Rescued a cat after an accident, what would you do??
Discussion
Last week I had the misfortune of seeing a cat in the middle of the road after being hit by a car (not by me I might add!). I did the decent thing (being a cat owner myself), turned round and went back. By the time I got back another car had stopped and the guy had moved the poor thing to the pavement and was in the process of calling a vet. We put the cat in my car and I got her to the local vet, she was still meowing in the car but to be honest I didn't hold out much hope for her, she had blood all over her face etc.
Anyway this was a week ago and she is making a recover, apart from a dodgy leg which I will come on to. When we took her in she had no collar on and she has not been chipped, yet she is very friendly and being long haired the vet said she has obviously been well looked after because her fur is in good condition, so somebody is obviously missing her. I did go back to where she was found, put a couple of posters in the shops and knocked on a few doors but no joy. The problem is it's a well built up area and there are so many streets/houses, she could have come from anywhere! I am also going to write into the local paper, just waiting to see what happens to her. The vet has also rung round their customers in the local area but nothing.
Back to the leg, since the accident she is dragging her front leg. The vet has x-rayed her and put it down to nerve damage because there are no broken bones, apparently this can go either way, it will either recover (it can be left for up to a month to see if she starts to use it again), or it won't and she will have to have it amputated.
I instantly offered to take this cat on depending on how she recovered and if they couldn't find her owner. I went to see this cat after the accident, she is very friendly and I would hate to see her put down because no one was willing to give her a home, she's only 4-5 years old. The vet costs so far are being covered by the RSPCA but I think we would have to foot the bill for an amputation if it came to that, or is there a way you can do this through the RSPCA??
So cat owners of PH's, of which I know there are many from the amount of cat related threads on here, what would you do, would you take on a 3 legged cat to prevent her from being put down? Has anyone got a 3 legged cat, how does it get on, is it better to put them down etc???
...oh and we already have a 2 year old male cat who may not take kindly to a big sister!!
Anyway this was a week ago and she is making a recover, apart from a dodgy leg which I will come on to. When we took her in she had no collar on and she has not been chipped, yet she is very friendly and being long haired the vet said she has obviously been well looked after because her fur is in good condition, so somebody is obviously missing her. I did go back to where she was found, put a couple of posters in the shops and knocked on a few doors but no joy. The problem is it's a well built up area and there are so many streets/houses, she could have come from anywhere! I am also going to write into the local paper, just waiting to see what happens to her. The vet has also rung round their customers in the local area but nothing.
Back to the leg, since the accident she is dragging her front leg. The vet has x-rayed her and put it down to nerve damage because there are no broken bones, apparently this can go either way, it will either recover (it can be left for up to a month to see if she starts to use it again), or it won't and she will have to have it amputated.
I instantly offered to take this cat on depending on how she recovered and if they couldn't find her owner. I went to see this cat after the accident, she is very friendly and I would hate to see her put down because no one was willing to give her a home, she's only 4-5 years old. The vet costs so far are being covered by the RSPCA but I think we would have to foot the bill for an amputation if it came to that, or is there a way you can do this through the RSPCA??
So cat owners of PH's, of which I know there are many from the amount of cat related threads on here, what would you do, would you take on a 3 legged cat to prevent her from being put down? Has anyone got a 3 legged cat, how does it get on, is it better to put them down etc???
...oh and we already have a 2 year old male cat who may not take kindly to a big sister!!
Maty said:
So cat owners of PH's, of which I know there are many from the amount of cat related threads on here, what would you do, would you take on a 3 legged cat to prevent her from being put down? Has anyone got a 3 legged cat, how does it get on, is it better to put them down etc???
Bloke on Seloc has a 3 legged cat (called Tripod 
) and its fine.
We used to have Sally, a cat with her right rear foot missing from birth. She had no problems with day to day life at all. It was just old age that finshed her off.
Take the cat on - you know it's the right thing to do if the owner doesn't materialise. We've just added a female rescue cat to our clan, and the two boy cats we had already are fine with her.
Take the cat on - you know it's the right thing to do if the owner doesn't materialise. We've just added a female rescue cat to our clan, and the two boy cats we had already are fine with her.
My neighbour has a three legged cat. He is called tripod and is the last remaining Kray cat. His brother also had three legs for a while then two! They terrorised the neighbourhood cats between them! Tripod gets along fine, fights with other cats (and wins!) cuffs his live in chihuahua about when he steps out of line!
Take her on, three legged cats are lovely.
Take her on, three legged cats are lovely.
Thanks for the replies, I'm leaning towards taking her on, she is still with the vet at the moment. My only issue is I will have to pay for the amputation and I have no idea how expensive this could be, I presume it's a major operation. If this was my own cat I wouldn't hesitate but this is someone else's cat so it would be easier to walk away. If we are talking 000's of pounds I simply couldn't afford it!
Having said that, she has recovered from the accident so she deserves a shot at the rest of her life.
Any idea of the cost of an amputation?
Having said that, she has recovered from the accident so she deserves a shot at the rest of her life.
Any idea of the cost of an amputation?
Maty said:
would you take on a 3 legged cat to prevent her from being put down?
Yes, without hesitation. The only thing stopping me from getting a cat is that I live in a rented top floor flat for the time being. When I move to a more suitable home and do get one I fully intend it to be a "rescue" Cat.Maty said:
Has anyone got a 3 legged cat, how does it get on, is it better to put them down etc???
There's one in a village near me. It's so well known in the area that the local TV news actually did a feature on it! It has adapted well and looks perfectly happy.
We lost our cat, Horace, (put down due to acute renal failure) last summer but he had his front right leg amputated, including his shoulder, four years earlier due to cancer in the shoulder joint.
He coped very well almost straight away after the op, includng using a cat flap fairly high up in a glazed door. The vet said before the op that cats cope better than dogs with the loss of a leg, and a front leg is less of an issue than a rear. Within a month Horace was doing everything his brother, Eddie, who died 12 months before Horace, was doing in the garden, but they were both getting on so there were no tree climbing competitions!
I will probably get some flack on the cost - £1,500, including a course of drugs. It was a very radical operation, and we sought out a specialist because of this, but the post op years were worth it for him. I imagine a more straightforward operation would be a fraction of the cost.
She may not be your cat now, but good on you for taking her on.
He coped very well almost straight away after the op, includng using a cat flap fairly high up in a glazed door. The vet said before the op that cats cope better than dogs with the loss of a leg, and a front leg is less of an issue than a rear. Within a month Horace was doing everything his brother, Eddie, who died 12 months before Horace, was doing in the garden, but they were both getting on so there were no tree climbing competitions!
I will probably get some flack on the cost - £1,500, including a course of drugs. It was a very radical operation, and we sought out a specialist because of this, but the post op years were worth it for him. I imagine a more straightforward operation would be a fraction of the cost.
She may not be your cat now, but good on you for taking her on.
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