Posted on 06/18/2012 6:08:35 AM PDT by RoadGumby
Hello all,
I am hoping to hear from all the cat lovers here on Freep.
I am the new owner of a kitten that has some deformities from birth.
Her front paws are not fully formed and lack any claws at all. This is the best of her deformities.
On the other end, she is lacking her back feet. She has her upper thigh (Femur?) and then the next bone(s) that would be the same as our Tibia and Fibia. And that is all.
She is about 4 weeks old and was brought into the animal clinic my wife works at. They were going to put her down, but we decided (even though we already have 7 cats) to take her in and give her a chance.
What I need is information and or resources to use to figure out how to help her. She does try to walk and get around, but has obvious traction problems. The BIGGEST hurdle I see is getting her litter box trained.
We have named her Grace.
Any help information wise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
As a cat lover and animal lover I think the kindest thing you can do for that little kitten is to humanely put it to sleep.
This thread is one of the reasons I love the FR community.
Just sayin’.
My first thought was that cats are very adaptable. They will find a way to get around, even if they are severely handicapped.
You’re an angel for saving this one, and she will grow and learn to move and to use the box. I bet she is a delightful pet for you for many years, assuming her missing her paws is her only physical problem.
May God bless her and you and your family.
For the litter problem, see if you can get a doggie litter pan. I have two. I got them for my elderly cats when they had troubles getting in and out of the litter box. They are kind of big..One I have has low sides and a wide opening and makes a great bed for an elderly cat. The other has higher sides and a shorter but low opening that I used for the litter.
As a side note, I just adopted two kittens, one was injured. Some jerk drove by Animal Services and from a speeding truck threw a box onto the property. Someone stopped and thankfully checked it out to find 4 tiny kittens. The litter was brought to the Pet ER and one kittend did not survive, the others were ok but one had damage to the ligaments to the left rear leg..All kittens are fine but with my tiny injured one, we have some litter problems too...she is a lot smaller than her sister..Last Fri Xena The Warrior Princess was 4 lbs and her sister little Gabrielle was 2.8..and Gabrielle will leave littel “ tootsie rolls” now and then as she goes...I have yet to figure this out...she eats like a truck driver yet is so small..has been to the vet and tested for everything and is thriving but this little poopy balls...gotta stop..so anyone got ideas about that to piggy back on this general topic?
I also had a 3 legged black cat, Mocha ( meaning one without a limb in Spanish) and she got around just fine and lived to be 25.
I have this litter box and my cats, Ebonie and Cookie would not use it...I have turned it into a little condo for my kittens.
Remember all the kitty has to ultimately do is eat, drink, sleep, play, and cuddle.
SHe doesn't need to cover a lot of territory to do all of this. She doesn't know she is supposed to have all these things that you stated. So she'll find some new way.
The only real concern ultimately is her finding a way to cover some territory to do the above things.
Special needs kitty who is loved :-).
She may be walking challenged, but not love challenged. :).
Maybe one day we'll see the kitty in the cat Special Olympics and she'll win a gold. GOd bless you and your family and God bless this little fur ball.
I also have this box. We call it the Magic box, lol. Have a diabetic kitty that was having accidents. He loves this thing. Not one accident since we got it for him.
Good luck with the baby.
As for the mobility issue, there are little "carts" to put the back end in so the front legs can pull the body along. I don't know who makes them but I have seen something about them just recently. Good luck.
Good for you on giving her a chance. As long as she’s not in pain, I don’t think you should put her down. Animals are a lot more adaptable than humans at times. I don’t have any advice on how to help her, but I encourage you to keep her and love her. If other medical problems surface that you don’t know about, it may be taken out of your hands or you may have to make that decision, but until then, let her live.
This cat has a different problem, but he was going to be put down too. He’s now an older, adult cat that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/09/two-faced-cat-frank-and-louie-guinness-book-records
Wow! That’s old for any kitty. You should post a pic.
Oh, maybe if I put some litter in it, Gabrielle will start to use it....maybe her sister bugs her, you know wanting to know what she is doing....pestering her...will give it a try and if it doesn’t work then back to kitty condo.
If you have time could you keep us posted on your sweet baby. I know a picture is asking too much (and would be great) but an update would be awesome. I do hope you keep your new sweetie.
Have you named the cat stumpy??
God Bless you and all those who have given such caring advice.
Given your love and shelter, Mocha should adapt well to herself as she is.
Only thing that could make you help her otherwise is if any of your other cats pick on the little one. Then you may want to get her a rocket pack or a weapon. ;-)
Thank you all so much for all your replies and help.
Grace is still with us, hanging in there. Being already ~ 4 weeks old, obviously ‘viable’, we made the call to give her a chance.
Our biggest struggle so far has been getting her to defecate. We guess that she (and her litter-mates?) had been ready for momma to wean and she had taken them out for a hunt that grace was not able to keep up with.
She eats, but hasn’t seemed to develop the ‘taste for’ canned cat food, so we assist her in eating, though she does at times chow down a little bit. We are giving supplements as well as mineral oil to help with elimination.
She does get around, though the linoleum and hardwood floors don’t give her much traction.
Most of our 7 other cats have become accustomed to her, with the kittens and our other mildly disabled cat being the friendliest.
Having said all that, we are still not sure of her long term health. It truly IS a day to day thing. We have no impression of pain from her. She’ll sit with us and purr, she has even tried playing a bit, swatting at our fingertips.
She spends the day with my wife at her job at the vet clinic, lots of help and loving there. We both know that, ultimately, it may be necessary to put her to sleep. But that will rest entierly on her not us.
I’ll post again with more news as it comes. Thanks agin to you all.
Oh, one poster ‘ducked’ from the ‘flames’ of those that feel that ‘cats (or animals) are just as important as people.” They aren’t. But it is a measure of a person, IMHO, by how much compassion is shown, both to people and/or animals. It seemed very wrong to entertain the idea of killing her just because she wasn’t ‘normal’.
Ultimately, IF she gives up, then that will be the way of it. But IF she desires to live, and thrives, then she will have a place for as long as she lives.
Have you tried stimulating her rectum like her mother would have?
Prayers for the kitten and blessing to you.
Lovely post. Please keep us updated on your sweet kitty’s progress.
Yesterday, at my volunteer shelter, a kind woman adopted a kitten that had no eyelids. So the poor little thing didn’t even have the cuteness of a tiny baby cat. But she was taken home anyway!
Oh, yes, having fostered several litters of kittens (the latest being literally 1 day old), we are very familiar with the ‘butt-rubbing’ necessary to get a kitten to go.
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