My cat was gone for six days, but then it started snowing. That's when it limped through
our dog-door with a
dislocated and
chipped femur head. The
doc said it would have
to get surgery if it was to walk OK. The surgery is called
femoral head ostectomy,
which basically involves removing the joint. Then, the pet's body forms some scar tissue
which makes a
false joint, which is strong enough for small animals to walk on.
So, in two months, my pet should be walking around fine. Right now, it looks worse
than when it walked in the door, as it is shaved, stitched, and the leg is still
nonfunctional. It also has some sort of patch on its shoulder, to provide pain relief.
Oh, and it is really bored because it can't go anywhere.
Update 2002/04/14 By now the cat is walking around fine.
It's actually been that way for a while, but I forgot about this node.