Disabled kitten

[AParrish]

Hello everyone,

First let me say I am so glad to see something like this for disabled animals! It warms my heart to know there are so many people that want to give their pets the nest care possible!

I recently adopted a kitten who is disabled, his back legs are curled upward at the knees. He has to walk on his knee caps in the back. I spoke with a vet on what I should do so his legs don't get sores on them. I have looked everywhere and actually just purchased a pair of walking boots from this website. I am really hoping they do the trick for him! Does anyone have any other suggestions? Please let me know!

Thanks for listening!

[mumpkees]

Hi!

So glad that you found us! Please be patient and check back several times. Those of us with special needs furkids usually have full time jobs and multiple special needs furkids to care for so email and forums are usually something that we check just before collapsing into bed.

Happy to hear that you have a new furchild and he is special! It would be helpful if you could post some pictures of him so that we could see how his back legs are. How old is he? Sometimes if they are very young, physical therapy can be done to to help, other times the legs can be splinted. There are several here who have had furchildren with bent legs. They should chime in soon with stories and links and pictures. Our Bentley came to us at 5 weeks and his back legs were bent with his back feet pointing towards the ceiling. My partner would sit him on her lap several times a day and just gently massage the legs and feet in the direction they needed to go. One day a grey blur passed us and it was Bentley on all fours - legs still were bent but the feet now faced downward.

I think they also make these little sack / bag things that you put on them so when they scoot, they don't rub themselves raw. Do you have a video of how he 'walks'? Or can you describe it?

Again, so happy to hear that you have adopted this special little boy. What is his name? What is his story?

/mari

Hello everyone,

First let me say I am so glad to see something like this for disabled animals! It warms my heart to know there are so many people that want to give their pets the nest care possible!

I recently adopted a kitten who is disabled, his back legs are curled upward at the knees. He has to walk on his knee caps in the back. I spoke with a vet on what I should do so his legs don't get sores on them. I have looked everywhere and actually just purchased a pair of walking boots from this website. I am really hoping they do the trick for him! Does anyone have any other suggestions? Please let me know!

Thanks for listening!

[AParrish]

Thank you so much for replying so quickly!! It makes me feel so much better knowing there are other people that might be able to help me!!
Scooters story:

His original name was brave heart but i changed it to scooter. I adopted him from a rescue center close to where I live. He was born on a farm from a wild cat. They brought him along with his siblings to the shelter. By the way, this was a fantastic place, it is a no-kill shelter. They actually rescue all animals, also from shelters that are going to kill the animals at those shelters!! Anyways, as soon as I saw a picture of him I knew I wanted to give him a loving home! I wasn't even looking for an animal, but he kinda fell in my lap. He is about 15 weeks old and is a total love monster!! He loves to talk and loves to be with people. I want to do everything I can to make sure he has the best life....and it breaks my heart that I haven't been able to find a solution for his mobility issues. He walks/waddles on his back legs, he can run and jump a little. He doesn't think there is anything different about him! So if I could find at least some answers to me questions about taking care of a disabled kitten I would be so grateful! I have uploaded 2 pics of him and i have a video i am going to upload later. Thanks for all your help and support.

[AParrish]

This was taken last week

[AParrish]

scooter

[critters]

Wow, he's quite bent, isn't he? Does he walk or does he do more of a drag?

[AParrish]

He walks/ waddles... But it's like he's walking on his knees.

[LisainCAN]

He is adorable. I can understand wanting to adopt him, whether you had intended to or not!

I can't see that without surgery, this problem could be fixed, but I am not a vet. You were right I think in trying to cushion the knee area as I would imagine he would develop sores eventually. Also, long term, you may want to look into glucosamine or another such supplement as I suspect that the knee could become arthritic in time.