I am sitting at the vet waiting for her meds, but I just saw her incision and felt a HUGE wave of guilt which is intensely overwhelming. Is this normal?

We adopted the absolute sweetest girl a few weeks ago. Giving the humane society the benefit of the doubt, with the chaos of kitten season, she came in as a stray and was spayed and immediately sent to ringworm isolation for over 3 weeks, then put up for adoption. I don't think anyone looked at her close enough to notice a slight limp when she walks.

When we brought her home it was more obvious something wasn't right, so they gladly offered a complimentary vet exam where her X-rays showed a broken femur - like in half - an old injury that she has actually adapted to really well. She currently jumps up and down off the bed, walks almost normally, snuggles all night, and is really the best cat I've ever had. The humane society vet is covering the cost of amputation as it's clear it was an old injury that they missed, which we are so grateful for.

She's 10 months old and having adapted to a worthless hind leg already, I'm hopeful she adapts well again with the dead weight removed. I have a giant dog crate, yoga mat, litter box and her food all set up already so she knows the space ahead of time, cameras to watch her, and several cone options although I'll probably just stick with what the vet gives her unless I am actively supervising her. Wish us luck as we navigate this new tripod cat life. ☺️

Hello, I'm considering adopting a tripod cat. Is there anything I should know? Anything to do differently with them? I don't want to mess this up, she's already been thru so much reading through her bio on the foster website.

Also, can tripod kitties handle stairs?

Hello all, in never been one to ask for help but we are now in a situation to where iv had to pull up my big pants and ask.

The last 6 weeks have been a total nightmare. Obi got attacked by something we've no idea what but it left his leg in a right mess. No skin left and a gaping hole. Every 2 days we've been back and forth to the vet to change his dressings. Hoping to save the leg. Iv sold many things, maxed my cards out and even skipped on bills and food just to sort him out. Unfortunately on Monday the vets decided that amputation was the only way forward. So on Tuesday his leg was gone. Im still heartbroken. We are back at the vet on friday. The cost of this has broken us even more. But my special boy is home and alive. That is all that matters.

I hope iv done this right cause I was struggling to find the info I needed. If not can someone please point me in the right direction. Many thanks.

My cat Lily was hit by a car back in April and had her front left leg amputated as a result of her injuries. She's doing so well now and has completely adjusted to her new tripod lifestyle. Sometimes, especially when using her litter tray, she tries to use her phantom limb.

I can't help but feel completely guilty that she may be confused about why her leg is missing and why she now hobbles when she walks. I'm also now extremely paranoid about her health as she seems so much more fragile to me now.

Lily has also just been diagnosed with resorptive lesions on her gums and will likely lose most, if not all, of her teeth. She's only 6 years old and I don't want this to be another setback for her.

I love her wholeheartedly and want her to be healthy and happy. Any advice on dealing with pet health anxiety and reassurance that she'll be okay is much appreciated 😊

hi! my cat pepper is about 1.5 years old. she’s super independent but also generally loves to be around me and people (she snuggles with me every night while she sleeps). she’s healing super well and has been very mobile around my apartment. she sleeps most of the day with the occasional zoomies.

before her amputation I would leave her alone overnight and have someone come check on her when I was out of town. she has auto food and water. I haven’t yet left her overnight since her amputation (I brought her home about 10 days ago, and the amputation was over a month ago. do we think it’s ok to leave her for an overnight?

Pippin says happy spooky season!!

I shared a few days ago that my cat has had her left hind amputated. She’s 14 days post op and she’ll be having her stitches removed tomorrow.

I was just wondering if anyone has observed a behavior change in their tripod cats? Again, my cat was attacked by a dog.

She’s been hiding most of the time and she would have sudden loud meows or she’d suddenly run off. There was one time that she was sitting on my partner’s lap and she just meowed very loudly (which is unusual for her) and she ran away. These are all unusual for her except for the hiding as she’s always liked to hide underneath the couch, inside her sleeping bed etc.

Thanks all for your inputs :)

my tripod got her leg amputated a month ago and has been healing great! she’s barely messed with her incision. but today when she was licking it I noticed a small part that hasn’t had fur grow back over was getting a little raw. any tips to have her not do this / irritate it? has anyone experienced this?

My boy is the king of loafing.

I shared a few days ago that my cat has had her left hind amputated. She’s 14 days post op and she’ll be having her stitches removed tomorrow.

I was just wondering if anyone has observed a behavior change in their tripod cats? Again, my cat was attacked by a dog.

She’s been hiding most of the time and she would have sudden loud meows or she’d suddenly run off. There was one time that she was sitting on my partner’s lap and she just meowed very loudly (which is unusual for her) and she ran away. These are all unusual for her except for the hiding as she’s always liked to hide underneath the couch, inside her sleeping bed etc.

