In 2020, the year famous for ‘OH. OH’s’, Keeli’s cat, Flynn, began limping. A trip to the veterinarian revealed a growth on his left back foot. Just to be safe, Flynn had an abdominal ultrasound which, luckily, showed no other signs of cancer.
“Flynn is my therapy animal. He helps me through the ‘not so fun’ times of life,” said Keeli. “I owed it to him to try and save his life, so we had his leg removed.
Once home, he was on pain medication, and it was hard keeping him from jumping which is natural for a cat. His recovery was ruff, it was difficult watching him have muscle spasms. I felt terrible for putting him through the life altering surgery but knew he still had so much life to live. I have talked to other three-legged pet parents, and they all confess this same feeling. Then it evaporated once we saw how well our pets adjusted.
Surprisingly, Flynn took to three-legged life quickly. He learned how to balance, stand, walk, eat, drink and use the litter box. In the beginning, he was constantly by my side looking to me for reassurance. I was now his therapy human during his ‘not so fun’ time.
Flynn has the nicest purrs-onality. He is an amazing little soul who quickly returned to playing, chasing a red laser light, jumping, climbing, leaping, and running as fast as before and talking nonstop.
Pets are amazing at adapting to three legs. There was no reason for me to have worried. He is living his spoiled life with his five rescued kitty siblings.
He is talkative, letting us know what he wants. His purr is loud, and he loves being held and carried around, which I, too, love.
He is proud of his collection of collars which he insists on wearing at all times! He burrows underneath blankets to nap. He shows jealousy when he has to share me with the other kitties. Flynn and his siblings love their treats, and they sit cutely together for it.
He loves playing with catnip and cracks me up when he comes into the house from the catio. He lays on his back and pulls himself up the cat tunnel with his paws. It’s funny because he looks like he is climbing a ladder laying down!
Every day, the cats make me laugh with the quirky things they do. They melt my heart by how sweet and loving they are with me and their siblings. I designed their room and catio with things to climb, jump on and lay on. This Spring we are renovating and updating the catio to keep them happy and healthy.
A household of cats is fun, silly, and full of furry loving. The only thing I wished they didn’t do is shed so much and to stop bringing worms in from their catio - every day!”
