*UPDATE - HER STITCHES ARE OUT* Our cat tore her ACL ligament and is having surgery!

[Judique]

It's not the money in our case...we live in an area where veternary care is actually pretty reasonable. The thing that really scares me is the recovery. I am having so many second thoughts right now, and I actually had nightmares about it last night. We did surgery on our other cat (he was sick, so it was different) and he really never recovered. 7 months later we had to make the difficult decision to let him go. I feel like my current cat is SO healthy otherwise, and I just don't want to mess that up by doing a surgery on her if I can help it.

All of this has me thinking that I want to call our old holistic vet that we saw before we moved and see what she has to say. She would be able to tell me if it's nutty to put a 13 year-old cat through this.

I t wasn't exactly the money in our case either. It was that the cat would have lived longer, and we perhaps could have used other means to improve his quality of life.

Great idea to check another vet. Putting the cat through it all was what got to me and then we lost him anyway.

 

[babyrich]

How old was your cat when this happened? Also, did you do the steroids and rest thing? Our vet said that that wouldn't work for our cat because the injury was too bad and had been going on for a while (we think...we're really not sure when it happened). If I go in for the morning appt. tomorrow and the surgeon says that I have to crate her for 4-6 months, I'm walking out. We'll manage it with painkillers in that case. What kind of quality of life is that, especially for an older animal That's insane.

She is getting around, but can't really use the leg. It's been going on for a few weeks now at least, and it's gotten progressively worse. She is definitely in pain, so that is why we're opting for quick surgery. It isn't the surgery that bothers me so much...it's the recovery. It'd like we're d@mning her if we do and d@mning her if we don't, KWIM? If they give me a recovery time of 4-6 months in a crate, I'm going to go to the university for a second opinion. That is just nutty.

Our kitty is only 6 so big age difference. If your baby cant really use the leg than I see why surgery would be your first choice. Ask the vet about any options other than surgery like a brace or something like that. My guess is that they will say the surgery is the only thing. She must have had a worse tear than our or its because of the age. If you do have to crate her for a long period I would recommend getting the large crate so she doesnt feel so confined. And a second opinion cant hurt, sounds like you will get the same response though; but who knows. Keep us all informed please. Hugs to you and kitty!!

 

[brooklyn615]

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I've been a Vet Tech for 12 years and all I can offer is my opinion. Your vet and specialist wouldn't rec. the surgery if they thought the pet wouldn't do well, or if the pet at this age didn't absolutely need it. I would also assume that presurgical diagnostics, such as bloodwork is required. That being said, you have to feel comfortable with the procedure and realize that surgically/anesthetically there are risks, no matter how small.
I love animals by trade, but they are my passion. I have an almost 12 yr old boxer and would pretty much do whatever to keep her comfortable and healthy. ( I.E. I am a crazy dog lover!) :O)
I wish you luck with your kitty, no matter what you choose. If I can be of any help, please let me know.
Shelly

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Bumping up!

 

[babyrich]

Good Luck, I am glad you got to talk more about your concerns with the doctor. What did they say about recovery and crating? I'm curious if its the same advice we got.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Good Luck, I am glad you got to talk more about your concerns with the doctor. What did they say about recovery and crating? I'm curious if its the same advice we got.

She won't need to be crated. The recovery time is just for soft tissue healing/to prevent popping stitches and such. He said that the new nylon "ligament" is as strong as it will ever be on the day of surgery, so the recovery time isn't for that. He did say that she needed to take it easy, but she pretty much does anyways. I'll have to ask him about her jumping onto/off of our bed, though, as she does do that multiple times a day normally.

 

[babyrich]

She won't need to be crated. The recovery time is just for soft tissue healing/to prevent popping stitches and such. He said that the new nylon "ligament" is as strong as it will ever be on the day of surgery, so the recovery time isn't for that. He did say that she needed to take it easy, but she pretty much does anyways. I'll have to ask him about her jumping onto/off of our bed, though, as she does do that multiple times a day normally.

