I have an 11-year-old American short-haired, male cat that I opted to have his right hind leg amputated after I learned he had bone cancer 5 months ago. He initially had some difficulties (behaviorally) recovering but after his stitches were removed he improved quickly. He has a good appetite and loves to play and even bolts around the house. But within the last few weeks, I have noticed he has developed muscle spasms in his front limbs and neck. I started to give him about 30mg of gabapentin with breakfast and dinner which does not seem to be helping much. Oh yes, I forgot to mention he was also diagnosed with hyperthyroidism about a year ago so is on medication for that as well.
I have read articles about “jumpy-stumpy” syndrome and phantom limb pain but cannot seem to find information on alternative limb muscle spasms. Does anyone have any advice or has experienced this with their cat?
Welcome! What is your kitty’s name?
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First, it’s a good idea to talk to your vet about it.
Many Tripawds will have stumps that spasm (here’s an example of what our Wyatt’s looked like, 8 years or so after amputation: https://youtu.be/GLaNeyLCwoY). Usually there is no pain associated with these spasms.
Are there any vocalization or anxiety signs that happen when your cat’s stump twitches? Does he jump up and try to run away from it? How soon does he settle down if this does happen?
Be sure to post in the Forums so more people can chime in with ideas and feedback. Hope to see you there.
Hello and thank you for your reply. It is not his stump that twitches and no he is fine when I pet his stump area. It is his other limbs and neck that are having spasms. He does not seem to mind them so much but I can tell he is sitting a little differently and gets a tad impatient with me when I keep my hand on him feeling for the twitches. He does not seem to twitch when he sleeps which is a good sign for me. I have a call into the surgeon but has yet to call me back. I really wonder if his twitches are even related to his amputation now…