cat – Freya's tale

Over 9 years since amputation

Hi there

Another post on how Freya is still going A-OK.

Honestly, she amazes me every day.

She will be 18 years old in April and it is over 9 years since her amputation. She remains really too chonky for a tripawd but she is still quite healthy and her life is sleeping, eating and looking for pats.

We have both enjoyed the part of covid where I have been working from home. I have been able to see her days unfold (refer earlier comment on sleeping and eating) and enjoy her company. Her sleeping platform remains so popular.

The next favourite place is the heated sleeping pod. In winter she starts on the sleeping platform in the sun until it gets too hot for her and then she moves to the heated pod. Life is good.

Her age is beginning to tell though. She has two ways up to the bed at night and she can still hop up one way but the other way she now waits for me to pick her up and put her on the bed. Guess which one she wants at 3am? Gues which one she uses during the day?

Thank goodness I love her.

Michelle and Freya

Still going strong

Freya in her new bed in her new house.

I have been adding up the time and it is coming up to 5 years since Freya developed her cancer.

The day to day reality of a kitty tripod has become the norm and I want to let people know there is plenty of life and love after the decision to amputate.

I see some blogs where the time after the operation has been shorter than hoped but no regrets.

I am here to show long term is more than possible and of her nearly 14 years, nearly five have been on three legs.

Wishing everyone happy times with your fur children with four legs or three

All is well in the land of the three legged three years and three months on

Well, not a lot to report (which is fantastic) but thought I would do a quick update.

It is now 3 years and 3 months (nearly, but the alliteration was too much not to go for in the title) post amputation for Freya and she will be 12 years old next month. Wow time flies all around. She was so little when I rescued her and we were in a different state even. And here we are now, several moves later in the lovely Blue Mountains and the chill of autumn just peaking in after a rather prolonged summer spurt at the end of February into March.

I thought I would very briefly discuss ear scratching. Freya still tilts her head down to meet her missing leg and the stump moves madly but futilely. After three years she still does it and I have to assume that most kitties do. If I am near I go over and give a scratch where I think she wants it – and she quickly lets you know if you’ve hit the spot or not! It doesn’t seem to cause her discomfort in any way and if I can’t get to her in time she just shakes her head and usually rolls onto the floor and rubs around a bit – I guess to rub at the itch. In all other ways she seems to not notice the leg is gone, but she still tries to phantom scratch I suppose you could call it. Just an observation and not a concern. You can also trigger her stump with a scratch in the right spot!

She continues to love her cat tree and loves to loll around on her favourite level in the sun. Her calendar pose (she’s a model!) was on the cat tree and it was so appropriate. She is curled up on the couch asleep right now after a rather long grooming session, so all is definitely right in our world.

In all ways she continues to be my loving sweetie kitty and that missing limb is something that is no bother.

Take care

Freya’s mum

Life is good

It is coming up to three years since I found that lump on Freya’s leg. Three years.

And I have to say – amidst the confusion of diagnosis and panic and despair – amputation was the best decision and started a journey that continues to this day, and hopefully for many more.

I can only repeat that, as I sit here watching her curled up asleep on the chair she has jumped up to, it was the right thing.

It wasn’t an easy thing. Let no one tell you any different. Probably one of the hardest calls I have had to make. But it was a good one.

Tripawds helped so much in my making the decision. Particularly the kitty blogs. My thanks to all those who helped with their stories, their advice and tips, their pictures and most of all, the love they have for their furry bundles of fun.

Freya is good. I even sometimes forget when new people come over that she is just the tiniest bit different to their eyes.

She runs (albeit low to the ground)
She jumps (perhaps not as high)
She purrs (louder than ever)
She eats (perhaps a bit too much)
She sleeps (like a good kitty should)

Best. Decision. Ever.

A year (and more ie 14 months) on and all is well

Hi all

It has been such a long time since I posted – I can only but apologise and say that life became a maelstrom of activity.

But to the important stuff – Freya is well and happy albeit…. it must be admitted …. a bit too rotund for a tripod kitty.

After the amputation she got better and better every day and I was more and more certain that the best decision had been made. I then had to make a choice about moving home and so in late March 2013 Freya and I made the move across town. The place we were moving to was single storey which I was quite pleased about as while she was OK at getting up and down the stairs I thought it would still be easier for her at one level. I liked the new place and in fact it reminded me of the Queenslander style homes I rented in Rockhampton and I recalled how Freya would regularly launch herself up the security screen door at our last Queenslander style house to try and get to geckos. And the new place had screen doors even … although these ones were flimsy ie not security. All in all, feeling pretty good with the move.

