My Furry Family

Fang
Fang

Fang – the hunter

Fang is, of course, the star of this blog. We adopted him from the SPCA as an adorable kink-tailed kitten. He loves the outdoors and hunting more than anything else – although he could always go for some snuggles when he is not otherwise entertained.

Barrel
Barrel

Feral Barrel – the fat cat:

Feral Barrel is my gigantic, difficult, problematic, and well-loved baby boy.

Mamma
Mamma

Mamma – the suburban stray:

Mamma, once a stray, is now a finicky princess who would generally prefer to be left alone – though she does tolerate hanging out with her son Barrel from time to time.

Duffy
Duffy

Duffy – the dumbie:

Duffy, once also a stray, is quite… well, dumb. But he’s sweet all the same, and we love him for that.

14 thoughts on “My Furry Family”

  1. Thank you for sharing your Fang Tripawd story. It has helped me get over the fear of how a 3 legged cat would survive. I now see that they can lead an almost normal cat life. Our 4 month old kittens were playing a couple days ago and a potted plant, on a stand fell on her and broke her front leg by the shoulder. Tomorrow we’ll find out if the leg needs to be removed or if the broken bones can be fixed. The nerve seems to be damaged and we won’t know the outcome until the surgeon has had a chance to see the damage.

    I now see by Fang’s story that having 3 legs is better than not being around at all. Thank you for sharing and giving me the courage to accept little Bitsy fate.

  2. My cat has had her left front leg amputated this week, after it was badly damaged when she was hit by a car last month. The vet did everything they could to try and save it but unfortunately the broken toe never healed.
    I was deeply sadened when I first saw her after the op – mainly because she seemed to be in pain and very confused. Even with a great big shaved patch, huge stitched area, and missing leg, she is still such an adorable cat. I think I love her more than ever, she has been so brave.
    She is making a really speedy recovery, is almost off pain relief now and is due home tomorrow. I can’t wait to have her back home, although i’m sure the next few months will be challenging (for us both).
    I have been looking for advice regarding 3 legged cats on the internet, so it was lovely to find this blog. Thank you for sharing the photos & your experience.

    1. I’m so sorry I didn’t see this comment until now! It made it to the spam filter somehow. I hope that things have been good with your baby girl – I’m sorry to hear about her accident, but I’m glad to hear that you guys are moving along from the bad things into the good. 🙂

  3. I want to find out as much as I can on this 3 legged topic. my cat blitzer is undergoing a shoulder amputation TODAY due to bone cancer and I just don’t have any clue to what to expect. the vet told me he is very optimistic and I am reading a lot of good stories about 3 legged cats. I never been thru this and need to know so much more….

    1. I’m sorry to hear about Blitzer, but it’s wonderful news that the vet is optimistic – and so you should try to be too! Bone cancer is a scary thing, I know, and it is quite a shock to hear that you have to remove a leg to save you fur-baby. But, cats do very well on three legs. Just keep his weight down, feed him healthy food so he’s got the vitamins to pump up those remaining three legs. You’ll be amazed, I’m sure! Please do check out all the blogs for Fang’s story, as we went through it too. And do note that I’ve got some links to other three-legged kitty stories on the right side of this blog. Finally, if you have specific questions do feel free to ask me, or go onto the Tripawds.com forums — you’d be amazed what a support system they are! If you’re feeling up to it, start a blog documenting your and Blitzer’s journey. Writing makes it feel better — at least it did for me. Best wishes to you both, and let me know if you need anything. Keep your chin up! Kitties are amazing creatures, and they can teach us a lot about standing up in the face of fear.

