3 week old kitten with weird toes

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

Hello all, I have a young kitten who has long weird toes. He walks funny and his toes seem to push in or sideways when he walks. Has anyone seen this before? Hes about the same age as another one of my kittens in my care and her toes are short and she walks normally.

I cant post the video of him walking, so ill post a link to the video.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Have you had a chance to show these photos to your vet?

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

Hi! Have you had a chance to show these photos to your vet?

I haven't been able to yet, i plan to have him examined tomorrow or tuesday when I bring kittens in for weights

 

[cat nap]

I have absolutely no idea, but maybe this article can be of some help.
It talks about "cat paw anomalies".
If you look way down, to near the bottom of the page,...it says, "Arachnodactyly (spider-digits), a condition causing longer than normal toes, has not been reported in cats to my knowledge. The condition of extra joints/extra bones in one or more of the digits (causing them to be extra-long or extra-flexible) is hyperphalangy. "
CATS PAW ANOMALIES - SYNDACTYL (OLIGODACTYL), BRACHYDACTYL & ECTRODACTYL ETC

(I'm not a vet, or vet tech, but find cat health and cat behaviour fascinating.)
Hopefully, your Vet will have seen this before, and know what to recommend, if anything.
Maybe it's even a 'contracted tendon' issue.

Your kitten is adorable.
How old is he in your video?

(I'm not on facebook, but was able to access your video from the link, right under your name, above.
Did you see our Article on how to post videos, here, :
How To Upload And Add Videos To Your Posts – TheCatSite Articles
Don't know how facebook works, but if your video is hosted on youtube, or any similar platforms,...then you should be able to embed them into your posts.
Or straight from your computer, if Mp4, but with a limit of only 25MB..which is very short.
Might have to reduce the file size of your video, with this program, first.
Reduce Video File Size Online, Make Video Smaller (MP4, AVI, MOV, MPEG) | VideoSmaller
..(but I haven't tried yet, either, so I'm not too sure how long it takes, and all the steps involved. )

Wishing you and your kitten the best.
Please update us, here, when you find out what this is.
Oh, and if you can, I'd love to see some more photos, of how your other kitten's paws look, ...just for comparison.

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

In the video he is 3 weeks old and thank you for all the links and info! I will definitely look into more.

This is Gizmo's paws, she just turned 5 weeks old today

 

[Willowy]

What's his history? To me, he looks older than 3-4 weeks, but malnourished. He has that alien-head look that underfed kittens have. So that might be affecting his growth. If you've raised him since birth and know that he's been fed properly, his appearance could be a symptom of his condition, whatever it is.

It doesn't look like his toes have extra bones, just thin fur and . .poor muscle tone maybe? Or lack of muscle control. There's definitely an issue though. Do you have access to a veterinary neurologist?

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

He was abandoned by his mother and is definitely 3 weeks old. He will be 4 weeks old this Thursday. The original mother had him for 3 days and then left him so I picked him up. I bottlefed him the first day I had him and then the other mama took over.

When he was about 8-10 days old his eye swelled up with a bunch of infection in it (it was still closed) so he kept getting a warm compact on it to help get the puss out.

I thought he could atleast see from the one eye but as ive been watching him he acts blind and feels in front of him to make sure he isnt getting close to a ledge (i had hands ready in case he did fall)

He is maybe 2 or so weeks premature. He had 4 other littermates who didnt survive past 2 days. 2 of them had underdeveloped lungs.

His weight from last week was 5.6oz. Gizmo that i mentioned in another reply is 9 days older (5 weeks old today) and her weight Saturday was 5.8oz


Hes been on amoxidrops and neomycin for an infection but has recovered from it.


Someone mentioned him having a domed head, but his head feels normal and hasn't grown any bigger (besides normal growth development) I think his ears makes his head appear large but I cant be certain

This is basically all to know about him lol

I included more pictures that show more of a comparison with my hand

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

I do not have access to a neurologist, unfortunately an appointment would be very expensive and i dont have access to funds for it. ID also rather wait till he is a couple months older, only to make sure he survives. It may sound harsh, but I do not want to put over 1k in bills in a young kitten who may not even survive very long

 

[Willowy]

Only 5-6 ounces, yikes! They're both extremely small/underweight; kittens ought to weigh about a pound at 4 weeks. Do you think the mama cat has enough milk? Has the vet ever said anything about their weight?

It would probably be a good idea to offer them KMR in a shallow dish. They should be old enough to drink it themselves (although he may need extra help if he's uncoordinated, perhaps a feeding syringe or a bottle still). And they should be starting solids soon. Also ask the vet about dewormer at their next vet visit. If they haven't been getting enough milk it's still possible for them to catch up with proper supplemental feeding.

How Old Is That Kitten? Kitten Guide: Four Weeks.

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

Both have dewormed and mama did have enough milk for both of them. The first week I bottlefed the 3 week old to help mama acclimate to feeding 2 kittens. I did bring up weight to the vet, but he said its possibly due to being premature or just them being small. Gizmo started solids already and was getting recovery food + kitten replacer (half and half) and just switched to wet kitten food yesterday.

The 3 week old when I first weighed him, was only about an ounce - ounce and a half. Same with Gizmo

 

[Willowy]

Wow, normally a newborn is about 4 ounces. I'm surprised the poor little babies survived. Kittens usually don't survive being very premature or losing that much weight. So there may be some developmental issues from their early bad start. In that case all you can really do is wait and see how they turn out as they get older.

It sounds like you're only weighing them at the vet's office once a week? Weighing them every day is a much better way to make sure they're growing properly. Is there any way you can get a kitchen/postal scale? You can usually find one for about $20, doesn't have to be fancy.

