fourleg.com

Seeing a cat post cruciate repair today - 6 weeks now, owners want to know timelines (ie when can the cat be free to go out?) Vet isn't too clear on timelines either... any thoughts?

J.S.

I’ve only seen one cat cruciate. It was very tight.

I don’t think it’s as much of a worry with cats. They don’t tear off after squirrels, they don’t play bow and race in the back yard.
Now, if I’m wrong and this cat has a house-mate that it plays with… then limits might be important.
As far as going out… I’d wait the customary 8 weeks… and only if you feel the ROM is okay, the thigh circumference is comparable (even if not equal), there is no joint pain, the cat uses the leg and can jump up (i.e. if it had to get away from something).
To that end, I’d have the owners working on jumping up onto something by 6 weeks. I don’t think the forces would be enough to damage the repair (presuming it was extracapsular).
And then I’d think about what I’d want the cat to be able to do before going outside (which when I mention getting away from a predator… that’s the main #1 important factor for the cat. #2 would be to think “What stupid things would / could a cat do if allowed free access outside? - Climb a tree, jump up to catch a butterfly, pounce on a mouse." Do you think the cat is safe to do any of these things? And while I don’t have an answer… I would think that some light measure training in these areas would be good (i.e. leaping after a feather on a stick or playing with the laser - but not to the point of crazy!), and a way to ‘test’ where the cat is at in regards to ‘return to the outdoors’.

Best of luck!


Laurie