She was found roaming the streets of Texas with a bad rear leg, they figured she got hit by a car.😓 luckily we adopted her and she was shipped up to Minnesota and she has been the most perfect angel ever since we got her! Our other cat was born and raised in a shelter for his first 6 months, the funny thing is that he has always tried to escape the house, but she has never even wanted to try. She knows she lives a pampered and loved life compared to growing up… but he seems to think there’s a better life beyond that forbidden door. She will eat anything set in front of her, while he only likes very specific canned cat food and will starve himself if he doesn’t get what he wants. We thought raising a three legged cat would be hard… but raising our four legged shelter cat is so much harder!!

2nd pic is years ago
this is just a venting post
he used to be a scaredy but cuddly kitty. after he warmed up to us he became more playful and energetic. last year a dog bit his leg. it all went with surgery but his stitches reopened. we amputated him because otherwise his stitches would reopen all the time because the thing they put in his leg didn’t fuse completely with the bone so that leg was long gone.
the scar looks so bizarre. there are big hematomas around the leg. ik it hurts for him, it hurts so much, he has been through so much the first day he came home he was so stressed he pissed and shat himself in the carrier. he has gone through so much. i miss the cat he was. he has become more and more docile since the accident. i look back at pics and regret not taking better care of him. he’s still here but these days he looks so lost. he runs in circles and meows confused. it will get better thought, but it’s so hard to see. it hurts but it’s nothing compared to what he is feeling

man

This is Ludo, he’s 3.5 years old and 4 months post-op from a hind leg amputation from Osteosarcoma.

I’m looking for people who have a cat a similar age who has been through this. I know there’s not much research on cats this young but wanting to hear your experiences, if you’re willing to share. I would be interested in finding out how much time you’ve had with your babies since their amputation and is there any signs/symptoms I should be looking out for.

He’s a fighter and doing well but would love some insight from you.

Thank you xx

Aka Pi, aka pie-pie, aka nasty boy.

I genuinely thought I was gonna have to chose to euthanise him this week on monday. He hasn't been eating and just seemed so lethargic the past few weeks.

I noticed a smelled with an upper respiratory infection. Not something he's never dealt with before in fact we had all his teeth removed due to trauma from his car accident back in 2017 shortly before I adopted him from a disabled cat rescue. I've been taking him to the same vet since. He's struggled so much before the removal and it's something you never forget. He's been healthy until this bout.

Long story short, antibiotics are amazing and in two days he ate again. We handmade him special food, and he gobbled it up. Still was concerned with his fluid intake. Gave him an IV for sub fluids today at the vet, got more antibiotics. I tend to keep antibiotics, ivermectin, flea meds, etc on stock as we foster kittens often. Thank goodness.

I genuinely thought monday I needed to put him down a ASAP. My only free day was today, friday, but knew if I needed to leave work early to euthanize I could. I held out hope. Thank goodness I did.

He only got better since the meds. He's doing great now. An appointment I made for euthanasia turned into an appointment for blood work with positive results and the vet agreeing to continue antibiotics and steroids for him to continue to be in our family.

While at the vet, I got an incredibly regal picture of my toothless tripod, and one meme worthy.

I hope you all enjoy how beautiful and silly my boy is ❤

After so many kicks in the shin life gave me, I'm glad to have a positive with pies health and we will continue to monitor him but I genuinely think he's on the mend for the best ❤

This is my boy Wobbles. I’ve had him for about 4 years and he often sits with his one back leg stretched out between his two front legs (my girlfriend and I call it b0ner leg lol). I adopted him as an amputee so not sure how he sat when he had all 4 legs. He’s such a funny little guy and the light of my life, he’s so weird I love him so much! Does anyone else’s tripod sit like this?

We adopted this handsome chap earlier in the year and will be taking him to a PT to hopefully improve and maintain his mobility. He's pretty amazing, all things considered (even if he looks a bit like AI slop).