I am so glad to hear that it does not sound as horrible as it seemed to be. Again, please keep us updated.

 

[Styx Fan]

I haven't read the whole thread, but wanted to let you know my cat had this done when she was about 4 years old. Since she was young, it was a fairly quick recovery. My biggest memory is how strange my black cat looked without any fur on about a 1/4 of her body.

The options given to us was to put her down, have her possibly be in pain for life or surgery. It was no brainer for us as she was young and healthy and I had a credit card at the ready. This was before kids so she was my baby and cost wasn't on my mind. Strange for this very frugal person.

She never had any further problems from this surgery and lived until she was about 13 and we never even saw any signs of arthritis.

Good luck to your baby!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I haven't read the whole thread, but wanted to let you know my cat had this done when she was about 4 years old. Since she was young, it was a fairly quick recovery. My biggest memory is how strange my black cat looked without any fur on about a 1/4 of her body.

The options given to us was to put her down, have her possibly be in pain for life or surgery. It was no brainer for us as she was young and healthy and I had a credit card at the ready. This was before kids so she was my baby and cost wasn't on my mind. Strange for this very frugal person.

She never had any further problems from this surgery and lived until she was about 13 and we never even saw any signs of arthritis.

Good luck to your baby!

Wow, that is a positive story! So I take it that her other leg never had the same issue then? The surgeon did tell me that in cats it's not common to have the other leg go as the ACL tearing is always the result of a traumatic injury. It's not the same as with dogs where there can be weakening of both ACLs.

He did tell me that arthritic changes in that knee are a given after the surgery because of her age. On the plus side, she's been on a joint supplement called Cosequin for Cats daily for a couple of years now due to getting a couple of UTI's 2 years ago. I guess that it's a UTI preventative as well as a joint helper. Anyways, this should help

ETA - They had to shave off 1/4 of her fur??? EEEK! My cat has long hair. I can't imagine how that will look, LOL!!

 

[Alexander]

Glad things are going well. Your kitty will look pretty funky shaved. My poor cat had numerous tests done years ago and they shaved a good portion of him. He looked ridiculous!

 

[vsimeone]

I'm so glad that your cat is recovering well! After reading your post the other day, I took my dog to the vet today. He has been limping off and on since Christmas. Yup - torn ACL. Luckily, it's only a partial tear. We're doing anti inflammatory drugs and pain killers to try to get it "stabilized" (apparently, they never FULLY heal without surgery) and to prevent a complete tear. A complete tear would mean a $3000 surgery

He's on "bed rest" (that means I took away all the toys that he gets crazy with) for about a month. I'm sad that I've lost my running partner but he needs to stay home and get well!

Keep us updated as to how your kitty is doing!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I'm so glad that your cat is recovering well! After reading your post the other day, I took my dog to the vet today. He has been limping off and on since Christmas. Yup - torn ACL. Luckily, it's only a partial tear. We're doing anti inflammatory drugs and pain killers to try to get it "stabilized" (apparently, they never FULLY heal without surgery) and to prevent a complete tear. A complete tear would mean a $3000 surgery

He's on "bed rest" (that means I took away all the toys that he gets crazy with) for about a month. I'm sad that I've lost my running partner but he needs to stay home and get well!

Keep us updated as to how your kitty is doing!

I'm sorry to hear that your dog also has a torn ACL. Did they tell you that dogs can tear the other one because it has to do more work? That surgery is so expensive! Ours is going to be like $1100 and I thought that that was expensive. I hope that the steroids and rest helps him to heal up enough that he doesn't end up needing surgery.

 

[azdizzymom]

Glad to hear kitty is doing well.....
She is lucky to have you!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Bumping up once more to say that she is home and resting comfortably

 

[Them!]

Bumping up once more to say that she is home and resting comfortably

Give her a pet from her disboard family...

