Fang's Story

I’ve never been one to talk about sad things too much. But, I feel like it’s something that I need to do – to put an ending to Fang’s story, here, where I started it.

On May 28th, 2018, Fang passed away. It was all rather sudden, as it so often is with cats since they often don’t tell us when they don’t feel well. Both Fang and his brother Duffy suffered from kidney failure, and despite our best efforts, in the span of a few months we lost them both. We had a veterinarian come to the house so that they could leave the world in comfort and surrounded by those that love them.

I can’t help but reflect, though, on how happy we are that Fang’s amputation gave him so much more time with us than he ever would have had otherwise. We were headed toward 6 extra long and happy years, in fact. He ran, jumped, hunted and played. He slowed down, cuddled, grew old, and eventually died at nearly 17 years old. For a cat, that’s about the best we can hope for, isn’t it?

So, goodbye Fang. I love you buddy. Hope you’re playing with your brothers somewhere.

Yesterday marked Fang’s three year Ampuversary!

Since Fang shares his Ampuversary with my birthday, we did our typical joint celebration this year. We had lots of cuddles and delicious treats (the both of us, of course 😛 ), and Fang basked in all the attention as usual.

As with each Ampuversary, we contributed to Tripawds in Fang’s honor as our way of giving thanks for the support, information, kindness and friendship that the community has always offered us. Yesterday reminded me (as many days do) that I am forever thankful that we had such an astounding network of people to lean on during our amputation journey. I hope that Fang and I can continue to give even a fraction of that same sense of comfort and assurance back to other three-legged and soon-to-be three-legged families as well.

On to another wonderful year! 🙂

~~ See Tripawds for more information about and pictures of three-legged cats and dogs!

Hi guys,

It’s been a while, and I figured it’s time for a photo update, being that we’re only 5 days away from happy, healthy Fang’s 3 year Ampuversary! 😀 I had planned out all these neat shots to take of Fang, but as with all cats, Fang doesn’t really care about human plans. So, I just ended up taking pictures of him doing his normal stuff. Oh well, it’s his life. I just wish he had more appreciation for the arts. 😛

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~ See Tripawds for more information about and pictures of tri-kitties and tri-doggies!

Hello everypawdy,

Unfortunately, upon taking Fang’s brother Wikka to the vet to diagnose a cold that never seemed to go away, we found out that he had a malignant tumor which had worked it’s way from his sinuses into his brain. There was nothing we could do as a tumor in that location really can’t be removed, and so we helped him cross the rainbow bridge on March 18th 2015. We miss him very much, but we thank our lucky stars that he never had to feel any pain or what I’m sure would have been the extremely negative affects of a brain tumor. We buried him in his back yard where he can be with the birds, flowers and his brothers. He had a happy and long life, and he never suffered. I couldn’t ask for more than that.

We miss Wikka dearly, and the experience made me remember again, in sharp detail, the shock and difficulty making a decision about Fang’s amputation when we found his tumor in a similar seemingly normal vet visit. I am so thankful that Fang’s tumor was in such an ‘easy’ place to remove.

It’s funny to think of that now – ‘easy to remove an arm’ – but it’s true. Fang continues to have a happy and healthy life without it, and I thank the heavens for the courage to go through this journey with him. It’s been 2 years, 6 months and 9 days since Fang had his front leg amputated, and at 13 years old he is still happily hopping around, laying in the sun, and just generally being a happy kitty.

By the way, Tripawds (my lifeline source for Fang’s amputation, and really the best place I’ve found for information, news and stories on tripod cats and dogs) has redone their website and made all of that tripod information even more accessible. They’ve also been up to a lot of other useful things, like creating informational pamphlets for veterinary offices,  hosting Tripawd get-togethers, setting up new means of communication for those of us in the Tripawd community, and just generally continuing to raise awareness for tripod animals. They’ve also gained a lot more tripod cat information since Fang and I first delved into the tripod life. Fang and I were extremely thankful for Tripawds support while we went through all of this, and we hope that if you are in the same boat you will find them just as helpful!

