Two Kittens, Six Whole Legs
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 11:12 pm
Hello Everyone,
My name is Sara. This is my first post here and I look forward to hearing back from anyone who has suggestions or ideas.
Several weeks ago, a cat living outside of our house had a litter of four kittens. We were familiar with this cat since we fed her, but we suspected she was either long-strayed or feral, since she would not allow us to touch her at any time. Working with a local feral and stray cat rescue, foster, and spay/neuter program, we decided to foster these kittens in our home, as well as their mother while she was nursing, and then try to adopt them out once they were big enough. This upcoming Saturday, the kittens will be five weeks old, and soon the mother will be spayed and re-released to her outdoor living situation.
Of the four kittens, two are missing parts of one of their hind legs. We were shocked by this, since when we first saw the kittens, the day after they were born, they were all whole. Some time between their second day of life, and two weeks later when we trapped them to bring them in, they were injured and suffered losses. Both of the kittens have healed stumps, are healthy as far as I can tell, and get around well enough.
The male kitten is missing all of one of his hind femurs, basically missing everything below one of his hind knees. The female is missing her back paw. They both are able to walk and run and roll around, and have even begun to try and hop up into my lap while playing. The male with the greater loss is slower at walking, but today I saw him run around for the first time. The female, unless you look closely, doesn't even present with any difference in gait. Sometimes she holds her footless leg up when she is standing so the stump does not touch the ground.
These kittens have yet to be vetted, though I think the local rescue organization is going to help us arrange it when they are big enough to get spayed and neutered. I am concerned about these two and the possible quality of life for them with or without amputation procedures. Furthermore, the cost of having complete amputations of their legs is likely well beyond my budget, especially since their injuries were not anticipated when we decided to foster this family.
I have read online that many cats who have partial leg loss have their entire leg amputated. Is this always the case? Especially with a kitten whose leg is very-nearly whole, as in the case of the footless female, it seems like it would be terrible to have her entire back leg removed due to the minimal loss. Some suggest that the cat would just injure its "stump" by walking on it, and that amputation is best.
Do you all have any thoughts, experiences, or advice to offer? Clearly I have to get a vet's opinion, but I am troubled thinking about further amputation for these kittens. Especially the female who is so very nearly whole.
Thank you,
Sara
My name is Sara. This is my first post here and I look forward to hearing back from anyone who has suggestions or ideas.
Several weeks ago, a cat living outside of our house had a litter of four kittens. We were familiar with this cat since we fed her, but we suspected she was either long-strayed or feral, since she would not allow us to touch her at any time. Working with a local feral and stray cat rescue, foster, and spay/neuter program, we decided to foster these kittens in our home, as well as their mother while she was nursing, and then try to adopt them out once they were big enough. This upcoming Saturday, the kittens will be five weeks old, and soon the mother will be spayed and re-released to her outdoor living situation.
Of the four kittens, two are missing parts of one of their hind legs. We were shocked by this, since when we first saw the kittens, the day after they were born, they were all whole. Some time between their second day of life, and two weeks later when we trapped them to bring them in, they were injured and suffered losses. Both of the kittens have healed stumps, are healthy as far as I can tell, and get around well enough.
The male kitten is missing all of one of his hind femurs, basically missing everything below one of his hind knees. The female is missing her back paw. They both are able to walk and run and roll around, and have even begun to try and hop up into my lap while playing. The male with the greater loss is slower at walking, but today I saw him run around for the first time. The female, unless you look closely, doesn't even present with any difference in gait. Sometimes she holds her footless leg up when she is standing so the stump does not touch the ground.
These kittens have yet to be vetted, though I think the local rescue organization is going to help us arrange it when they are big enough to get spayed and neutered. I am concerned about these two and the possible quality of life for them with or without amputation procedures. Furthermore, the cost of having complete amputations of their legs is likely well beyond my budget, especially since their injuries were not anticipated when we decided to foster this family.
I have read online that many cats who have partial leg loss have their entire leg amputated. Is this always the case? Especially with a kitten whose leg is very-nearly whole, as in the case of the footless female, it seems like it would be terrible to have her entire back leg removed due to the minimal loss. Some suggest that the cat would just injure its "stump" by walking on it, and that amputation is best.
Do you all have any thoughts, experiences, or advice to offer? Clearly I have to get a vet's opinion, but I am troubled thinking about further amputation for these kittens. Especially the female who is so very nearly whole.
Thank you,
Sara