Thinking of adopting a three legged kitty

junkanoo

Hello All,

First of all I want to say what a fantastic site this is, full of lots of useful advice and information. I've been reading lots of posts, but couldn't find much information about three legged kitties. Sorry if there is information already posted on the site, please just point me in the right direction!

My OH and I are thinking of adopting a three legged kitty that we saw at our local cat shelter. She is very sweet and seems to be a very affectionate cat (and has already stolen a piece of our hearts already!). I believe she is around 8 months to a year old. She was a stray and was brought to the shelter after being hit by a car, resulting in her front right leg being amputated.

What I want to know is, is there anything in particular we should be aware of? Like being allowed outside (will she be okay in defending herself etc, or should she be kept inside), jumping up and down, using a scratching post, or simply something that we wouldn't think of with a four legged kitty? I am sure she will be well adapted to life with three legs, and that it won't stop her from doing anything. But we just want to be completely prepared. So if there is any advice out there, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

DaisyNelson

Check with the staff at the shelter, as they will have had chance to observe her. My ( limited) experience of 3 legged kitties, is that they manage very well and quickly adapt. Cats can jump just as well with only 3 legs.
Good luck and well done for offering her a home.

chez22

I think it's fantastic you are offering a loving home for a disabled cat. I have no experience of this but try these sites

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/disabled/info.html

http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm

splishsplash

We had a three legged ginger tom a while ago. He had four legs when he jumped into our garden, but he couldn't jump out again. One of his front legs was paralyzed, and he was in a dreadful state. We took him in and had the leg amputated, and he did just fine. He was well able to jump, but he did take a beating in fights. Our dog defends our cats when they're out though, and she minded him well.

I'd say go for it, but be careful of letting her out, as she will probably suffer at the hands of other cats in the neighbourhood.

Leanne1812

Our neighbours cat Basil only has 3 legs and he manages just fine. He does not seem to be afraid of the other cats and there are at least 6 that roam between a few gardens. Basil lives across the road and I do worry because that's how he lost his leg in the 1st place, he was run over. he is a cheeky chap who will try and sneak in the cat flap for some food and is not deterred by my 2 cats. In my opinion he has adapted very well to losing a leg.

Cazza

When I was at school the caretaker had a three legged cat, it was lovely and didn't seem to have any problems getting around the school site. It's name was Tripod :rotfl:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Best tree climber I ever knew was a three legged, tailess cat called Lucky...she did for more small birdies than any other cat in the street.

sandy2_2

We had a 3 legged cat for many years, missing back leg and she was vey agile. Think that a missing front leg might only be a problem if she got into a fight, although when fighting the defending cat tends to roll over on their back and use their back legs for defence, the front ones seem to be the 1st line of defence as they have sharp claws. No doubt she will have learnt to baklance just on her back legs tho´. Having just 1 front leg may hamper her with catching things eg mice, birds etc. Hope you adopt her

snowman2_2

3 legged cats generally do very well and it shouldn't stop them climbing trees etc. I had to persuade someone to give a 3 legged stray cat a go and he regularly says it was the best thing he ever did. It does sometimes take a few minutes for me to notice a missing leg when a cat is placed on the consult table - their low body weight helps a lot

junkanoo

Thank you so much for your replies.

Chez22 - thanks for those links, very informative.
After reading the article about Buba, I will definately enquire about some of the issues that were raised. Thankfully the cat we want to adopt seems to be well adapted and doesn't seem to have any issues with her missing leg (maybe thats due to her losing her leg at such a young age?). But I will enquire at the shelter about her behaviour and how well she is coping with just three legs, if she is using her litter box fine, about her diet, and grooming etc. From what we saw when we last saw her, she was acting in a way that said she didn't even notice she had a missing leg. She was way too busy trying to get a cuddle, and showing off how well she can run up and down her ramp in her cage!

Splishsplash - sorry to hear about your kitty, but it is amazing how well animals adapt, and also how other pet members of the family take care of each other.

Cazza - thats such a great name!

If we do go ahead and adopt her we will keep an eye on her going outside and her ability to cope. There are some neighbourhood cats around, but most of them seem very friendly. I think the cats biggest problem will be me......will have to try and not be an overprotective "mother"!

At the moment we have three favourites picked out, now the big problem is just picking one to bring home (how do you choose?). I am such a sucker for cute little faces :cheesy:. I keep threatening to bring two kitties home with me! We are going back to the shelter tomorrow and will hopefully be bringing our kitty home with us.

Thanks again for you replies!

tealady

Hi. Don't forget we want pics when you have your new kitty.