Here is a little mishmash video of Fang hanging out in the yard with his brothers (who he totally owns, by the way) 🙂 <Here is a link to the video for those of you with issues viewing embedded video content>

And now…. pictures!

EDIT: <Something happened to my post earlier with strange characters and all sorts of stuff, so here is a redo>

Hello everyone. Today was Fang’s 2 year ampuversary.

As always, we celebrated with treats poked into yummy food, sprinkled with cat nip seasoning and playtime a new cat-nip filled toy. We had a lot of fun playing about until we were cat-nip-drunk enough to lay around oggling the ceiling for a while. As always, mommy couldn’t take pictures and play at the same time, so oggling drunken kitty photos it is! 😛

I’d just like to thank the Tripawds community yet again for all of the support you’ve given us over the years – especially when we were going through the difficult decision making process with Fang’s amputation, and with his recovery. This happy, energetic boy would likely not be around today without your inspiring stories to help us recognize that he would thrive after his amputation. Keep doing what you do – it really does make a difference. =)

Hello from Fangers! We’re still having happy, hoppy times here in California. We’re all used to the new yard and have learned that scaly things are just as fun to catch as furry things, that grass mushrooms are apparently very scrumptious (:P) and that crunchy leaves are the most fun of all. =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi guys! Well, I came home to a happy (hammy) Fang kitty, a warm family (kitties and humans alike), and I am very happy. And, not only that, but Tripawds had finished and shipped my custom Tripawds bracelet for Fang while I was gone – and let me tell you, it is absolutely a work of art! So, of course, I just have to share it with you!! (Click images for larger versions)

For those of you that don’t know, Rene A. (from Tripawds) makes absolutely gorgeous custom jewelry for Tripawd parents. You can order your own at the Tripawds Etsy site! They are truly, truly beautiful.

I’ve been missing Fang dearly during my recent extended absence – but he’s with his grandparents and they’ve told me he has become quite a ham. Apparently, he sleeps with his grandparents (taking up most of the bed, as only a kitty can), wakes grandma up in the wee hours of the morning for breakfast (and she actually delivers!), and cuddles on their laps throughout the day. This, of course, is totally un-Fang-like cuddle-cakes behavior, but I was so happy to hear that he had become such a cuddle bug! When I get home in a week or two, I’m gonna cuddle that boy to pieces!

Anywho, my mom sent me a video because I’ve been missing him terribly, and do you know what I saw? He’s FAT! No wonder he’s been so cuddly! She’s spoiling the hax out of him!

Part of me has to laugh, because I always told my mom that if I wasn’t always there to get on her about giving the babies too many treats, all the cats would be chubby – and it actually happened! And this, despite my insistent warnings that cats, especially tripawds, should stay thin to stave off arthritis later in life, along with other health issues. But I guess I can’t be too mad – grandparents are grandparents after all. 😀

Fang’s not gonna be too happy when mommy comes home though. 😛

(She didn’t believe me that he was fatter, by the way. I had to show her pictures of him from two months ago (only TWO months!) as a comparison. She stopped and said “…. oh…. well, I guess he WAS lean.” Hahahaha)

(As a side note to this blog, I suggest reading up on cat behavior if you’re into that sort of thing. I honestly believe there is a reason that some people are “cat-people” and some are “dog-people”. I would also like to note that being in a happy mood around your cat does matter during a healing process. Dogs and cats notice and to some point mimic your emotions – so if you’re scared when they come home, they will be more stressed)

Hey guys –

I just wanted to pop in to talk about something that I’ve been noticing over and over again in both myself and other soon-to-be tripod kitty parents I’ve spoken to. And, let me say that this is my opinion and it might not be everyone’s favorite, but this is what I’ve come to realize –

Cats and dogs are very different creatures – but we often forget it. Cats and humans are also very different creatures, and we forget that just as often. So, when people like “past-me” are eagerly scratching across the internet looking desperately for information on what it’s like to go through an amputation with our pets we (1) imagine what it would be like for us to go through an amputation and (2) soak up any information we can get about pet amputation, even if it’s a different species.

