Setback

Things sure have changed since my last blog post about Bella's attempts at walking backwards. I'm not sure what happened, but that incident seemed to cross some wires so that now she has a difficult time walking forwards. Every time she tries to walk now, her remaining back leg starts dragging her backwards and she has no control over it. If she hits a wall or a piece of furniture, the back leg will even climb up the vertical surface. Sometimes the whole process scares her so much that she panics and starts violently rolling and somersaulting about. At this point, I would say she is only able to walk forwards normally about 15-20% of the time!

Bella adjusted so well after her surgery that we were completely unprepared for this kind of setback. My best guess is that her amputation has healed enough now that she is experiencing some kind of phantom limb sensation as the nerves are growing back. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but from the way her stump moves during these incidents it looks like she expects the missing leg to still be there.

We're trying not to baby her too much during this difficult time, but we do carry her to her food bowl when it's time to eat. I've found a few accounts online from others who have experienced the same backwards walking problem with their recent amputee pets. The consensus seems to be that there isn't anything to do but wait for Bella to figure it out and start walking normally again. If there are any other three-legged cat owners out there, any advice would be greatly appreciated!