Expert: Karen Craft - 11/4/2011

Question
Hello, Karen. My name is, Pat. I am also an expert on this site, but, today, I need an expert myself, for help with our kitten. We brought her home yesterday. The folks that gave her to us seemed pretty nice/normal, although we know nothing else about them. She was born on 9/23/11, making her 6 weeks today. She was very playful in the car on my 15 year old daughter’s lap. HOWEVER, when we arrived home and put her onto our living room floor, we were a bit taken back by what we saw. She seems to have a problem with her hind legs. It’s really difficult to explain because I’ve never seen this before. I understand that she is very young and her balance still isn’t that great, but this is different. When she walks, or attempts to walk, her hind legs seem to ‘spread apart’ (and almost drag), more so her right leg, and this really impedes her ability to walk properly.

We’re nervous because we don’t know if it is something simple like allowing her leg muscles to grow more or maybe something more serious, like a deformity or a disease. We certainly don’t want to give her up due to this problem, but I also want to think of a ‘Plan B’ in case it is something where the kitty may not live long (and break everyone’s heart). Any help AT ALL that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I have also included a link to the popular website, Flickr, where I just posted 2 short videos to give you a better idea. Thank you very much for your time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69440358@N04/

Answer
Hi Patrick,

Glad to be of help. And it was super of you to send a video of her. It gives me much more to go on.  It could be something called Twisted Leg Syndrome. If it is this there are a few things that can be done to help. The first is to do nothing. She may grow out of it. The second is to help strengthen her hind leg muscles. You can try to get her to do gentle exercises for her back legs. I would try a type of pool therapy. Use something that is deep enough so her feet don't touch bottom. Fill it with warm water. Then support her in it so that she uses her hind legs to swim. Don't throw her in and let her go. You don't want her to panic. Try this for a week or so and see what happens. You can also try to massage her legs. This will also help. Here's a link that describes how to do the massage. This article also describes how to brace the kittens legs. I believe yours is too old for this to be effective. And in the link they show extreme cases of this. Your little girl isn't so bad.  

http://www.showcatsonline.com/x/caring-for-a-kitten-born-with-a-twisted-leg.shtm

No matter what, this is not something that the kitten should be put down for. She will be fine. It should straighten out. She may have a funny gait when she is an adult. But she should be fine otherwise. I have one here who had it and he runs with this funny looking lope. But otherwise he is good. I would also take her to the vet for a checkup to make sure it isn't something else. But it looks to be this. And remember, cats are very adaptive. So if her legs don't correct themselves she still will have a fine life. Good luck and take care.

Ciao, Karen