Kitten with possible hip defect? Please help me figure this out

We have a litter of three we are caring for, and while the 2 boys are running wild, their sister seems to be having a small problem.

Some background: They were born on 12/30/06 and it was a normal, uneventful birth. She was the last-born of the three. Mom was well fed and cared for during pregnancy.

She can walk, but her hind legs splay out to the sides rather than go underneath her as she walks, and when she sits, her hind legs go out to the side. It's cute, but it's not "normal". We are going to take them all to the vet in another week or two for their first checkup, but I was hoping maybe one of you guys on here had an idea what this might be. She moves as fast as her brothers on a towel or on carpet, but on the laminate floor she gets no traction and it's hard for her. All four legs move well; i.e. she can kick and stretch, her tail moves; so there is no paralysis or nerve damage that I can imagine.

BTW, the boys are Aurelius (long haired orange boy) and Spartacus (grey and white longhaired boy), and the girl is Andromache (grey and white longhaired). She got her name from how well she holds her own while wrestling with her brothers; Andromache, a name from Greek mythology, translates as "She fights like a man"!

Thanks!

~Sue

Sounds like "splayed leg" to me, but I may be wrong - hopefully the vet can recommend some massage techniques that will help. I can't advise much, I had a kitten like that and she only lasted 48 days.

Good luck and keep us advised!!!

What is that? Can you (or anyone) post a link with info?

Hmm... If she is referring to the condition in which a kitten's chest is not as deep as it ought to be, causing the legs to go out to the side, then you can check this site:

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/90/...itten-FCK.html

No, that's definitely not it. It's her back legs, the front and her chest are fine.

Thanks for the link tho, much appreciated.

I'm afraid I've never been able to find any links concerning splayed legs and since LilBit died at 48 days, I've never wanted to find out...I do know that it's not a genetic defect though and this is important to me since I'm a breeder!. I'll check with my vet to see if I can find some web links.

{{hugs}}

Andromache is one month old today and going strong. She eats well (in fact, she shoves her brothers off of nipples!) and looks to be in all other respects a happy, healthy kitten.

Will let you know what the vet has to say. Still looking online, without much luck...

I just had a litter of seven in my house this summer. Willow had this problem. She was the 5th kitten born and Mommy Gabby did not have enough strength to tend to her as much as the others, and for a while she was the runt. Her back legs sort of splayed out and she could not keep up with her 6 siblings when romping about.

At about 6 weeks, I noticed a change for the better. Her back legs were straightening and she started to walk more normally. By week 8 - nothing was wrong, and she was no longer the runt of the group. She's still doing great, she just seemed slow to learn how to walk. I hope that this is what is going on with your kitten and it is nothing serious!

How is she doing with the litterbox?

Just a quick update, in case anyone is interested. The kittens are now 12 weeks old and all is well. BTW, Andromache turned out to be a boy, so he is now Androcles At about 8 weeks, his leg muscles suddenly got the right idea and he started walking just like his brothers. He walks and runs just like any other kitten now. So I am guessing that it was just a developmental delay of some sort.

aw , thats great news. thank you for the update .