kitten born with birth defects

[neclark]

we are fostering a mum cat for our local shelter who had her kittens 10 days ago. one of them suddenly had a problem...it appeared to be bloating and we rushed it to the overnight vet, as when i called they said it could be a problem with a birth defect with it's intestines. after being examined, the kitten was diagnosed with fcks (flat chest kitten syndrome) and swimmer syndrome. the bloating which occurred over 36 hours was probably due to the chest flattening and giving the wee one the look of a sea turtle. the vet told us that respiratory problems are common and so is sudden respiratory failure and death and to be prepared. it's back legs are splayed out and the vet said that we might be able to correct that at least, but it would require hobbling the legs and making sure when it comes to being a bit older, that it has carpet to walk on. can anyone give me some advice on how to hobble the kitten and what to use...does it go above or below the hock..anyone got pictures. we are in love with this little guy and want to give him the best chance we can of having a long normal life and a chance to go to a good home.

[critters]

I wonder if the baby's chest is flattening from the weight of lying down, if he or she can't walk? Can you rig up washrag rolls or something to keep the baby side-lying for some time several times a day? As for the legs, you might find the best info on the exotic bb in reference to birds, because hobbling and leg problems seem to be pretty common for them.

Even if he remains disabled, it may still be possible to place him, assuming you still want to give him up by then.

[CarolC]

I don't see anything on hobbling kittens, but here is something on puppies. I don't know how effective or advisable it would be for a kitten, I've never had that situation.

This message says use vet wrap and put it below the hock.

http://pub12.bravenet.com/forum/static/ ... 5&cmd=show

Here are some more:

http://kaylissdesign.homestead.com/1-16.pdf (starting on page 7, instructions on page

This one contains a link to a video that is supposed to be good, I can't watch it, I'm on dial-up right now.

http://www.thedachshundhaven.com/forums ... 10&start=0

I found another webpage where they say they no longer recommend hobbling puppies, here is what they recommend instead.

http://www.milbroseretrievers.com/weektwo.html

[Bendy Kitty]

while we have not dealt with this personnally, mom read a lot about it when I was a kitten.

here are a couple good links.
This can be a very tricky syndrome to treat, many many purrrrs for your wee one.

http://pawpeds.com/pawacademy/health/flatchest/

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/90/Flat-Chested-Kitten-FCK.html