 

[lutece]

The 3 week old when I first weighed him, was only about an ounce - ounce and a half. Same with Gizmo

Are you sure your scale works and you have it on the right setting? It's hard to believe a three week old kitten could weigh 1.5 ounces. This would be an extremely low weight even for a newborn kitten.

Looking at the size of them in your hands in the pictures, they look much bigger than 5-6 oz.

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

Wow, normally a newborn is about 4 ounces. I'm surprised the poor little babies survived. Kittens usually don't survive being very premature or losing that much weight. So there may be some developmental issues from their early bad start. In that case all you can really do is wait and see how they turn out as they get older.

It sounds like you're only weighing them at the vet's office once a week? Weighing them every day is a much better way to make sure they're growing properly. Is there any way you can get a kitchen/postal scale? You can usually find one for about $20, doesn't have to be fancy.

I usually try to weigh them about 3 times a week but it just depends if I can. I can try and get a scale for at home, but I honestly like the cat scale they have there lol

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

Are you sure your scale works and you have it on the right setting? It's hard to believe a three week old kitten could weigh 1.5 ounces. This would be an extremely low weight even for a newborn kitten.

Looking at the size of them in your hands in the pictures, they look much bigger than 5-6 oz.

Yes and I mean that when he was 3 days old he was 1.5oz. Hes 5.6oz now

My hands aren't very big so that could be why they appear bigger lol. But they are for sure 5-6oz.

 

[lutece]

If the weights are accurate, I wouldn't be surprised if he has developmental issues due to extremely low birth weight and prematurity. If he has indeed gained only 4 oz in over 3 weeks, this is very slow weight gain and suggests that he has not been getting enough milk. Malnutrition can cause all kinds of problems on top of the prematurity. You definitely want to get accurate weights daily with a kitchen or postal scale that weighs in grams. I understand you don't want to invest a lot in vet fees for a kitten that may not thrive, but a kitchen scale is a low cost investment.

 

[Sarthur2]

How often are you feeding these kittens? They should eat every 2-3 hours since they are so small and cannot eat a lot at one time. Try feeding them 6-8 times a day and especially right before bed. They really need to gain weight.

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

How often are you feeding these kittens? They should eat every 2-3 hours since they are so small and cannot eat a lot at one time. Try feeding them 6-8 times a day and especially right before bed. They really need to gain weight.

They eat every couple hours. The 3 week old one eats a lot and constantly feeds on mama. The other kitten eats about a can to two cans of food a day that has added water to it. She also feeds on mama still off and on

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

UPDATE

Took him to vet today. He weighs 5.8oz and is healthy. He is blind but it is undetermined if his sight will return

 

[cat nap]

Thanks for this update, LittleMoonSanctuary ...so the..."Vet feels like he just has big feet. He is healthy and is fully blind. He may regain sight but unsure if he will. "

I think he looks adorable in that photo you posted, where he is sleeping beside his 'foster sister Gizmo', 'step sibling Gizmo'.
I think he deserves a good name, too...even if he has an uphill battle to climb,...he looks like a little fighter...for having survived in the first place. If Gizmo was named from the movie gremlins, then maybe he could be called something cute like Shrek, Paw Prince, Pinto (for the horse, not the car) because of his stripe, or...whatever you decide on.

Because you mentioned that he was premature, does that mean that he can possibly reach the same milestones, that his sibling sister, from another mom and litter, will reach?
Only it might take him longer?

In the video you posted, on facebook, he looks to be meowing, walking around, and listening for you.
So I guess, him being blind, he will have to use his other senses, hearing, smell, touch and vibrations, and taste to explore around.
Does his sister Gizmo help him out, a bit, by being near him, and vocalizing too?

Also, just wondering about what the other members mentioned about a mom cat running out of milk?
OR a kitten who does not latch on, or feed as much, from the mom cat?
How does one know, if and when this happens?

(Is that why a 'home scale' is so important in weighing new born kittens?
to make sure that they are getting enough milk from their mom ...and gaining weight daily?.)
Sorry for all the questions, I've only ever been around kittens after they were over five or six weeks old... so I'm just being curious.

Bless you for taking care of this little guy.and the others, too.

 

[LittleMoonSanctuary]

I decided on Atticus for his name! A book character of mine is also a full blind cat and his name is Atticus so i thought it was fitting.

He will definitely become accustomed to being blind, and I plan to desensitize loud noises as he gets older. He will probably be a cat who travels with me everywhere lol so I want him to adapt to that.

A mom cat can run out of milk, so i try to make sure my fosters get plenty of high calorie food like kitten and wet food. Both my mamas (I have one other foster who had some kittens) and they both nurse all the kittens and the kittens seem to be thriving more after they began to work together.

You should be able to notice with a kitten not latching on pretty quickly. Signs are usually falling off mama, spending time away from mama, constant crying, and weakness.
You can tell when a kitten isnt getting enough milk if they are pretty weak and skinny. In this case of my kittens, its due to being prematurely born.

At this point, I think Gizmo is more interested in playing with Atticus rather than helping him. Im hoping since they are always together now, she can learn to be there for him and guide him when shes older.

He seems to be thriving and now that hes no longer sick and will soon transfer to solid food, he should grow more. Both him and his sister had a upper respiratory infection and were treated with amoxidrops and neomycin. Atticus got warm compacts on the right eye and is doing a lot better now.

Home scales are important for catching illnesses, fading kitten syndrome, and making sure they are gaining enough weight to be able to prosper.

I hope that covers it all!