 

[CarolinaMike]

A hug to your kitty. I'm a kitty mom too. I spent over $3000 trying to save my cat that had cancer. My furbabies are my children so I know how you feel.

 

[csharpwv]

This thread inspired DW and I to talk about what lengths we would go to to save one of our two cats. We have had them almost 4 years now - we adopted them at the same time from the same shelter and they were the same age. We suspect that they might have even been litter mates.

They love to play together, they cuddle up together and sleep together - they wash each other - they are the perfect pair of cats. They are both very social - more like dogs than cats in greeting visitors at the door, never hiding.

They are literally the perfect cats!

So my wife is of the thought that you do anything that you possibly can to keep them healthy and extend their lives.

However, I am of the thought that there are SO MANY animals out there that need love, I would have a really hard time spending more than a few hundred dollars to keep one of them alive. Yes, I love them both with all my heart - BUT - there are so many other animals out there that need a loving home.
Think of how many cats you could adopt for $1,000!

In no way shape of form do I think that other people shouldn't do what they think is necessary to keep their beloved pet alive - but this is just how I feel.

It breaks my heart to know there are so many domesticated animals are out there that have NO human interaction , how many are put down on a daily basis without ever knowing the love of an owner, and how many are never given the chance to be adopted due to overcrowding.

SO SAD!

So I would have a problem (speaking only for myself) putting a cat through painful recovery.

My wife wasn't happy with my response - as it is sad to think about losing a beloved pet - however, I hope when that time might come we both know the right thing to do.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

This thread inspired DW and I to talk about what lengths we would go to to save one of our two cats. We have had them almost 4 years now - we adopted them at the same time from the same shelter and they were the same age. We suspect that they might have even been litter mates.

They love to play together, they cuddle up together and sleep together - they wash each other - they are the perfect pair of cats. They are both very social - more like dogs than cats in greeting visitors at the door, never hiding.

They are literally the perfect cats!

So my wife is of the thought that you do anything that you possibly can to keep them healthy and extend their lives.

However, I am of the thought that there are SO MANY animals out there that need love, I would have a really hard time spending more than a few hundred dollars to keep one of them alive. Yes, I love them both with all my heart - BUT - there are so many other animals out there that need a loving home.
Think of how many cats you could adopt for $1,000!

In no way shape of form do I think that other people shouldn't do what they think is necessary to keep their beloved pet alive - but this is just how I feel.

It breaks my heart to know there are so many domesticated animals are out there that have NO human interaction , how many are put down on a daily basis without ever knowing the love of an owner, and how many are never given the chance to be adopted due to overcrowding.

SO SAD!

So I would have a problem (speaking only for myself) putting a cat through painful recovery.

My wife wasn't happy with my response - as it is sad to think about losing a beloved pet - however, I hope when that time might come we both know the right thing to do.

Have you looked into pet health insurance for your cats? That might allow you and your wife to find a happy medium where you weren't spending a ton out of pocket but yet your cat(s) got the care they needed in the event of an illness or injury. We had it up until 2 years ago, but our cat has always been healthy so I dropped the policy Figures, huh?

Anyways, after a previous experience with our now deceased cat, I don't believe in surgery to prolong an animal's life. I feel like we put him through something awful to spare ourselves. In the case of our current cat, this didn't prolong her life. She was still healthy...it was a matter of fixing something that was broken so she wasn't in pain and had a functional limb. A couple of years ago she had 2 UTIs in close succession and her vet thought that she might be in kidney failure. I can assure you that we would have done nothing more than palliative care in that case. I want her to live her natural lifespan, period. I just needed to fix what was broken in this case...glad that I did, too. She seems to know that she has been helped, as strange as that may sound.

 

[babyrich]

I am so happy to hear that everthing went so well.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I am so happy to hear that everthing went so well.

Thanks! She's being a good "patient" so far. She did walk several steps today and she's gingerly using the repaired leg. Her surgeon wants her up and moving, so we're starting slowly. She's eating well and seems generally in good spirits