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splay legs in 3 week old kitten



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 3rd 05, 06:52 AM
Mariaricardo
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Default splay legs in 3 week old kitten

I hope there is someone out there who has had some experience
(hopefully successfully), with splay legs in kittens. One of a litter
of four born three weeks ago has hind legs that go out to the side,
like a frog. He is able to walk and lift his abdomen up from the
carpet, but his legs are weak. The vet taped his hind legs above the
hock and put a piece of tape about 2 inches long between them. Also, he
was born with big rear paws which the vet says are fluid filled. I'm
wondering if there are some physical therapy excercises I should be
doing for him. I haven't found any information on the internet. Any
help is appreciated.
Mariaricardo

  #2  
Old February 3rd 05, 05:38 PM
jmc
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Mariaricardo wrote:
I hope there is someone out there who has had some experience
(hopefully successfully), with splay legs in kittens. One of a litter
of four born three weeks ago has hind legs that go out to the side,
like a frog. He is able to walk and lift his abdomen up from the
carpet, but his legs are weak. The vet taped his hind legs above the
hock and put a piece of tape about 2 inches long between them. Also, he
was born with big rear paws which the vet says are fluid filled. I'm
wondering if there are some physical therapy excercises I should be
doing for him. I haven't found any information on the internet. Any
help is appreciated.
Mariaricardo

My cat, Meep, has a similar problem, but probably not as bad as your
cat's. I adopted her at 12 weeks; she's 8 now. A recent x-ray shows
the bones in her lower legs, below the hocks, are actually slightly
curved, but this isn't visible "outside". From the side, she looks
normal. From the back, her hocks point inward, and her lower legs/feet
point outward at just slightly under 45 degrees.

I call her 'cow-hocked', try a google for that.

She gets around fine, but has to swing her hocks out slightly as she
walks so they clear each other properly. She regularly does vertical
jumps to 3', but I think that might be the extent of her ability - my
last cat could do twice that height. I would not consider her hind legs
"weak" but her structure does limit her jumping ability, I think.

She's been diagnosed with a rare condition in cats - luxated patella -
which is where the kneecap slides out from where it's supposed to be.
If it sticks, it'll cause the leg to stick out, or the cat to be
obviously lame, until it goes back - then she's perfectly fine. She had
a single incident where this was a problem for around a month, then it
corrected. During that time we kept her confined away from stairs, and
away from most places that she had to jump onto.

We have to keep her weight down to reduce the stress on her legs, and I
worry about arthritis, so we have her on a glucosamine supplement.

FWIW, I've never considered her to be deformed (though some might, I
suppose) but I would say she just has bad conformation.

I guess what I'm saying is if he can get some strength in those hind
legs, he can grow up normally, probably just won't be a world-champion
jumper...fortunately you're catching this young enough that perhaps with
the vet's help his legs can be straightened a bit.

jmc
  #3  
Old February 3rd 05, 09:51 PM
Mariaricardo
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Thanks for your reply jmc. I don't think your Meep has quite the same
problem as my kitten. The vet said it could be a hip abnomality not the
stifle. I'm glad to hear that your cat, though not able to jump as
high, is having a good life. My kitten seems to be improving in his
walking ability, but I fear something else is going on because his rear
paws, since birth, are swollen and his breathing is audible. He doesn't
have any discharge from eyes or nose. The vet said his heart sounded
normal. I'm keeping a close eye on him and trying not to get to
attached, which is difficult already.
Mariaricardo

  #4  
Old February 3rd 05, 10:38 PM
Karen
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My vet had a cat with back legs that looked almost completely backwards. I
don't know anything about what she did for therapy, but it seemed to get
around quite well. DId your vet not have any ideas about therapy? Or maybe
could refer you to a specialist for some advice?

"Mariaricardo" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for your reply jmc. I don't think your Meep has quite the same
problem as my kitten. The vet said it could be a hip abnomality not the
stifle. I'm glad to hear that your cat, though not able to jump as
high, is having a good life. My kitten seems to be improving in his
walking ability, but I fear something else is going on because his rear
paws, since birth, are swollen and his breathing is audible. He doesn't
have any discharge from eyes or nose. The vet said his heart sounded
normal. I'm keeping a close eye on him and trying not to get to
attached, which is difficult already.
Mariaricardo



  #5  
Old February 4th 05, 03:59 AM
Mariaricardo
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Hi Karen,
My kitten's legs aren't backward, that must look weird. Good to know
even a cat that bad can get around. My vet put the tape hobbles on and
seemed to think that might help and the kitten is better, but still
weak. This malady must be pretty rare, I can't find any specialists. I
wonder if there is a teaching vet school that is tops in felines that
would have information. On the rec.pets.cats.rescue site under Help,
problems with foster kittens dated May 8,2002, Imfifth posted about
splay legged kittens. I have tried to reply to it but it must be too
old to accept it. Thanks for your reply Karen.
Mariaricardo

  #7  
Old February 5th 05, 12:08 AM
Mariaricardo
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Thanks for the leads Karen

  #8  
Old February 5th 05, 01:54 AM
Sharon Talbert
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I am no vet, but I am very concerned that the vet has taped the kitten's
legs that have a circulatory problem already (the fluid-filled feet).

Sharon Talbert
Campus Cats


  #9  
Old February 5th 05, 06:23 AM
Mariaricardo
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Sharon,
When the vet put the tape on, I asked how can I tell if they are too
tight? The paws were already swollen. She showed me that the tape
around the hocks is loose, I can stick a finger tip in. Anyway, one of
the loops came off today. I'm going to evaluate tonight whether to
replace it or take the whole thing off. The kitten is getting around
good, almost as well as his littermates. The edematous pawa are a
puzzler, he had them at birth and they haven't changed. Bigfoot we call
him. I would think if the problem were cardiac the front paws would be
swollen too, they are normal.
Thanks for caring and writing.
Janine

 




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