Health advice for a kitten diagnosed with hip dysplasia and other issues

[emiko]

Background: 3 months old, Maine coon, indoor cat, unvaccinated, we got her from an unofficial breeder. They assured us the kitten had no prior health conditions. We've been feeding her homemade meals (beef, chicken, pork, milk) as she refused to eat the normal cat kibble/the cat food imported from usa is expensive.

Yesterday she had a bad fall or injury (I couldn't see) and she couldn't walk properly due to her hind legs being dragged. When we took her to the vet, we discovered she has plenty of other issues as well. It's all quite shocking, and I feel that I've not been responsible enough for her health.
The vet did an x ray and confirmed she has hip dysplasia, and I have no idea how to go forward with it. The internet says it's a degenerative disease that is causing her pain. She's never shown that before. The vet gave a prescription for onsior temporarily, but long-term no plan.

Secondly, weirdly, an x ray of her spine shows that her spinal bones aren't being formed correctly. I haven't heard of this before. Instead of defined ridges, the bones are relatively smoothed over. The only thing the vet said was that it will cause her problems later in life. The pic 08d3ccfc-64c8-4ab9-a37a-7da9d594b842

She's having problems with urination/defecation and we theorize it's because of an injury to her back area from the fall, which may have interfered with the bladder. No idea what's going on there. We had to manually relieve her today.

Moreover, the vet diagnosed her with hyperparathyroidism. (?) But our diet consists of plenty of vitamin D and calcium from protein and dairy sources. And I read that this disease is prominent among very old cats. Our girl is only 3 months old. The doctor says there might be a metabolic disorder and a problem with hormones; I don't know what this means.

The vet's unclear. They say there's not a good outlook.

Does anyone have an idea of what's happened to her? What steps we should take next? And how can I treat her dysplasia going forward as this will stay with her for life?

Thanks

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! I am sorry that you have had this unexpected news, and the fall, which have complicated your care for your new kitten.

As for the fall, if it did affect her neurologically in the area which controls her bladder and bowels, you need to watch carefully to see that she can both urinate and pass bowel movements. If you have to manually relieve her, ask your vet for a schedule about how frequently this should be done and ask for a demonstration of how to do this if you don't already know how or were shown.

She has secondary hyperparathyroidism which is the kind where she is losing calcium? Calcium is lost through the kidneys, but there can be a hormone at play here which is why your vet mentioned that. She also may be high in phosphorus. I do not feed a homemade diet to my cats, so can't help to address this but there is a nutritional forum where others might be able to respond.

Can she walk at all? What did the vet say aside from it is not a good outlook? There are options for treating hip dysplasia which include meds, therapy, and surgery. In itself, it can be manageable for a long time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Background: 3 months old, Maine coon, indoor cat, unvaccinated, we got her from an unofficial breeder. They assured us the kitten had no prior health conditions. We've been feeding her homemade meals (beef, chicken, pork, milk) as she refused to eat the normal cat kibble/the cat food imported from usa is expensive.

Yesterday she had a bad fall or injury (I couldn't see) and she couldn't walk properly due to her hind legs being dragged. When we took her to the vet, we discovered she has plenty of other issues as well. It's all quite shocking, and I feel that I've not been responsible enough for her health.
The vet did an x ray and confirmed she has hip dysplasia, and I have no idea how to go forward with it. The internet says it's a degenerative disease that is causing her pain. She's never shown that before. The vet gave a prescription for onsior temporarily, but long-term no plan.

Secondly, weirdly, an x ray of her spine shows that her spinal bones aren't being formed correctly. I haven't heard of this before. Instead of defined ridges, the bones are relatively smoothed over. The only thing the vet said was that it will cause her problems later in life. The pic 08d3ccfc-64c8-4ab9-a37a-7da9d594b842

She's having problems with urination/defecation and we theorize it's because of an injury to her back area from the fall, which may have interfered with the bladder. No idea what's going on there. We had to manually relieve her today.

Moreover, the vet diagnosed her with hyperparathyroidism. (?) But our diet consists of plenty of vitamin D and calcium from protein and dairy sources. And I read that this disease is prominent among very old cats. Our girl is only 3 months old. The doctor says there might be a metabolic disorder and a problem with hormones; I don't know what this means.

The vet's unclear. They say there's not a good outlook.

Does anyone have an idea of what's happened to her? What steps we should take next? And how can I treat her dysplasia going forward as this will stay with her for life?

Thanks

Hello emiko-san and sweet kitten, and welcome to TCS! Though I am not a vet or "expert" and do not know what has happened, I am hoping that by posting, it will draw attention to your post and others may have more information. Your kitten definitely needs to be in veterinary care. I'm guessing you are in Japan? and though my roomies are from there, they are not experts, either, nor do they have knowledge of recent veterinary conditions there. It sounds as though someone very unscrupulous sold/gave your kitten to you. I won't say more on that, except that I am extremely disappointed in them.
Many veterinary experts recommend against pork for cats (and I, for anyone at all. It is a very poor quality protein and very high in fat.) She should definitely have a high quality cat-specific diet because these foods have nutrients not found in plain meats. If you cannot find these, or if she absolutely won't eat them, you should use your computer's search engine to research what nutrients to buy and add to her plain meat foods. And you might consider expanding the choices, if you can obtain lamb, venison, etc. Milk is not recommended for cats as it can cause diarrhea and is not disgested well by most cats. Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) or goats' milk might be okay -- you may wish to talke to your vet about these.
Please keep us informed as to how she is doing, won't you? My heartfelt *PRAYERS* go up for her!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What, EXACTLY, are you feeding her? Are you certain it is 100% nutritionally complete for a kitten? As they grow past nursing, regular milk will not give them all the calcium they need, so you either need to feed them meat with bones( a certain percentage), or provide another form of calcium, usually in a powdered form. There also needs to be either organ meats, (liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas) or many supplements which make up for those organs. If you are not providing that, then I would say your kitten may have malnutrition and his bones are suffering for it.

We had another kitten here in TCS whose bones were almost clear and could barely even walk due to an insufficient diet, but with the help of good nutrition and a lot of Vet care he was finally able to thrive. But for many, many months he was kept in a very small enclosure where he couldn't harm himself by jumping or really, barely able to move so as to not break any of his bones. I guess it's possible this is what's happening to your little one, that he is starting to break down and needs intervention. I'm only guessing here, based on what little information you have provided.

As far as the hip dysplasia goes, that can usually be fixed with surgery, although I'm not sure at what age. Didn't the Vet discuss that option with you? If diet could be the issue, then I would get to work on fixing that immediately to get her healthy, then readdress the situation again with your Vet.