It has been three and a half months since a bad break required our cat Ozzie to have his hind leg amputated. I posted HERE and HERE about his surgery and recovery. I received so many kind comments from readers I thought it was about time for an update to let you guys know how he’s getting along as a three-legged cat. In my last update, I shared a little of Ozzie’s struggle to get his balance and his anxiousness to go outside again. Well, he has pretty much gotten both, all on his own.
Just a few days after my last update Ozzie was out on one of his “escorted” walks around the yard when he slipped through one of his secret holes in the back fence. This was about two days after having his stitches removed and he is still quite a stumble bunny. Our street is a dead-end but the street behind us has a bit more traffic. I was very concerned when he ran out that way especially since we had to go all the way around the block to get to him. The whole family had to go on alert looking for this crazy cat. My husband and I took the car around the block, while the kids manned the balcony that overlooks the yards behind us. They were to call if they caught a glimpse of the cat. You wouldn’t think a three-legged cat could get too far in just a few minutes but Ozzie was on an escape mission.
After cruising the neighborhood we still had not found him. One of the neighbors happened to be out washing his car fortunately I knew two German words that might help, “rote Katze” or “red cat.” He patted his leg and pointed so I figured we were on the right track. Then I caught a glimpse of him in the man’s backyard, but when Ozzie caught a glimpse too, and took off again. He was not done with his “unescorted” walk. After a bit of a chase, I was finally able to corner him between the back fence and the man’s shed. After a bit of a struggle, I was able to bring the little rascal back to his incarceration. Ozzie was not pleased and I’m pretty sure the neighbor thought we were crazy. He got to watch the whole show, with no commentary. Maybe if there had not been a language barrier we could have pleaded our case.
After his taste of freedom, Ozzie began more and more to try to escape. One day I saw him out front when I swore he was in the house. That is when I gave up. Wobbly or not he did not want to be kept in the house. In the end, letting him out again was for the best. Being outside gave him the freedom to run and learn to use his leg again. He has slowly gotten better at his balance and is definitely much happier. My one restriction was to block the hole in the back fence in hopes he would stay in a safer area on our dead-end street. He still has what we call his “spin start,” a little spin he sometimes does before he can get his balance but it is not as often and much less dramatic. Have a look…
It makes me so happy to see Ozzie finally learning to navigate his new situation. He is now running, jumping, and climbing trees again even if he has an occasional struggle to keep his balance. He is also quickly outgrowing his nickname of “Ozzbald” since the hair on his nub has started to fill in. We are all a little sad about this since the peach fuzz is so soft and pet-able. We have moved on to a new nickname “Hop Along Cat-sidy” and I am certainly glad to see this sweet kitty hop along.
So glad to hear Ozzie is doing well! <3