Perhaps it was what I wanted to her, but when we had to decide about amputating Minnie’s injured rear leg, I remember hearing over and over again that three-legged cats lead completely normal lives, that we would hardly notice Minnie’s lost leg, that she would hardly notice it either after awhile. That has not turned out to be true for Minnie, her  recovery has been long, slow and hard, and she will never return to her life as a barn cat. She is fearful of being out in the open, wary of being in the barn, reluctant to explore the pastures and fields that she used to prowl.

We put her out for a bit every morning, she finds a place to sit in the sun and then hangs by the back door, waiting to come in. I am glad Minnie is still around, but I don’t know if I would make the same decision about her amputation today, given her struggles since. She cannot  hop up on chairs and cushions, as she used to, she still seems disoriented and uncertain to me.