Hip problems with Maine Coons?

[Arthur55]

Hi, I'm a new member to this forum. I have a two and a half year old Maine Coon who has just been diagnosed with fractures of the hip. The veterianarian says it's a genetic condition and that surgery will be the best option. I'm very apprehensive about this and was wonderig if anyone else has experienced this and could tell me what to expect. Any information/ advice woud be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! I do not have a good answer for you about this, but hopefully others will be able to give you some information.

StefanZ

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm pretty sure that hip dysplasia IS a genetic condition in Maine Coons, and know it can be very painful if not treated with surgery. It's also prevalent in certain breed of dogs. My son's german shephard had it all his life (he couldn't afford the surgery) . At the end he was on Tramadol and Gabapentin and you could see he was still in pain if he wasn't dosed so much that he was simply "out of it" .

I believe one of our members, Maurey , has Maine Coons and knows a little bit about this topic. Additionally, here is what I found by searching "hip dysplasia" on this site.

Search Results for Query: hip dysplasia

 

[Arthur55]

I'm pretty sure that hip dysplasia IS a genetic condition in Maine Coons, and know it can be very painful if not treated with surgery. It's also prevalent in certain breed of dogs. My son's german shephard had it all his life (he couldn't afford the surgery) . At the end he was on Tramadol and Gabapentin and you could see he was still in pain if he wasn't dosed so much that he was simply "out of it" .

I believe one of our members, Maurey , has Maine Coons and knows a little bit about this topic. Additionally, here is what I found by searching "hip dysplasia" on this site.

Search Results for Query: hip dysplasia

Thanks for your responses. We're pretty sure we'll go the surgery option since we've been told that as a young, relatively healthy cat he should recover well. If anyone has any tips on rehab/recovery we'd appreciate those as well.

 

[Maurey]

Sorry for the late response, not on here super often. Hip dysplasia *is* genetic, though not every country has the vet staff trained for interpreting hip results from cats that aren’t clinically affected — it’s enough a challenge to find them for at-risk dog breeds where I live, much less vets that can hip score cats. To my knowledge, none exist, so breeders do they best they’re able with the information they have, and keep a very close eye on their cats’ joints.

That said, fractures are a sign of quite significant hip dysplasia, so it’s quite likely that your cats’ parents or siblings are affected — its definitely worth contacting the breeder, if you’re able. Could be bad luck, could be an unscrupulous breeder, but they should have the parents checked, and inform any buyers of your cats’ siblings to have their hips checked, as well.

Make sure that whomever you seek treatment with is highly experienced in the field.