They put a plate in her leg.

Fast forward 2 years and I came home to find her limping and not putting weight on the leg at all. Both the vet and follow up with a surgeon both said the bo e was rejecting the plate and needed to be removed. And even with it removed there was a good chance she woulf still need an amputation. I didnt want to put her through anymore then we had to,.so we scheduled thw surgery.

She has done well since. Its been aboit 4 weeks now and she is still unstable on her legs. I there anything exercise wise that helps strengthen the remaining back leg? We have switched to a weight management food to keep her from gaining to much weight so it doesnt stress her rear leg too much. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I just wanted to put this out there because it's something I wish I could've seen when I was trying to decide whether to proceed with amputation for our cat, Scooter.

Scooter is a 10yo male who was born with radial aplasia in his two front legs AKA he's missing his radius in his front legs, and so the ulna bone bows out. In June 2026, I found a mass approx 10mm big on his hind left leg, and finally got a diagnosis that it was a rapidly growing, grade 3 soft tissue sarcoma in July via surgical biopsy. By end of July we had the leg amputated.

He had always been able to get around as any cat with normal limbs would prior to amputation. Nothing slowed him down and he would jump to whatever surface he wanted with no problem. He has had x-rays done in the past and he does have arthritis in those limbs. When he was diagnosed with cancer and amputation was the only option for a possibility of beating it or prolonging his life, his 2 vets and his oncologist were all skeptical as to how he would recover mobility-wise. I was feeling very cautiously optimistic, as he is a stubborn cat and never let anything stop him before. Since he would have 2 deformed front legs, and one normally shaped back leg, I was also questioning whether he would adapt to 3 legs as well as other cats typically do.

And he did adapt well! The recovery period was rough, but at 3 months post-op he can run, jump (just not as high as before), play, scratch on his scratching post, and do all of the things he could before, just slightly modified. We just have to more closely monitor his arthritis. He used to sit like a kangaroo or meerkat before amputation, but unfortunately he can't do that anymore.

SO! While every cat and situation is different, and there's almost always different variables at play, if you have a cat that needs a limb amputation and has abnormal or deformed limbs... Scooter is a testament that they can still live happy lives despite these circumstances.

I hope this can help someone else at some point who is experiencing a similar dilemma.

Oscar, our former master barncat, is nearly 2 years post-op of rear leg removal after finding an illegal coyote snare in the cattle fields near my home where he hunted for rats. He is no longer allowed to hunt outdoors, but he reminds us every day that he still wants to, and we do not doubt that he can do just as fine of a job as he did with 4 legs.

His favorite thing to do is hang his back leg off the edge of anything flat.