      1. thanks so much for your caring words! its great to know there are others out there that feel about their kitty babies like I do. I just spoke with my wonderful vet, he told me the op went really well and he removed all the cancer that he could find and that blitzer is “drugged up and high”lol…for the pain of course he must be having, but my vet is amazing and thinks blitzer will recover in no time. of course blitzer will be at the vet for the next 2 days, so I am hoping all will go well with the recovery, do you know is there an online fundraiser place that I can do for blitzers costs? it wasn’t cheap and I know I can make payments but do you think I can raise some money for the vet bill? I have no idea if and how this is possible, I do know that people donate and help all the time for causes like this. but I never went thru something like this and I am really broke at this time..so I was just trying to see if there is anything I can do for the bill..any advise?

        I will keep you posted on blitzers recovery and will read up on all the amazing stories that I have been reading so far. I had no idea that there are so many kitties with amputation stories, I know I could have just put him down but I felt in my heart that if there is something that can be done like this surgery, why not??? I love my kitties as I have many rescue cats all from bad situations, I would do just about anything to help an animal in need….so I have…lol…I also have 5 rescue dogs….I love it so much, I actually dumped my husband for my animals…lol…he just did not have the same feeling about them….anyway….thanks for your kind words and I will keep you posted on blitzers recovery…

    2. i do have a question: what about the litterbox, will my 3 legged kitty be able to do his business as usual or do I need a low laying litterbox? what was your experience. and did your cat have normal bm or was it messy??? just wanted to have some input. thanks

      1. Ann,
        Fang was able to use the litterbox normally the very same day he came home, without issue. I’ve read some other Tripawd parents’ stories where it took a couple of weeks for them to fully ‘figure it out’, as they have to dig with a different set of paws or paw than they used to. Some don’t cover up their business in the litterbox anymore. The general thing to realize is that they will figure out how to do things they used to in new ways, given the opportunity – some cats are faster with that than others. Cats don’t like to be messy (hence their natural tendency to use a box) so if Blitzer is being messy, then I’d consider making some changes to make things easier for him. As you might know from my posts, though, I’m not much of a ‘helicopter parent’ in that way, as I personally feel that it’s better to let them figure it out than to (in my view) hinder them by making everything much easier for them. (This less so while they’re still recovering with stitches and whatnot). I do tend to take reading about other pet-parents modifying their homes a lot for tri-cats with a grain of salt – I’m not always sure if they did it for the cat or themselves… To this day, my mom puts ramps around the house for Fang to get on and off furniture, and I can’t help but laugh when he fully ignores them. But, you know, whatever makes people feel better. The point is, you know your cat and you will see when he’s having difficulties. Adjust things as you see them, I’d say.

        For funding, I didn’t try this, but I’ve seen people use gofundme for vet bills. Of course, people you don’t know aren’t likely to give, but if you have a private facebook account you can post it to where your friends and family may give and share it with others, you might see some help. I know the vet bills are hard.

        You sound like a wonderful pet parent! The furbabies are lucky to have you! I’m sure Blitzer will be excited to see you when he gets home. =)

        1. thanks for your great reply. that helps me to understand….I talked to my vet and blitzer is doing good, eating and feeling ok so far. he will be there a couple more days and as far as the litterbox they said to use a low cake pan and he will figure it out. yes you are right, things will fall in place within time. I know I made the right decision and talked to my cat friends and they all said they would have done the same, despite the high vet bill, I will figure it out. thanks for the link and adivse…I cant wait to get my blitzer back and yes I love them as kids, and I always enjoyed taking care of my kitties and doggies.. I will keep you posted on his progess…thanks again

        2. update on blitzer: picked him up last thursday, he was at vet for 3 days. doing very well and recovering really good. he is eating, using litterbox and being extreemly loving and purring….i am so reliefed that he is doing so well….it looks a lil weird but once all healed up and his fur grows over it it will be fine…….

          1. I’m so happy to hear about Blitzer! And it sounds to me like he’s taking it all in stride. Yeah, the -1 limb does look really shocking to you at first, but it becomes normal, especially when all the hair comes back. You’d think it would grow back faster considering the rate at which they lose it all over the house constantly, but kitty hair actually seems to grow pretty slowly (especially depending on the season). Keep your chin up kitty-mamma! 🙂

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