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#1
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Thanks for the leads Karen
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#8
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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
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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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