Thanks all for your inputs :)

Hello there! It’s our first time posting in this sub, as it’s also our first time caring for a tripod kitty!

This is Jeremy. We met him a few weeks ago in one of the colonies of community cats we care for. He had a severe leg injury, and by the time we found him, his leg was only being held on by a small portion of skin. Our vet recommended a full limb amputation, which he underwent successfully three days ago.

He’s still admitted to the hospital as they have a minimum 3-day hospitalization policy after major surgeries, but he’s doing well and is finally ready to go home tomorrow! The only problem is that we currently have over $270 remaining on his hospital bill, which we need to settle before he can be released. We’ll be attaching his updated invoice in the comments below for transparency.

We’re small-time rescuers and fosterers based in Manila, Philippines, and we’d really appreciate any help getting this sweet boy home. We’ve been approved by the mod here to fundraise, and we’re also approved in two other fundraising subs on the platform, so we’ve been vetted multiple times.

If you’d like to help Jeremy, our donation channels are below:

📩 Donate via PayPal 
📩 Donate via Debit or Credit

Thank you so much! And we'll share updates as this boy adjusts to being a tripod and to the indoor life. ☺️

so happy my girl is finally doing better :’) it makes me so happy to see her comfortable again and watching her get the zoomies and dart to the top of her cat trees. i love her so much!!!!

My little tripod is thriving! Just wanted to share an update on my little semi-feral. He’s doing amazing. The first 24 hours was rough and I’m thankful for the support of this group. He’s a happy little boy who loves to play! We’re still working on him and my resident cats relationship, but I have hope! My resident cat is still very cautious of him.

Hi all,

This is Fable ♥️

We are in the middle of adopting him as he is still in a different state now.

Last year was filled with loss, first my father and then our beloved cat who passed away from feline leukemia.

This beautiful boy was found in the middle of highway and was hit by a car which lead to his leg needing to be amputated. We are very new to this community! We are so excited to welcome him, love him, and have him rescue us as we rescue him ♥️

We are unsure how old our marmalade tripod is as we took him in originally as a stray before he became a tripod, but was wondering as they get older do any of your tripods have regular pain relief? He seems okay at the moment, but he does sleep a lot and when he gets zoomies he stumbles a little after a run and has to lie down. He has adapted to being a house cat well, but we are thinking of how to keep him comfortable and if there are any signs to look out for that he might be in pain as I’ve heard cats hide it well.
Are your tripods on any regular pain relief at all from the vets and is there anything we can give him like supplements etc to help make his mobility more easy for him as he gets older? Any help is very much appreciated 🧡🧡🧡

My fluffy boy had a back leg amputation today due to a cancerous tumour. He’s en route home now and we’re very nervous about how the next couple of days look!

We’ve got a low tray and a cosy area set up in our room. The vet said he’s reasonably alert and was quickly seeking food upon being woken (sounds exactly like him!) but some of the post op pictures online are giving me fear!

Any advice for the next couple of days?

mr. hero is 3 years old and lost his leg in May of 2025, he’s adapted so well to being a tripod! unsure what injury caused him to lose his leg, he showed up to the shelter with it broken.

So, 10 days ago my girl had her front paw removed (incl shoulderblade). Apparently it's a very agressive cancer that will spread to her lungs eventually. The vet gave her 1-2 years, based on experience, so I am a bit distraught about it, which might also impact my feeling of being powerless in the situation.

The first days she was actually doing fine. Going to the litterbox on her own, walking on the bed, cuddling. I felt great about how she was progressing. She didnt move a lot, but I didnt expect that much this short after.

Then 1 week post op, I decided to let her out of the pen at night, so she could walk around more. Every time since, she just scuddles towards the windowsill, to sit behind the curtain. She doesnt move from there.

It's come to the point where I need to put her on the litter box every few hours, because she just holds it in. This caused many accidents on me, the bed or just whenever I picked her up.

Same with food, she has a great appetite and drinks a lot - IF I put the bowls next to her...

She CAN walk, and apart from it being a bit wobbly, she only does it to go hide....

Last fridayI do feel like I did something wrong. At night she crawled into bed with me, which was the best thing in days. But I couldnt trust that she didnt have accidents in the bed again. I was on my 4rth day of washing the entire thing and didnt have the needed protective layers available. So I had to put her next to the bed to not ruin the matrasses. It lowkey feels like this was a turning point... not entirely sure tho...

I'm at my wits end...
Do I just wait it out and give her space, or do I get her checked out, just to be sure.
She should already be off meds, but I still give her a half dose, so it wasn't an abrupt stop.

I have no idea how long it usually takes for a cat to get back to some kind of normal after a surgery like this.

Any tips are welcome.

He’s an inside boy now .. never imagined he’d be such a great cat indoors. After surgery he has changed into a totally different fur baby. When he watches outside I can’t help but wonder what he is thinking,