And the actual move did go well – Freya is experienced at moving around (with a big trip from Rockhampton in Queensland to the Blue Mountains in 2002) and she was enjoying the new place a lot. I had friends help out and it was good. One really good thing was that the large cat tree I had was in a new spot (I had kept her from it after the amputation) and I set up a few boxes around it so she could get up to part of it and when my back was turned she managed to get all the way up to the top!! I was so pleased and feeling that the move was a really positive step.

One dark cloud came along shortly though, which was that a friend of mine visited over Easter (about 2 weeks after we moved) and accidentally stepped on Freya’s remaining rear foot (quite heavily) which resulted in a soft tissue injury which meant Freya began falling over on her rear leg – it was obviously sore and the look she would give me when she collapsed backwards – heart wrenching. It was really difficult to see her fall over, which she was doing all the time after the injury, and I was quite upset.

But, she appeared to be recovering from it quite well, and then the real bad thing happened. You see, I wasn’t the only one who had been reminiscing about Freya jumping up screen doors, it appeared she was too. So one evening, about two weeks after her soft tissue injury, she was looking out the screen door and jumped up. The problem, the screen is not security and so there was no support and she started to tear the fly screen material and so she did as she had done in the past, jumped off backward … but this time, instead of landing on two healthy legs, she fell onto her one leg which was already injured and so she went down hard. She curled in a little ball and hissed when I went near her – she was hurting bad.

I was devastated. Dark cloud replaced by stormy weather with lots of tears .. I mean rain.

That night she eventually uncurled from the floor and actually jumped up on the bed, but as soon as she got up on the bed you could see she was really hurt and so she again curled up and didn’t move. I was so upset I had the next day off work and made an appointment with the vet. He confirmed that she had injured herself and that she was to be confined to a room where there was nothing for her to jump up to, and to keep her contained in that way until her leg got better and with a soft tissue injury, that could be a while. At my darkest moments in that period I imagined what would happen if she lost the use of her remaining rear leg, how would she cope, what would that mean and so on. Those dark thoughts did not make me feel good and so I had to make myself calm down and take it a day at a time.

So, I moved from my bedroom into the spare room, set up a mattress on the floor and for the next 6 weeks she was pretty confined to about two rooms. She would seem to get better and then she’d fall over again. I kept a record and when she had one full day without falling back onto her leg I’d let her access a bit more of the house. There were regular set backs of course and it took a really long while for her to get better but eventually I moved back into my own room and she was able to get on the bed and get around without falling over at all. It probably took about three to four months, so it was around June/ July last year when I’d say she was back to as good as she could be.

And then, because I obviously prescribe to some kind of sympathy pain, I began limping myself and was eventually diagnosed as having a knee cap out of alignment along with osteoarthritis. So for a while it was a great combo at my place – a three legged cat and an owner on a cane/crutch. And yes, the jokes from my friends and work colleagues did get a bit repetitive after a while. But I’m improving all the time and haven’t needed a crutch for months now.

So there you have it – Freya has had a few setbacks (soft tissue injury followed by a bad landing) but she getting around well and gets up the big cat tree (via another smaller piece of cat furniture) and all. I also have plastic crates set up beneath another window for her to get up easily and look out into the backyard. When I find my camera charger I’ll take some photos of her setups so you can see for yourself.

I also came up with a solution for the screen doors as, even after her injury, she would sit at the screen and look up – and you can imagine how that made me feel. I didn’t want to keep the doors closed all the time as I’d feel like a prisoner in my own home and yet I didn’t want Freya jumping up and hurting herself again. I theorised that if she saw something a bit further up the screen that it would stop her and so I took some heavy duty clear plastic wrap (such as gets put around newspapers) and taped it about a foot and a half off the floor across the width of the screen door. And it seems to work a treat. She still sits at the screen doors and looks out and of course she still looks up, sees the plastic and makes no move to jump up. I’ll take a photo of that as well – it might be something for others to consider as well.

The next challenge will be to get her weight down and then maintain it. Wish us luck with that.

So, here we are, some 14 months after discovery of her sarcoma and 13 months after the amputation and I have to say it has been a roller coaster but she and I have come through it. The initial diagnosis, without amputation, was six months but the choice I made has meant she is still here with me. The diagnosis also said that, if we got the sarcoma early enough, the removal of her leg could be a cure and as the months pass and no sign of any other lumps (and believe me, I check regularly) it makes me more and more certain that the decision for amputation, whilst agonising, was the best one.