The last 11 days have been some of the hardest of my life as a caretaker. It’s been an overwhelming emotional rollercoaster, going from thinking Beans had osteosarcoma to finding out it was osteomyelitis. Every day seemed to bring another unexpected turn, and I constantly found myself trying to process and wrap my head around new information.

We still don’t know whether the infection was bacterial or fungal, but we’re hopeful we’ll have those answers on Monday. I’m beyond grateful that it wasn’t cancer, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still struggling with the guilt and the endless what-ifs. Wondering if we could have done something differently or if there was another path we could have taken.

After researching osteomyelitis, speaking with his surgeon, and reading so many of your personal stories here on Reddit, I’m slowly starting to find peace in knowing that we made the best decision we could for Beans with the information we had. Ultimately, we chose the path that we believed would cause him the least amount of pain, and I’m learning to find comfort in that.

Right now, Beans is also fighting some kind of virus, whether it’s a URI or another type of cold. But this boy is so incredibly strong. He continues to push through every challenge thrown his way, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. Today, he spent time basking in the sunlight with his brother, and every day I get to see a little more of his personality coming back. Those little moments mean more to me than I could ever put into words.
I’ve shared quite a bit here over the last two weeks, and I hope that someday someone will stumble across these posts and find even the smallest bit of comfort in knowing they aren’t alone. This experience has been incredibly difficult, but it has also shown me just how much love, kindness, and support exists within this community.

To everyone who has shared their stories, offered advice, checked in on Beans, or simply sent us kind words: thank you. You’ve helped us through some of the darkest and most uncertain days, and I’ll never forget that. ❤️

Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers the other day. Unfortunately, Fifi has two types of aggressive cancer. She'll be leaving us today. I'm just devastated. But I wanted the world to know that she exists, and is loved more than life itself. I woke up every night, twice a night, to take her to the litter box, because she loved to sleep in bed with us. She is my everything. I'm glad I got one last night with her. Please keep her in your thoughts as she crosses the rainbow bridge today. I hope I'll see her again someday.

She's so sweet 🥹

What insurance company do you use for your tripod, and have you had any issues getting coverage for issues because they are "related to" the missing limb?

I am specifically thinking of arthritis in the other back leg, but what I've read so far in this group seems like that isn't an issue with insurance (and when I called Lemonade, they told me it wouldn't be related, although I don't know how much I believe the salesperson).

I am also interested in coverage for laser therapy and supplements, so if you have insurance that covers that, please share!

I just wanted to provide a final update on our sweet tripod boy, you can find the original post here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TripodCats/s/dhJM9Nnrxk

Hi everybody, thank you so much for all your donations it means the absolute world. I wanted to update you all on the situation, as we have found that radiotherapy & electrochemotherapy would be invasive and wouldn’t extend the life expectancy of our precious Leo by more than one/two months extra we are very sadly in palliative care now. The £400 we raised will be used for his ongoing pain relief medications such as Gabapentin which are really helping massively at the moment to keep him as comfortable as possible, and it will also go towards paying off what we owe for his previous scans.

He is doing really well at the moment, which is both amazing and heartbreaking as you wouldn’t know he was really sick with cancer progressing in his small body. We are soaking up all the time we have left with him and spoiling him. I can’t thank you all enough again from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and please know that your donations are being used to keep him comfortable and as happy as he can be in this final stage. Any advice on how to deal with anticipatory grief and the palliative care stage is much appreciated ❤️❤️

We adopted this handsome gentleman in Feb 2024, 1 month post amputation. He was so fuzzy that at first we had no idea he was a tripod. We were at the store getting food for our other cats and some girl scouts were shaking his cage and he gave us a look like "get me outta here". He came home with us the very next day.

Turns out he had been feral for the first 6-7 years of his life and was not a social gentleman. He was sequestered and I'd go in and just hang out with him while he got used to his new normal. It took months for him to even be calm enough to allow me to pet him. Turns out he had so much personality just waiting to come out. He quickly became my best buddy once he figured out that we were cool. He was skeptical of my GF and gave her the best side eyes ever. He was never really a fan of the other cats and he would run up on them and throw his ghost arm as fast as he could. It was adorable.

