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Old June 2nd, 2008, 05:16 AM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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Kitten problems! *Important*

I'm working on doing TNR and fixing all the mommys outback as you know. I've gotten ALL the males that BELONG outside, but stupid neighbors throw their cats out or let them roam. I am dealing with THREE litters right now and I am doing the best I can.

Kitten Number One:
7 weeks, weaned, eating drinking and playing. Orange Tabby.

Problem: Diarrhea, keeps getting poop stuck to his butt, swollen belly, keeps scooting his butt on the carpet or on his bedding, can't seem to hold his poop, butt looks swollen

Otherwise healthy. His 3 litter mates were already adopted out no problem.

Worms???



Kitten Number Two:
2-3 weeks old, nursing, it and it's litter mates appear to be in fairly decent health. This is the litter that was in my cat hating neighbors yard if I said anything about that to you all. I finally got to get them out and take a look at them. There are 5 total; feral-ish.

Problem: Runt. Underdeveloped back legs, cramped and dangling. Can not support him. When I moved him out of my mean neighbors yard and put them into my nice neighbors yard, I wanted to see if he could walk, but they are not working and he drags them and lays on his belly to crawl.

Needs a wheelchair. Otherwise healthy.

This kitten was crammed into the same spot and it looks like he just never got the chance to move his hind legs. Is there a cure for this, or does he just need to get a wheelchair?

I'm NOT sending him to the shelter because of this problem. They might not have the resources to help him and he could get overlooked and end up sitting in a cage forever, or put down because they think he's suffering. I personally don't think he is, because he was crawling all over the place and nursing and his mommy was cleaning him.

What do I do to make sure he can get a wheelchair if this is incurable? Want to make sure poor crippled kitty can have a good life if he's not suffering.

*There is no inbreeding*

Thanks everyone. I'm waiting for the shelters around here to return my phone calls to see if they can help me out ^_^ Just need to ask here until then.
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 05:52 AM
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Perhaps kitty #1 has worms or some sort of parasite. If his belly is swollen, it sounds like he might have worms, and you'd probably need to take him to a vet to get some medication.

As for the poor little guy with the bad legs, maybe if you tried some physical therapy on him? Will they let you hold them? I'd take him to a vet too and make sure his little legs aren't broken. Perhaps his muscles just didn't have a chance to develop at the same rate as the others. If he's the runt he might have been pushed to one side early on. Helping him get some movement and exercise might help.
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 06:16 AM
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I agree with ancient girl. These kitties need to see a vet.

The first one does sound like a parasite of some sort, so even a fecal sample brought to the vet for analysis would be OK.

The second one is still quite young and their muscles and coordination are still developing so a vet may be able to suggest some physical therapy to help it along.
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 06:29 AM
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I just found Kitten Number Two yesterday after my nice neighbor told my mean neighbor to stop being mean and let us take care of the cats.


Kitten Number One also seems to be having discomfort in his rear legs. Nothing too serious, sort of like AHH my butt hurts kind of a wiggle.

Still waiting for people to call me back. Arghhh.

Kitten Number One is really annoying me though because I have to keep it in the crate and it won't shut up. I let it out but then it wanted to scoot on the floor and I am terrified it's going to get my cats sick, so it needs to be kept separate for now. It just keeps screaming ahhhhh I'm going to go insane with all these cats.
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 06:59 AM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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claen thier butts a very liitle kitten shampoo or very mild unscented soap and a wash rag and somwe tissue first step is to get it clean


make sure it sa all warm and you wrap kit up so he she cant move

anyone got some links on how do to this?
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 04:57 PM
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I agree with seeing a vet.
Kitten one: parasites, such as coccidia, would be high on my list. Bacterial or viral enteritis would also be a concern.
Kitten two: I agree with not taking it to a shelter. That would likely be a death sentence. It is hard to evaluate without seeing. Perhaps your veterinarian can give a prognosis. There are many special needs cats that do live very full lives though. Best of luck
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 05:08 PM
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kitty # 2 can still have a good life with disabilities, take this cat for example, A shlet cat that is completely deformed but is very loved! Captain has only 1 front leg and his back leg curves up around to his face. And he drags it around constantly.http://www.envision.ca/webs/exploitsvalleyspca/
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 05:13 PM
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I know someone who had a kitty born like this and I think she said her vet called them swimmers..I guess because the back legs dont work and they kind of drag them behind them....is there anyway to swing a deal with the vet to have them quickly looked at? a shelter is defiantely a death sentence in my opinion..you would probably have better luck trying to find a home..god can it get any more hectic for you?

Hows little Tripod and the Mommy kitty doing?

Cindy
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 08:00 PM
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sandyrivers sandyrivers is offline
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regarding your kittens

Hi,
from experience, the one who wipes his bumbum on the ground may have worms... he may also have long hair and the poop stays 'stuck' there, as it was with my kitten Tonali... What I did was clip the hair at the hind, and help her by watching her every time she pooped, and then 'wiping' her with a lukewarm washcloth...not the funnest thing to do, but it worked!
As for your kitten with non-functional hind legs... you can use 'lego' blocks, or 'k nex' building blocks and build your own wheelchair, you may need to adjust the contraption depending on the cat... velcro straps from craft stores work well to 'rig' it on the cat. Store baught 'atelages' some are now made of neoprene, can be of great use to help rig it on the cat...the key here is to be creative and inventive! Once you figure out the best 'wheelchair' option, you can glue the blocks together with contact glue or superglue to give it more stability and avoid the cat eating them.
Depending of the area you are in, you can probably contact the local university or college of vet medecine, some of the later years students ( contacted personally by email or by going on site) may be of great help and ressource!
I wish you the best of luck with your bundles of love! Thanks for being there for them!

