Since my last update Sunny has continued to do well. Everything is pretty much back to normal as far as he is concerned. The only thing Sunny isn’t sure about doing is going up the stairs which is understandable. Currently if we put his ruff wear harness on he will try with our assistance, but its obvious he doesn’t feel comfortable doing it on his own. I’m sure with time though his confidence will build. His appetite is also still not back up to his pre-surgery levels and I’m not totally sure why. I think it may be a protest on some level because we cut him off of the wet food. We are getting very close to his full amount though of dry food so I’m not too concerned.
Yesterday we started his rehab at GVR where he will be swimming once a week! This was the first time as far as we know that Sunny has been swimming unless he used to go before we adopted him. At first he didn’t really seem to know what to make of it but he did really well overall. Towards the end he was trying to splash the water so he could catch it in his mouth so I like to think he had fun. It can be hard to tell with him. He can be so timid at first anytime we meet anyone new or he is a new situation. It took until about half way through the session until he seemed to relax. Hopefully with further visits Sunny will become more relaxed and just enjoy it. In total yesterday he swam for about 15 minutes. Eventually it will be increased, but since it was his first session they wanted to keep it short so he didn’t overexert himself. The hope though is that he will continue to build core strength.
Speaking of rehab, check out this feature about Sunny featured over at the Tripawds Foundation!
Sunny swimming for the first time at GVR.
Wednesday will be Sunny’s one month mark since his surgery. It’s crazy to think it has already been that long, but we couldn’t be happier.
Yay for Sunny! He’s so cute swimming! Yeah, stairs are scary at first….we didn’t even have Nitro try them for months – he’s a front amp – but mostly because I was terrified to have him try. We started slow, with the Ruffwear harness on; then we transitioned to no harness, with one of us guiding him down. Then one day, to my surprise he showed up in the laundry room, having done all 12 steps by himself, unattended! I quietly freaked out, but I could tell he was so proud of himself! I still won’t let him go down by himself if no ones watching, but I know he CAN. It’s been 2 years for Nitro now and he’s doing great….Sunny is doing great for only 1 month. Congrats!
Paula and Nitro
Yeah, he went down the stairs once on his own and I freaked out. Now we make sure he has a leash on so he paces himself better. We just carry him up the stairs currently. Like you I want to wait a while before we have him consistently try. We have a follow up with the vet rehab for his first check up this Friday so hopefully we can discuss more then.
2 years is awesome! I hope we make that with Sunny, but given his age we may not. That said no regrets!
I’m very happy I found your blog. I just made the decision today to have my Henry’s leg amputated. His tumor is also located on his lower leg between the dewclaw and his bottom paw pad and around to the front of the paw, but on his front left leg. It was a hard decision to make but I feel it will be the best for his recovery. Reading your story has been so helpful for what to expect and its comforting knowing others have made the same choice and I’m not alone. I’m thrilled Sunny is doing well and look forward to reading more about him.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m sure Henry will do fantastic and you will constantly be amazed by his progress. Welcome to the community!
Hooray for Sunny! What a great recovery! I kept the stairs gated until about Otis’ three month ampuversary. He just looked at them for a couple of days before coming up. He is a front leg amputee, so the first time going down was terrifying (for me). He handles them like a pro now. Now I keep them gated during the day and open at night (mainly so one “larger” cat can go up and down). Otis and Tess come up while I get ready for work, but I don’t want to overdo the ups and downs.
We are still keeping our gate up as well. I was thinking three months was a good time frame to keep him off the stairs. We really just want him to build up some core strength after his surgery. Like you though, we mostly just don’t want him to overdo it.