ABSTRACT OF THE WEEK

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Volume 263 | Issue 6 (June 2025)

Limb amputation for feline appendicular bone tumors results in excellent recovery outcomes and high owner satisfaction with a low incidence of complications.

J Am Vet Med Assoc. June 2025;263(6):732 - 738.

Shogo Kimura¹, Laura E Selmic², Karl C Maritato³, Emanuela Morello⁴, MacKenzie A Pellin⁵, Michelle L Oblak⁶, William T N Culp⁷, Sarah Malek⁸, Bernard Seguin⁹, Timothy Vernier¹⁰, Julia P Sumner¹¹, Brandan G Wustefeld-Janssens¹², Ariel N Schlag¹³, Julius M Liptak¹⁴

¹ 1Capital City Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital, Kanata, ON, Canada.; ² 2Veterinary Medical Center, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.; ³ 3MedVet Cincinnati, Fairfax, OH.; ⁴ 4Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy.; ⁵ 5Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Department of Medical Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.; ⁶ 6Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.; ⁷ 7Department of Veterinary Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA.; ⁸ 8Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.; ⁹ 9Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital, Victoria, BC, Canada.; ¹⁰ 10Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.; ¹¹ 11Department of Clinical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.; ¹² 12Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.; ¹³ 13Burlington Emergency and Veterinary Specialists, Williston, VT.; ¹⁴ 1Capital City Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital, Kanata, ON, Canada.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the recovery outcomes of cats following limb amputation for appendicular bone tumors.

METHODS:This retrospective, multi-institutional study included cats that underwent thoracic or pelvic limb amputation to treat primary appendicular bone tumors (2006 to 2019). Short- and long-term postoperative complications were investigated. Owners were surveyed to evaluate their perceptions and satisfaction regarding postoperative adaptation and recovery outcomes. Fisher exact tests were used to compare the results between different levels of amputation performed.

RESULTS:A total of 68 client-owned cats were included. Mild short-term (≤ 14 days) and long-term (> 14 days) postoperative complications were reported in 5 (7.4%) and 3 (4.4%) cats, respectively. Overall, time to return to walking without support was < 3 days in 69.7% of cats and 3 to 7 days in 16.7%. Activity level changes were reported as no change in 75.8% of cats. There were no behavioral changes in 92.3% of cats. Quality of life following amputation was recorded as excellent in 82.4% of cats. Owner satisfaction was reported as very satisfied, moderately satisfied, or satisfied in 98.5% of cats. There was no significant difference between thoracic limb and pelvic limb amputation in owner satisfaction or postoperative complications (short-term, OR = 0.39 [95% CI, 0.035 to 2.39]; long-term, OR = 0.41 [95% CI, 0.0074 to 5.39]).

CONCLUSIONS:Most cats showed prompt and complete recovery following thoracic or pelvic limb amputation, with a high level of owner satisfaction and low incidence of postoperative complications.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE:Thoracic or pelvic limb amputation in cats can result in excellent recovery outcomes.

Keywords

appendicular bone tumors; feline; owner satisfaction; pelvic limb amputation; thoracic limb amputation;

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