Day 3 AA

Well, last night wasn’t quite as easy as the night before. Not necessarily because of the amputation but because when I went to go to sleep Freya had somehow managed to extend herself across almost the full width of the mattress. So I was mostly contorted, but that is something we cat owners know about. She made some small growling noises in her sleep, which is not usual and I’ve noticed she has been making a few noises like that as she snoozes/sleeps. Not necessarily alarming but different. She was also wandering a bit and I notice it takes some time from when she wakes up to be confident getting around. I also find that I pretty much follow her everywhere she goes, even in the middle of the night, just to be sure she’s OK. And you know what? She seems to be.

As for getting around, well, she has made the choice it seems. I think I was saying that I was thinking of opening the entire lower floor to her today? I went into the kitchen area and then back to where I have set her up and the door to the other room was opn – the room in which I have stored all the stuff she shouldn’t be near yet – like the cat tree and so on. It is a rabbit warren of boxes and stuff and there she was, lying in the spot of sun in the little bit of clear floor space there was.

Then a little bit later on I was again in the kitchen (which was still off limits), and she navigated the barriers I had set, which must have involved her jumping on the bottom stair, and sauntered in as pleased as she could be into the kitchen. She went into the loungeroom and found a place to hide so I just let her do that. I had to leave for an hour or so (dropping off that feral kitten) and so I contained her within that room leaving water, food and litter tray in there.

When I got back (verdict of kitten – definitely feral and too late for socialisation and we know what that means) she was on the lounge itself, curled up as cute as could be. I had left a little step to the lounge and wondered if she had used it, especially as she jumped down in one go a little while later. Well, I soon saw first hand that she did not. I was so pleased. The couch is one of our favourite places to be together and so when I was curled up there and she jumped up to join me, well I’m not ashamed to say I had a little moisture in my eyes (allergies? no, happiness). And a little while later she clambered up the long way (ie over the arm) and after a little bit of a ‘will she, won’t she’ balancing act, she was there!! I am so so proud of my little trooper.

Freya snuggling on the couch with her human

She has also tackled her favourite cat chair but it wobbled a bit and so she didn’t stay there long. I’ve fixed the wobble so her next attempt should be better.

Freya on top of the world - or at least her favourite viewing platform — Freya on top of the world – or at least her favourite viewing platform

As for the ongoing battle for antibiotics, she ate most (most is good) of the antibiotic laced liquid this morning so I’m quite pleased. I’ve gone and bought some straight tuna in springwater and I take the liquid from that and mix it with a broth you can buy in individual sachets. to make a liquid and smelly concoction within which an antibiotic liquid can hide. This evening she again managed to eat most of the antibiotic mix, although I have to follow her around with the bowl, which must look a bit funny. But only 3 more days of antibiotics to go and then I can relax about her food (and start tackling her weight as tripods need to be reasonably svelte and Freya will need to lose some weight).

Pain does not seem to be an issue at the moment. Of course that is with all the caveats of cats being good at hiding pain. The dose seems to be right (once a day liquid dose) and she is moving around quite freely.

Her incision is looking fine, no discharge, no swelling and so far no worries. Fingers crossed and double crossed that all is well there (she is a good healer – her recovery from the biopsy was a source of some joy to the vet) and continues well. I just compared it to the photo from Day 1 and it already looks better, marginally better of course, but hopefully not my imagination.

I think I might leave the e-collar on until tomorrow afternoon as I will be going to work in the morning for a few hours. But she is OK with it for the most part although she bumps it when wants to rub against things – but she can sleep in it quite well and eat in it so I’m pretty fine with that. It’s a bit pathetic when she wants to lick her side but she forgets shortly (I read somewhere that cats are very much of the now and that seems to be very true).

And so Day 3 after amputation draws to a close and Freya is with me on the couch as I type away with a movie on in the background (Seabiscuit for those who may want to know). It’s so like the way things normally are that the tight feeling in my chest that has been there since her diagnosis is beginning to relax. Not gone you understand, it probably won’t be gone until her incision is healed, and possibly only then minimised, as I know I need to remain vigilant, but it will be so much better.

ETA: A word on elimination. Freya has been weeing no worries and her balance is fine (the e-collar is the greater hindrance I think) and she did a solid elimination on Day 2 ie yesterday. Nothing so far today but I’ve mostly been giving her liquid food to hide the pain killer and more importantly the antibiotics so possibly that is the cause. I’ll give her some more solid food before bed.

Day 2 AA

Today Freya managed to get around some more, she had a solid movement (oh joy) and has taken her required doses of painkiller and antibiotics. The antibiotics in particular feel like a win – she doesn’t take them orally at all well and so I sneak them into some of her food (strong smelling fish broth) and for the most part she eats it. She sometimes stops and there is still food there and so I follow her around with the bowl, tilting it for her and after several impassioned pleas to be a good girl, she eats it all. I just hope that it continues this way for the next four days.