And let’s be honest, there is a whole lot of similarity between a dog and cat having a leg amputated. I made the decision about Fang’s amputation pretty much entirely based on dog information, as there just wasn’t a whole lot of cat-amputation information out there, and there definitely were no other communities as willing to reach out, support our decision making process, and help us understand and cope like the Tripawds Community (which at the time had predominately dog-amputation members, though they now have considerably more kitty information, stories, and members). That information got us through the entire process, much more happily and readily than we ever would have, and I am extremely grateful. But there are also some differences worth noting.

One good thing is that it seems (to me) that cats have a faster recuperation time than dogs. That, and cats seem to “figure it out” on their own more readily.

But the difference that I wanted to talk about was this: the idea that your cat needs you to be with them 100% and help them through coping with the loss of their limb. Now, I know, this is difficult to grasp – I, too, read that your pet after amputation will need you to be brave for them, be with them, help them through, and provide them with emotional support. And what’s more, it just FEELS like you need to be there for them – after all, if it were you, you would want someone to be there for and comfort you.

But I circle back – Cats and dogs are very different creatures, and cats and humans are very different creatures. I am an absolute cat person, and have had and met many cats – they range from affectionate to the sort of “aloof” that only a cat can achieve. But one thing is almost always true about cats: they are amazingly good at hiding illness (it’s instinctual to stop them from looking like like prey), and if they are unable to pretend that nothing is ailing them, they will hide away so that no one will notice their illness. Anyone who’s had a sick cat knows, you find them under the bed, in a dark corner in the closet, or somewhere out of the way.

So, when you get home from amputation and you take your kitty out of the pet carrier, you want them to hang out with you, lay with you, cuddle with you – you want to tell them everything is okay.  But your cat likely just wants to hide somewhere to heal up in peace. For example, Fang immediately ran under the bed and I spent hours trying to coax him out.

It is in our nature to want so much to give our cats that social interaction and comfort we would want in times like these. And for dogs, I think that that might honestly be necessary. For humans, this is also true.

But cats are different. Remember, dogs and humans are pack animals -We are social creatures by nature. Cats are not pack animals, no matter how much we want to look at them that way. They do form partnerships, they do appreciate the safety of your home, and you and your cat likely have a very special relationship – but they are not pack animals.

So, with Fang, eventually I realized that it was natural for him to want to hide – and that that’s what made him feel better. So instead of trying to force him to act the way I wanted him to act, I made places for him to hide that I could still get to him if I needed to (see Fang’s old blogs for pictures of the blanket-over-coffee-table-castle). Yes, I slept in the room with him, but I left him be. I let him come to me for affection. And you know, sometimes he did come to me – and I was so happy to give it. Honestly, he was definitely happier, and that made me happier (though it was hard not to follow him around constantly).

I just needed to take a step back, and look at things from a different perspective.

So, If you get home and you feel the need to coddle, think about

• if you’re doing it because it makes yourself feel better ( after making that sort of decision you feel afraid that your cat is angry with you, and you want them to comfort you),
• or if you’re doing it because you only think they need your comfort (like a more social creature might),
• or if they legitimately need and want your comfort.

I’m not saying ignore them – I mean, that would be impossible, they’re your fur-babies – but I am saying to pay attention and be above the situation enough to realize when they want to be ignored. Because for a while, it’s incredibly possible that they really, genuinely want you to leave them be.

Today is Fang’s one year ampuversary! I plan to spend the day with him, give him loads of treats, and lots of play! (I will likely update this post later with pictures).

In the meantime, though, I just wanted to say that one year ago today we made the frightening decision to go through with Fang’s amputation, and we made that decision largely because of the information and support we received from the Tripawds community. I am so grateful that you guys showed Fang and I how to “be more dog.” We are thankful every day, for Fang’s life and his happiness, for the support of the community, and for all the Tripawd heroes that have come before us to show us the way.

Have a great day guys. 🙂

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