How Henry Became a Tripawd
We have had Henry for about 12 years. We can only guess his age because he was homeless and underweight when we got him. This summer we noticed his foot was swelling up near his dew claw. It grew to about the size of a marble. It didn’t seem to pain him, and he didn’t limp. When it began bleeding, we took him in to the vet. When we had first found Henry he had been declawed. The vet said it looked like it was a botched declaw on the dew claw, and we agreed to have the growth along with 2/3 of his toe removed. The surgery went fine, and the vet said they found what looked like a warped little nail in the tissue. She also said they kept a biopsy of tissue that they could send out in the future if we should choose to do that.
Henry’s foot healed up nicely, and we were thrilled. For about 3 weeks. Then, we noticed it looked like the growth might be growing back. We decided to wait and watch it. A week later it began to bleed. We took him back to the vet who said it was probably cancer. We paid to have the biopsy sent off and proceeded to wait. Four days later, which was last Friday, the vet called to tell us to tell us it was soft tissue sarcoma. His leg would need to come off. My husband and I made the appointment for Monday, which is today.
As of tonight, Henry made it through surgery, and they say he is doing well. The vet says we should be able to bring him home tomorrow afternoon. I am nervous about seeing him, and about seeing the incision site. I am also worried about his age and how well he will be able to return to “his old self”. Our fingers are crossed for a speedy recovery, but we know there are no guarantees
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Meow! Henry! This is Jilly the Tripawd Kitty Cat! Welcome to my world of Tripawds!
Wow Henry your story is so similar to mine! My mama had my toe chopped right off too! She was very upset about that, but I had a big ole mass on there and it was bleeding too! Turns out I had some nasty cancer also! We could be twinsies!
That was 16 months ago I had my toe off and 9 months ago I had my right rear leg amputated and I’ve been through four rounds of chemo and you would never know! My mom says I am as frisky as ever! You would never know I had that mean ole leg to begin with and now I am healthy! I know your mama is worried, mine was too. She didn’t know how I would get along without my leg. But I showed her! I was wobbly at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. You can see all my pictures and videos from the day of my surgery until now and I bet it will help your mama feel better!
I’m so glad you found tripawds Henry. I am sorry you got cancer too, stinks huh? But we have good parents who did the right thing for us!
Mom says to send any questions you have her way, she’s happy to help!
xoxo,
Jill The Tripawd Cancer Fighting Kitty
You sound like a very brave kitty. I hope Henry does as well. Thank you for sharing your story with us. If I have questions, I will definitely ask.
Henry’s Mom
Oh yeah, once he gets past the recovery, Henry will indeed be his “old self”! He will be out of pain and won’t have to deal with anymore surgeries! You did exactly what you needed to do to ensure that Henry will have a wonderful quality life…..full of all the loving and spoiling a fine cat like Henry deserves!
Recovery is no fun, but you’ll get the pain meds necessary to help him through the rough spots.
Henry will adjust to three legs fairly quickly. He’ll cntinue to develop strength and figure out any balance issues as the weeks go by.
Get some good sleep tonight, okay! Congratulations to Henry on handling surgery like a champ!
Sweet dreams!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Thank you for the encouragement! I know it will be a bit of an adjustment (for him & us). But it is definitely worth it.
Henry’s Mom
Oh how scary and frustrating it must have been to see that icky thing come back! I’m so sorry. But rest assured, things will be AOK. Tripawd animals are the most resilient creatures on earth, you will be so amazed at how well he adapts.
Glad to hear he’s coming home soon!
He has been home about an hour now, and I am glad to say he is already trying to move get around and do things. I’m taking it as a good sign.
Scary times, I know, but things will be alright! I know its scary especially when you feel your furbaby might be a big older than others going through surgery, but my Fang was 11 when he had his arm off, and he is just fine! I’m glad you decided to join the tripawds community – you’ll find a lot of much-needed support here, and a lot of answers to your questions. Please keep us informed on Henry’s progress! He’ll likely be feeling better faster than you think. 🙂
It was reading about Fang, and seeing his age that made me think that this would turn out okay. Thanks again! He is home now & I have posted a picture if you’re interested.
Henry’s Mom