She slept well last night, sharing the mattress I moved downstairs into the room she is recuperating in. I managed to sleep quite well too. She has stuck quite close and usually is lying next to me as I read or type. I just had to move then to avoid having her sit on the laptop, or walk across it, as is her wont. I kept an eye on movements to see when I should give the next dose of painkiller – once a day is the recommendation but if need be I would move it up a few hours, but she did well. When I did notice the start of some discomfort I dosed her up (in food) and she settled.

She really doesn’t like the Cone of Shame and that almost causes as much trouble for her moving around as the loss of her leg does. It came off the first day and I did keep a watch and unfortunately she did start to lick the incision site so I put it back on. She just them managed to remove the soft cloth at the back of it, but it has stayed put. I think I might remove it tomorrow afternoon and observe her actions again. I would remove it tomorrow morning but I have to take a feral kitten in to the RSPCA and she will have to be left alone for the hour or two that will take.

That’s a whole other story. Suffice to say that on top of worrying and caring for Freya, a mother cat and six kittens turned up in my yard four days ago and after some feeding I got one of the kittens tonight and have placed it in a cage. It was not pleasant and I’m thinking that I might see if I can get a humane trap from the RSPCA but it seems like such an unnecessary complication in my life right now. I want to be focusing on Freya and her recovery but instead I’m having to spend time trying to work out how to deal with a feral cat situation! Part of me wants to just ignore it but I know someone has to take responsibility at some time.

I’ve also been doing some thinking about the incision as I got feedback that internal sutures without any external ones is a bit unusual. I know most of the photos I’ve seen are of staples and the length of the incision seem so long but Freya’s is about the length of my hand and looks quite … well, smart isn’t the word, but quite neat I think. I’m not sure if this is an Australian thing but my vet said he was old fashioned and didn’t use staples. He also made the call to make them internal and I’m guessing that was so she didn’t need to go back to get stitches out – she would probably have to be sedated and that would be unnecessarily harsh for her so soon after this procedure. He’s been a brilliant vet, and I feel quite lucky.

There also appears to be a different approach to amputation overall here (or at least at my vet) as Freya was only in overnight and back home the next day (the vet said I could have taken her home the next morning and that would have been less than 24 hours) and she is only taking pain killers once a day. I know from some of the other blogs that it can be days at the vet and the pain management regime seems quite intensive. But Freya doesn’t appear to be in pain (no head to floor posture, etc that can sometimes be the only indicator) and she is currently lying on the incision, so I am making an assumption she is not in pain.

Freya has begun to want to investigate more and it was all I could to stop her sneaking in to try the stairs! I’m glad she’s feeling that way, but I’d like her a bit more stable before she tries the stairs. I am however thinking that I might open the bottom of the house to her tomorrow. I’ll have to go through and shift some of her favourite jumping places, and place some assists (small boxes) to the couch but that should be fine.

So, Day 2 is drawing to a close and it has been a good day.

Photos and more photos

I’ve gone and inserted photos into my earlier posts. Now for some reason they are too big on the post to see all of the photo but if you click on the photo it will take you to a full size version.

I hope they convey a little of the lovely cat she is. I know many people ask if she is Russian Blue or similar but she was a kitten in a litter from a stray cat – albeit a lovely all black cat (no markings) and very bright green eyes, father unknown but possibly a feline mercenary for hire – see discussion on her personality below! And with yellow eyes I understand that she is not a true blue (hah, Australian joke there). However her coat while short in length is very thick and lovely (eek – she’s missing so much of her lovely thick fur over her butt right now – so I do have to tell her that her butt looks big in that!)

Freya has tuxedo markings of white, and a little white moustache that is very cute. So many people remark how lovely she looks and her little face is very sweet (little! My friends are laughing here as she is rather …. rubenesque). But it hides an attitude of ‘don’t mess with me’. She has also become very much a one person cat over the last few years and while she will wander up to and sniff at your belongings and even you, woe betide if you (as in not me) take that as an invitation to pet or stroke – prepare to be swatted away, with claws if you are persistent.

Freya contemplatingl ife — Freya contemplating life

So, not a cuddly princess but a haughty goddess shares my home. And after nearly nine years, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And for those interested, she has been an indoor cat all her life. A pampered, environment enriched indoor cat.

