what can be causing my kitten to not walk on back legs?

[Georgiesmomma]

I have had George since he was born to my 2 inside only cats. He was normal at birth no injury has occurred, he just gradually stopped being able to use his back legs. They actaully look like he has no hips, the limbs are not twisted but one sticks straight out. He can move them - and does when he watches his siblings play or when he wrestles with them- and he can feel them but he has no pain in his spine or hips it just seems like, he has no hips...any idea what this could be?

[critters]

How old is he? Maybe his hips are dislocated?

[Georgiesmomma]

he is about 12 weeks old...he could stand on them int eh very beginning then i noticed him leaning then not using them at all now one stick straight out all the time..he has no pain in them and has feeling..ho blood supply loss they are never cold....perfectly happy kitten in every other respect...what can be dont to fix it?

[critters]

IF they're dislocated, maybe they could be put back into the socket. Cats are also particularly well-known for making a "false joint" around the hip, which can enable them to function perfectly; in fact, that has happened in my house, with Jazz, who came with a dislocated hip. I think I'd do a vet visit and probably xrays so I could find out what's wrong and find out what might be done to help.

[Georgiesmomma]

I don’t think his hips are dislocated because from what I have been reading, they would not be getting very good blood circulation
And they would feel slightly cooer to the touch and he should also be in at least some pain but he just is not…it is really weird, the one leg that seems longer seems like it has too many joints lol

[critters]

My hippy babies have never had a problem with circulation. 1 had a crushed hip and another had a dislocated one.

[Georgiesmomma]

i guess it has to be dislocated..I picked him up yesterday after bathing him and i could see for sure why one leg seems longer...the actual hip is out..way out like separated from the hip socket by about an inch or 2 when his leg dangles you could see it clearly...what can be done to help him? I read relocation is rarely successful..i cant bend his leg much it is very very stiffhe also does not appear to be in pain at all.....what could have caused this too? he has never had an injury...

[CarolC]

I wonder if you need to get an x-ray to check his hip sockets. But if the vet finds there is a problem with his hips, don't let them automatically tell you to put him down. Disabled kitties can have very happy lives.

BendyMom reminded me of Speedy Kitten, here is his website.

http://www.geocities.com/speedykitten/story.html

[Georgiesmomma]

oh no no no no no there is NO WAY I am putting this sweet sweet boy down unless he is in pain...so far he is a sweet happy loving and playful kitten...he scoots around the house like a daredevil he loves to bath and eat and cuddle and he fought so hard to get over a cold and an eye infection last week he is a fighter and totally meant to be living and loving and my baby boy..soon I will get diapers for him and when he gets a bit bigger a wheelchair ...why on earth would the vet want to put him down just bc he can't walk?

Oh my gosh that kitten is soo cute! I want to make Georgie something like that but his one leg extends out too far...

[ATC4Furbabies]

Has your kitten been fixed? And if so, at what age? I'm sure you've probably gotten it checked out by now, but if not, I thought I would share my experience with my cat and a little medical words of wisdom for anyone else having this possible issue. The two conditions that run through my head would be Hip Dysplasia or Legg-calve perthes. Hip Dysplasia (recurrent dislocation of hips due to congenital bone deformity that causes a shallow hip socket) is fairly well-known in the pet community because it is so common in dogs, but not many know about the other condition because it's somewhat rare, especially in cats.

Although I am NOT a vet, I am currently going through correcting my 2yo male cat's hips due to Legg-calve-perthes. It occurs in humans as well as animals, so I'm familiar enough with the condition that I can speak about it (I'm a Certified Athletic Trainer, not to be confused with a personal trainer, and work in the physical therapy setting rehabilitating surgical patients and athletic injuries).

Legg-Calve-Perthes occurs more frequently in dogs than cats. According to my vet, it is VERY rare to see it in one hip in cats, much less in both hips of a cat... but I won the lottery with my rescued male. This condition can be a congenital issue (just got bad luck with genetics), it can be due to injury from a fall or blunt force trauma (especially while the bones are still developing in the young or when osteoporosis has set in in the elderly), or it can be due to being neutered too early/too young in animals (which causes a hormonal imbalance and prevents the bones from receiving adequate nutrients).

What happens with this condition is, for whatever reason, the femoral head and neck (the ball and skinny part of your hip bone) loses blood supply. With this blood supply loss, the bone starts to die and necrode. As the bone dies, the bone weakens and can (and will) eventually break, usually at the femoral neck.

This condition USUALLY presents before the age of 2 in cats and dogs. There will be no change in blood supply to the leg itself, just that particular part of the bone, so pain may not be associated originally. My cat started out a VERY active kitty who was very fond of running and jumping up into a very tall cat tree. I first noticed he was limping around shortly after he turned 2, but he was in no obvious distress... as I moved his leg around, he just kind of gave me that "What the heck are you doing, Mommy? I have cat things to do!" However, only a few days later, I noticed he was laying around more and more. A few more days after that, he began losing muscle tone in his leg, he started crying out when he stood up, and he drug one of his legs behind him when he walked. But through it all, my cat never walked around yelling "OW I'M HURT!" I just knew something wasn't right with his hind legs by how he was acting and the decrease in his physical activity.

The only treatment for this condition is Femoral Head Osteotomy or Ostectomy (FHO). This is where they go in and surgically remove the necroded femoral head and neck. Outlook of this surgery is good, though... especially for cats! This is similar to a total joint replacement for humans, but unfortunately, as of now, they do not make hardware small enough to make a replacement joint for small dogs and cats, though I believe they do have a total hip joint for large dogs. If your animal has it in both, they should only do one hip at a time to allow proper healing for your pet to form a pseudo-joint following surgery prior to performing an FHO on the other hip.

A trip to the vet to get Xrays taken was the only way I would have known what he had. He was clearly progressively getting worse. The vets always say any time your pet stops eating or drinking, becomes more lathargic than usual, is showing obvious signs of being in pain, or is acting differently from their usual self, you shouldn't hesitate to take them in... animals, though resilient in some situations, can also have many health conditions that can cause them to deteriorate at an accelerated rate.

Hope this helps someone out there! And I hope your kitty has been nursed back to health and is doing well now!

[Georgiesmomma]

thank you so much for all of that gret information, I really hope it helps someone out there. sadly my baby died 11 days after I posted this question...without warning one day he had loose bowel movements then the next morning he died in my arms..I am still severely overcome with grief as I he and I were well bonded and i wanted to have him forever...thank you though for wanting to help me

RIP sweet Georgie boy mommy misses you every second of every minute of every hour of everyday and will until i get to see you again

[critters]

I'm sorry for your loss, Georgiesmama. Little ones can be SO tough, but SO fragile...

for all that info, ATC. My Baby http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Baby-Easy-Read ... =truslow+a has what I assumed was HD subsequent to her cerebellar hypoplasia (CP), but it's probably something else because all of her cartilage is really soft. As a non-walker, it doesn't bother her, but she'd be in line for a FHO if she walked.

[Georgiesmomma]

thank you..losing him was harder than I ever imagined it would be..he needed constant care and knew i was the one loving him he would even scoot his little self all the way out into the living room to look for me if i were late coming home...hating his daily bath but loved the dry after..he was such an a amazing guy never thought he'd go.....

[critters]

But, you know, it's even harder to lose them when they need constant care, because all of a sudden they aren't there.

[Georgiesmomma]

yes i think that was one of the hardest parts to deal with but the most was "He trusted me and I let him down, I didn't do everything I should have or he would still be here" I still...STILL wrack my brains of the why's and if only's and still wish he were here every day