Any more questions are welcomed, and I as well as others will answer them lovingly, I am sure! Keep up the good work you are doing with them!
Sandy
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Last edited by sandyrivers; June 2nd, 2008 at 08:08 PM.
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  #10  
Old June 2nd, 2008, 09:42 PM
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Shelters around here are fantastic and helpful I just don't want to place the burden of a crippled cat on them if I can take care of the situation myself.

Kitten Number One is going to the clinic tomorrow free of charge and they are going to give me some medicine for him. I made friends at the shelter and am helping with their events so they are helping me out by letting me get help for free.

Here's Crippled Kitten:



The others:


He's the only nice one in the litter, such a sweet little kitten. The other ones are kinda feral so we keep grabbing them up and handling them to ensure they don't turn wild. They spit at you but then they calm down.

And as you can see this kitten is related to my cat Buddy. It's Buddy and Jacks mom's litter with the mean ones and cripply dude.

I just think cripply dude needs some time to see if he goes normal or else I will just raise some money for him to get a cart + a home.





By the way, Tripod and Momma cat are both doing fantastic! Momma is back to her same old self, coming in my yard and demanding I feed her Tripods healed too his personality has come out alot more since he's more comfortable with himself.
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 11:33 PM
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He looks like a sweetie!
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Old June 2nd, 2008, 11:44 PM
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They're all adorable

Great news the shelter will vet Kitten #1 free

for Kitten #2 hopefully in the next few weeks he can start to gain some strength & mobility.

Are you exercising his legs for him? Gently do some stretching & contracting of the legs to help his muscles build some strength. Short sessions a couple of times a day, just don't over do it.
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 08:11 AM
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I'm so glad the shelter is helping you. Exercising #2 will hopefully help. Do you think the shelter would help you with him, as far as accessing if maybe he's got nerve damage or something on his hind legs? At least you'd know how to better help him.
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 08:18 AM
katherine93 katherine93 is offline
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If i lived closer i would soooo adopt kitty # 2! Awwwww The poor darling!
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 09:47 AM
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His legs feel like gumby legs where the bone never really hardened. But it doesn't feel like he has any knees, as if his joints fused.

Also, I actually don't think he can even feel them. I squeezed his feet and pushed on the pads of his his because normally that would make a cat mad but he didn't even seem to notice, and I squeezed up by where his knee would be to feel what the bone was like and there is absolutely no muscle mass on his legs at all, just like two long bones dangling there.

If I can find him today I'll play with him and see what I can do. When he's done nursing I'll bring him in the house if I can to see if he can be helped. Doesn't seem like his back legs are useful at all. I'm not sure if it's a spinal cord thing because it looks like he can move his tail, and if he can move his tail that means ... ??? i have no idea.



I'm waiting on the shelter to call me back. It's not even 11 am yet though so if I don't hear from them by 1:30 I'm going to give them a call. I have to go out and I'm going to be passing the shelter so i could just drop Kitten Number One off and let them do whatever.

I'm going to go look for the crippled kitten and see if I can play with him or something to see how he's doing. The mom cat put the litter back in my cat hating neighbors yard so I had to remove them. Not sure where they are going to be at now I'll look.
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 10:04 AM
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I really hope you can help that little buy. I feel bad for him.:sad:
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 12:05 PM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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She moved them back to the neighbors yard ughhhh. now I've got to get them back out. What brand of cat repellent is good?? Need to spray around the neighbors yards that don't like the cats so they won't be angry with me. Do they even work? And you guys would say it's okay if I spray my neighbors yards right? Since they hate the cats? I live in a townhouse so it's all shared property outside their fences so I could just spray the outside of their fences to keep kitties away.
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 05:09 PM
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I trapped Kitten Number Ones mommy and got her right away, but when I started to move the trap she went to the front of the trapper and hit her body against it and the trap opened and she ran away!!! The lock was faulty!! What the heck?!!?!?! I mean I caught her on my FIRST try and had her all read to go go and the lock was secure but she was like RAWR and ran against the front of it and it just popped right open. I don't like the way it's designed, it's not very sturdy. So mad now. >_< I could explode. I doubt she's going to be back. This is insane.
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 05:31 PM
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*hugs* boy you sure sound like me!!! i have those lives. convinced i did something really great in a past life and needed to learn some humility?? you know... humility like the vacuum breaking right before my 2yo's birthday party?? you know how gross it is to ahve a bunch of 2yo's on a hairy carpet?? ew...

anyway hang in there!! youre doing such a wonderful thing for these guys!! takeit one task, one day at a time!!

-ashley
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Old June 3rd, 2008, 06:07 PM
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ughhh I'm just mad because it worked but then of course something gets messed up.also kitty with the poops got some medicine for free from the shelter. I think is called albon? I forget and I'm not home right now.
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