Cat tree – tick.
Cat chair – tick.
Scratching posts – tick.
Cat grass – tick.
Toys and boxes of all kinds – tick.
Sleeps on the bed – tick.
Sleeps in the bed when cold outside – tick.
Does pretty much whatever she likes – tick.

LOL. No wonder she carries on like a goddess – I do nothing to dissuade her of that notion.

Freya Date – Day 1 AA (After Amputation)

Well, I’m calling it Day One. Day One After Amputation.

Today, 21 December 2012, I picked Freya up at the vet’s in the afternoon. After a hefty bill was paid (come on down pet insurance people!! Show me the money!! Wait – mixed metaphors there – who cares!) and pain killer prepared and antibiotics obtained (liquid form please) I see her.

She’s in a cage. She has a Cone of Shame. She is so pleased to see me!! I am so pleased to see her too! She’s moving around. Woops, bit unsteady there. Oh no, there it is. Not so bad really. Feel relieved. FYI, my vet used internal sutures, no staples, immeasurably less confronting.

I pick her up – it’s so quick there’s no time to wonder about right way and wrong way, she’s just in my arms. Then carry her to the carrier, she practically lunges at the thing. I think I actually got a face full of absent leg as she clambours in.

Back home and out she gets, weaving and listing, into the luxuriously appointed recuperation room (the front room I use as a sort of library). I spent the last two nights clearing out obstacles and moving in a mattress for me and boxes for her, and decorating it appropriately.

It’s also Xmas and instead of heading home to Taree to my Mum’s, I’ll be here with the cat (don’t worry, I will be temporarily adopted for Xmas dinner). So I made the house a bit more festive and the recuperation room positively glows with candles (battery operated tea lights), crystals, flowers, colourful throws and beautiful pictures. It’s to be my home too for a few days (possibly longer as my bedroom is upstairs and that is where she normally sleeps, and I’m not sure how long until stairs are OK) and it needs to be beautiful and uplifting. The stuff I’ve read said make it dark and quiet and calm, keep her confined and all that, but I also chose to make it beautiful and inspiring.

She wanders slowly, listing to one side, staggering almost. Her front paws are a bit awkward as she lies down then gets up again. But lying down seems to cause no concern. Of dear, the Cone of Shame came off. Watch and observe if she licks the wound …. back goes the cone of shame (not agreeable to Freya at all).

She sees me prepare some food, lots of miaowing in agreement. Woofs it down, liquid pain killer and all – cone a challenge. The vet said she hadn’t eaten while she was with them, so really pleased to see that. She hasn’t gone to the kitty litter tray yet, which may pose a challenge.

Realise I need to give her some anitbiotics. Prepare the syringe and rapidly find out the ‘arrangement’ she and I had come to after her first surgery is null and void as the cone prevents me grabbing her by the scruff on the neck and prising open her mouth. Dang. Darn. Drat. Review her known eating habits (all food fair game) and think if I hide it in some smelly tuna/broth then she might take it that way. Successs!!!

Right now? I’m creating posts on my laptop while lying stomach down on the mattress and Freya has taken up one of her favourite positions, curled up between my legs. Euphoria. Bliss. Contentment. Hope.

Close up of internal suture incision - no exterior sutures or staples — Close up of internal suture incision – no exterior sutures or staples

Freya at her food bowl on Day 1 after amputation

Bring on Day Two.

Surgery and Survival

We lay on the bed together that morning. I was reading – Freya was sleeping.

I turned a page and Freya scratched an ear … with a left hind foot. I stared. Part of me, the flippant ‘hide your pain’ part of me was all ‘enjoy that while it lasts’. Another part was quietly weeping inside.

Not all tears are an evil? (Take refuge in Tolkien) But I felt so bad.

I placed her in her carrier and off we went to the vet’s.

I took deep calming breaths. Did absolutely no good. Tears were a constant pressure behind my eyes.

Hold it together!! You’re a professional person. You know it is the only option. Hey, there are people who are having much worse days than you. You have the money for the operation (your heart bleeds a little for those posts and pages you’ve seen in your frantic scouring of the internet for all the information you can find where they know their finances cannot give them a choice). You take another breath. Still no good.

The vet is lovely and warm. He smiles. He explains the best of care will be taken. X-rays will be taken. That new lump I think I found the other day (all of a sudden amputation is a preferred option to ‘I’m sorry it’s no use’) will be checked.

All I know is that my little Freya will soon be on a table and not all of her will go back in her cage.

Tears. Fears. Composure gone. Tissues essential. Small talk and then no talk. Small talk again.

Leave. Now.

The call came. All clear. No additional lumps found. Surgery clean. Out from anaesthetic. All good.

More tears.

Not all tears are an evil.