Kitten Injured Leg

Hello everyone!

I recently took in 4 kittens. They're 8 weeks old. This morning I noticed that one of the little guys has a swollen elbow (you can see it in the picture). I think he might've fallen off of something. The leg almost looks twisted a tad. He's still running, jumping, playing, batting toys with it, not limping at all. He doesn't hold it up (in the pic, he's just getting ready to pounce on his brother, not holding up the leg due to pain). I can tell it's a little sore, but it doesn't seem to bother him much. Should I take him straight to the vet or just monitor him for a few days?

These kittens are giving me so much anxiety! I just want to do the best I can for them. Thanks for any advice!

-Heather

Do you think it could be a birth defect? Or an old injury that healed maybe? Because where it's swollen feels like bone. But it doesn't seem to really hurt him. Here's some more pictures so you can get a better look.

While I wouldn't consider it an emergency, I would certainly have the vet take a look at the kitten. If there is a problem or something that needs to be corrected, best to go it sooner rather than later.

I have scheduled an appointment for Friday (that's the earliest they could fit me in). Any information would be great in the meantime. I can't even eat, I'm so anxious about this poor baby. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to bother him.

These kittens were born on my parents' farm, and my mom had been taking care of them. I took them once they turned 8 weeks. I asked my mom to send me pictures of him from when he was younger when he was still at her house. These are the pictures she sent. He has the same issue in these photos. So I'm guessing birth defect or injury that healed incorrectly. Still going to see the vet, but these pictures really helped relieve my anxiety! What do you think?

I think what he has is an "angular limb deformity". I'll get x-rays to see if it will affect him as he grows. I hope he won't need surgery.

I have had kittens born with disfigured wrist joints. Over time and as they grow they straighten out and end up just as normal as any other cat. Let me see if I have a few photos for an example. 

In your case, is he favoring it? Does it appear to cause him pain? If this is so, take him to a vet. Otherwise he should grow out of it, or he may keep it and still live a normal happy life (just with a little twist!).

Pictures would be great! Thank you! He doesn't seem to be in pain at all. He doesn't limp and he still runs, jumps, and plays just fine. He does lift it up every now and then, but after watching him a lot, I think that might be because of the way it's angled. It makes it slightly shorter than the other leg so he has to stretch it a bit for it to touch the ground when he sits. I'm very happy to know that most grow out of it!

Here are a couple examples: 

The little Calico is actually our cat, Cici. She was in the first ever litter of kittens I raised. We actually only decided to keep her because of the dis-figuration. They never seemed to cause her pain and she ran around and played with all of her litter mates just fine. I recall her climbing up a scratching post and stretching her wrists out by hanging from the top of it.

As she got bigger, her arms straightened themselves out and she now is just like any other cat! 

We learned from her and any other kitten after her born with the same disfigured wrist joints were watched very carefully. All of them straightened out as well and have since gone to live happy lives. 

Though, like I said in my previous comment, this may not be the same in your case and if you think it is causing him pain you should definitely take him in.

Wow! I'm shocked she grew out of it. That's pretty amazing. Since I can't seem to find any cases of the elbow being twisted like this, I'll just take him to the vet to be on the safe side in case it will cause him issues as he grows. But he's not in any pain from it at all. I'm very thankful for that. I can't stand to see animals in pain.

Let us know what the vet says! Hopefully he will learn to live with it and/or grow out of it as my kitties have. 

I'll be sure to keep you updated. I wish I could keep all 3 of my little cuties, but no more pets for me. I'll have to search high and low to find this little guy the perfect home. He deserves it. They all do.

What kind of camera do you use? These photos are fantastic quality! 

Thanks! It's the NikonD5100. It takes great kitten pictures. lol

These are my other 2 babies.

Here's another picture where you can see his leg well.

We opted to do xrays. He pretty much has no growth plate in his leg. So that leg will always be shorter than the other. She couldn't even really tell what all was going on with it even with the xrays. As he grows, it'll probably also get more twisted and look very abnormal. If it starts getting painful for him, he may need surgery or possibly even amputation.

Good luck! (((((Little man)))))) He may learn to live with it too.

I was born with severe bone defects and just learn to live with it over time.

Thanks for the update! Hopefully it won't cause him too many problems or pain as he grows.