Kitten 2 weeks old splayed back legs.

Hi,

We have 3 kittens that are going to be 2 weeks old tomorrow. I have experience of quite a few kittens and I know that when they are first born they crawl along rather than walk! In the last few days I have noticed that 2 out of the 3 kittens have started walking and are up on their back legs however 1 kitten is still dragging his behind/out to the side of him. I am wondering what to do now, whether to wait a while and see if it rights itself or go and see a vet. He seems healthy despite this but is quite a big kitten with a big tummy so I am also wondering if this has anything to do with it!

I will try and post a couple of photo's on here, when holding him up the bottom bits of his legs do seem to be spreading outwards slightly, so if this helps I will put some on here for you to see.

Hoping someone can shed some light on this please?

Originally Posted by nicochick

when holding him up the bottom bits of his legs do seem to be spreading outwards slightly,

Click to expand...

I come to think about something called Twisted legs. Kittens do have them twisted legs now and then. Surely rare but not unheard of. It looks quite horrible, but the astonishing is, they often grow out of it.

Perhaps it is a light case of these twisted legs??

Anyway, I think consulting a good vet cant be wrong. You are perhaps supposed to give him some gymnastics??


Good luck!

It may be a mineral deficiency or he may have a genetic problem. This little guy NEEDS to go vet to correct any problem or he may never walk properly .

I hope it's nothing & he's just alittle behind in his development, but if his legs are truely splayed or bowed he needs to see a vet.

Thanks for your replies, I will take him to the vets tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

Here are some pics of him and the other 2 kittens;

Could be something as simple as getting him some adorable little splints, or just giving him a mineral supplement or just exercise.

Good on you for noticing!

Oh, they're adorable! He's blessed in having found such a wonderful home - and prayers for a diagnosis of something that's easily treatable. Please let us know what happens.

I suggest doing a Goggle search on Twisted Leg Syndrome.

I did and found a lot of links on it; from skimming the articles on the links, the impression I got was that either they can grow out of it or at the worst, it can be corrected with a small amount of effort.

I read on one that not all vets are well versed on it.

Here is a sample link;

http://www.pandecats.com/x/caring-fo...sted-leg.shtml

Nice looking kittens, the orange one looks like my Taz's baby picture. I like the look of the dark one's.

I had a foster kitten who had what sounds like the exactly same problem. He was also quite chubby. He would try to pull his back feet underneath him and walk, and the splaying would happen. The vet said he was fine and by 6 wks he was the strongest and fastest kitty I hope this is the case with your little one!

I've had kittens born like this.

You need to take this baby to the vet just to make sure it's not serious.

I did and was told daily massages would help - but please vet first

I'd actually been wondering about this too. Our kittens are 9days old today and one of them is doing the same thing.

There is a good chance he'll just grow out of it, but there is an equal chance that it's an easy fix that will cause permanent damage if nothing is done . I can tell you it's a little harder to deal with in horses then it is with tiny kittens

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Took the little one to the vets and was told that thankfully it looks like there is nothing physically wrong with him. I was told to try and keep his legs in the proper position whenever he tries walking and if it is still the same in a weeks time then to go back and try and get some bracing on and maybe an x-ray although vet said everything seems to be in right place and functioning normally.

So here's hoping that he just needs a little encouragement and that things will be ok very soon!

That's great. Did he say anything about massaging them? With my frog legged litter I used a warm face cloth and then massaged them twice daily.

that's great news! You'll have to walk him all over the house like a wheelbarrow .

Thats good news, I hope everything works out well.

I think he's a nice looking kitten, maybe he'll be like my Taz when he gets older, Taz was a "big boy" as a kitten and he's still a big, pleasant natured cat.

Wishing all the best.

Hi my cat gave birth to 4 kittens, three of them are doing great but one of them at age 4 weeks starting showing these exact symptoms as u showed in pics, I have taken him to vet several times, he gave me vitamins and some more nutritious food and he gave him several shots, it's been almost 8 days and my kitten hasn't improved yet, i have called the vet again and he keeps telling me its a nutrition problem and he'll grown out of it. I'm really concerned and don't know what else to do. please tell me if your kitten became better and how long did it take her, thanks

 Hi Sasha,   that was an old thread  and the person who was posting has not been on here for years .   I did check and saw that she  posted a week later that the kitten's legs were much better and he was walking fine.

  but unfortunately that hasn't happened with your kitten.   Your vet is not right that the only thing to do is give good food and vitamins.    There is also massaging and stretching the tendons,  and  in some cases ,  bracing is needed. 

   Back in 2000 on a Persian cat site  they published an article in the members section on kittens born with twisted legs.   They got so much response about kittens ,  both domestics and kittens of various breeds,  who had this condition,   and they published  several update articles. that are free to the public.    Here is a link  to a summary of the info and it includes links to previous articles  http://www.pandecats.com/x/caring-for-a-kitten-born-with-a-twisted-leg.shtml      

It has tips about warming, stretching and massaging the legs.  

It says they usually self-correct by about 5 weeks but if they don't,  and they cant'put weight on the legs,  they need to be braced.  it shows some pictures.  and the brace has to be replaced often since they grow so fast.    

 This one is specifically about bracing hind legs  http://www.pandecats.com/x/bracing_twisted_hindlegs.shtml

You might want to show it to your vet   or perhaps see an orthopedic specialist and show these articles to him/ her.   

 I hope this may help.