Late on Wednesday night one of our cats (my favourite) Petzl, came back in through the top window and it was obvious he was in distress. He was limping around but went straight to his food & water, then into a corner. Took him to the vet on Thursday and after £180 for x-rays, we were told he'd been hit by a car and had fractured his right femur. We were then offered three options:

1) Euthenase - £45
2) Amputate - £250
3) Operate to reset and pin - £650

Even though a vet once told me that all dogs and cats were born with three legs plus one spare, I firmly believe all animals should have a leg at each corner. So it was option 3. The vet phoned yesterday asking us to collect him beause he refused to settle after his op, he wasn't eating and was constantly yowling - obviously unsettled.

He's now home and although he's not happy at his restricted movement and the other cats seem to be taking the piss, he's settled really well. He spends most of the time in a large dog crate because if he was loose, the little bugger would be out again (remember, he jumped in through a 6' high window with a broken thigh). He's eating, drinking, pissing and shitting as normal and he's loving any attention. He is a real purring machine again. He was reluctant to put any weight on his right leg and initially walked around on three legs with his right held high above his back. He is now more confident and is putting weight on the injured leg, albeit very gingerly.

We've got at least six more weeks of this to look forward to but hopefully everything will be fine. His right leg is pinned with a lot of external ironwork that will need removing in 6 weeks. I'm just so bloody glad to have him back with me.

Oh, while Petzl was under the anaesthetic, we also took the opportunity to have his goolies removed. No wonder he was yowling at the vet

In his Safe Room



His ironwork

Our cat got hit by a car in front of me about 5 years ago. I was sure she was a goner, but somehow the only injury she sustained was a smashed tail. What cost us a fortune was not the eventual operation to amputate (she's been a Manx lookalike since then) but the attempts to save the tail, which to be fair the vet did say were probably a waste of time.

I had a similar experience with my cat about 20 years ago.

He came home with a broken tail, took him to the vets and the vet insisted on only docking half his tail. Two weeks later, the stench was overpowering, so back he went. The vet explained he thought he'd be able to get away with only taking of half his tail but would now need to remove it completely. When I later went to collect the cat I was presented with another bill. I refused to pay it, explaining that if the charade continued, I could keep returning with the cat until all I had was a nose and an empty bank account.

We went our separate ways after I told him he had something in common with Donald Duck: they could both stick their bills up their arses

I'd forgotten the smell. The worst bit was when we took her back the last time before the amputation and when the vet took off the bandages the tail skin basically fell away by its own accord.

At least the vet had explained that amputation was by far the most likely outcome the first time they saw the cat. Mind you, if they'd explained the likely additional costs from temporary fixes, I might have made a different decision in the first place.