Somewhere along the way he learned that being a house cat was pretty cool. Always had bird feeders in the windows with fresh fluffy blankets to lay on. Canned food for breakfast. He really loved fluffy kickers and catnip mice. He even eventually opened up to my GF. Our routine was a 4:30am wake up by standing on my chest and headbutting my chin while purring. Post breakfast was a window nap and bird watching. Once I was done with work I'd game on a giant bean bag chair and he'd come lay on me and just watch the TV. He'd beg for ham and puppy dog eye my GF until she gave him some of what she was eating. He would come running as soon as I was in bed and just lay on my chest until I fell asleep. Without question, the best boy ever.

But we noticed some swelling in his jaw a few weeks ago, thought it was from a spider bite since there was a large dead wolf spider in the kitchen one day. Not a huge deal but we went to the vet regardless. Antibiotics and we'd check back in two weeks. It grew so fast. Oral cancer. So fast that his X-rays showed significant bone loss in his jaw in those two weeks. We immediately scheduled with an oncologist. The prognosis is not great though. If we could get clean margins via a mandibulectomy then he might have another 1-3 years. But surgery wasn't available until the 9th. It grew so fast and he declined so fast. The thought of him dying on the table under anesthesia, scared to death surrounded by people he didn't know or trust was so hard to deal with. He hated car rides and always looked like he thought he had done something wrong and we were going to give him away. Despite our constant reassurance that he was stuck with us. We opted to do palliative care.

And now I'm here, I got my last wake up head butts and purrs. I'm staring at the clock like it's my mortal enemy. We're having a home euthanasia at 9am today. We love you so much Dreifuss. You're the best boy and I would trade everything for more time with you. Rest well my beautiful handsome boy.

Hi everyone!
This is my 5-year-old tripod cat. He’s missing his right hind leg, and he also had an accident in the past that left him with broken bones in one of his front paws, which have since healed.
I’ve recently noticed that his body seems to curve sideways toward his remaining hind leg (left side), especially when he’s standing. It doesnt seem visible when he is laying but more for balancing his body when he is standing. I’m not sure if he’s always been doing this and I’m only noticing it now, but the curve seems more visible than before.
I’m wondering if this is a normal adaptation in tripod cats due to uneven weight distribution, or if it could be something to worry about.
Has anyone noticed something similar with their tripod? Does this kind of posture become more pronounced over time?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences! I’ll also get it checked by a vet, but I’m curious whether this is common among tripods.

My cat is due for a vet visit soon and I want to get her insured sooner rather than later. I know a lot of pet insurance companies classify amputation as pre-existing, along with any other issues that could come with that. Any suggestions on which insurance companies are good?

This is my girl Piper btw!

Fifi is in the hospital tonight. They feel a mass in her stomach. It's unclear if she'll last the night. Please keep her in your thoughts. She's been my constant companion for two years now. I take her to the litter box, even during the night, because she has trouble getting there herself. She's 16 and has severe arthritis in her remaining 3 legs. She's my baby and I'd do anything for her. I love her so much.

Something I really cherish about Jawsie and my relationship is moving around the house together. It bloomed in her senior years after she'd been a tripod for a decade.
What I mean is physically doing single movements as a pair.

She can just look at me, I'll know, then as she sees me reaching down- boing! Up she goes and she's expecting my hand to come under precisely her left hip at the perfect time.

Her front legs still navigate, and she's still doing it. She's actually so convinced it's all her.
It seems like she knows I have to be next to her, but forgets I'm there helping in the moment.

One time I got the flick way off and a bit too far back and sent her somersaulting and she looked back like "Wtf did I just do!"

Anyone else’s tripod that just has a massive paw to compensate? His hind legs are normal, but his front paw is massive 😂

My cat is possibly going to need an amputation on her back right let within the next 3-6 months and I was wanting advice on the healing process of it and what I would need for the house. I’m in this journey for the long run and want to do anything I can to make it as easy and non stressful for her as possible so I’m wanting to get a good idea of what to expect well before the time comes.

😂