Donald: Week One

     It's been a week since Donald had his left hind leg amputated due to osteosarcoma.  He is doing very well learning to walk on three legs. It's kind of like watching someone with a broken leg walk on crutches. His front legs move forward in a quick one-two step and then he hops forward with his hind leg centered down the middle. looking down on him from above he really does form a tripod with his three legs to maintain his equilibrium.
    The first few days were difficult and he kind of banged up his stump as he overdid it trying to jump up on the bed, or couch. He quickly learned his limitations, and how to ask to be lifted onto the bed when it's bedtime. My main concern was keeping the stitches intact.  This meant keeping the elizabethan collar on him when I was at work, or at home sleeping. In general, he was very well behaved and only gave himself a general body bath  which seemed to soothe and relax him. He plucked at the stitches a couple of times, as a test, but I quickly let a yell out of me and he didn't like that at all.

     One result of the E-collar has been that we are developing potty issues.  Since he can't get in and out of the litter box with the cover on it, I had to remove the cover.  It seems he did not appreciate this. He peed a couple of times into his blanket and some towels which I had put on the floor to protect it from his drainage. (All of those stitches produce a lot of oozing ) As a result he changed his substrate preference from the kitty litter to the towels and blankets. I returned things back to the way they were before and that seems to have done the trick as he now tinkles in the litter box again.
    However, later in the week, I realized I had not seen a pooh either in the litter box or anywhere about the apartment. I became concerned and told the vet about it. Her reply was, "well, he must be doing something with them.." I asked for some Catlax when we went in for the suture removal, and once again things began to move in the right direction.
     He went for his suture removal last Thursday and I was really proud of how good the incision looked. It was a long, 7 inch incision. Unfortunately, the vet was only able to remove 2 or 3 of the stitches before she said he would have to come back in a week for the remainder of the sutures to be removed. I was so disappointed, for Donald's sake. I was hoping we would be done with the E-collar so he could get back into his litter box routine. I really felt the collar was stressing him out and cramping his style. But I continue to be the daddy and make him wear it just so we don't have any disasters this far into the game. What's one more week? He's making great progress otherwise in coping and adapting, as am I.
     Right now, he's rolling in catnip on the floor,quite oblivious to the fact that he only has three legs. If I ever come down with the big C, I'm sure I'll need medical marijuana. I need to learn to think like a cat and I'll be just fine.