hi everyone.
around 6 months ago i adopted a kitten that we heard about in our local newspaper. we felt so sorry for him we knew we had to have him. the story goes that when he was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around his one back leg. (i dont know how long it had been like that, maybe the entire time he was inside?) anyway it wasnt long after he was born that the lower part of his leg died and dropped off.
he now has a femur, and a fibula and tibia, but has no metatarsus. however this doesnt seem to stop him doing anything, he can run very quickly, climbs better than my 4 legged cat, but his jumping distance is a little reduced.
the problem is that with there still being effectively quite a long limb still remaining the end of which is quite close to the ground, as such he does sometimes bump the end of it and its almost always got a little scab on the tip of it. ever since we had him i kind of thought that at some point he may need more of it removing to prevent him injuring it further, and to enable him to run around without a care.
a couple of weeks ago he did come in the house making a bit of a fuss, and walking around keeping the "stump" right up as he does when he has bumped it. i was worried to death thinking he had been hit by a car or something. we took him straight up the vets and they eventually seemed to think he had hurt his back? (i had just assumed it was his leg?) 2 nights stay and some painkillers, as well as 2 x-rays after being knocked out which showed nothing. the pain killers and 2 nights rest at teh vets saw him back to his usual lively self...... until about 2 hours ago (5 a.m)
i have given him a good fussing and at the same time felt down his back and this isnt causing him any pain im sure, he is however pulling the back "stump" up and struggling to get it comfortable i think. so im basically sat up with him waiting for the vets to open.
my questions are........
1, has anyone else ever had a kitten lose a leg in the same way? (the vets said they had never seen this before)
2, has anyone got a cat with only a lower amputation like this? does it cause them any trouble?
3, could it be a trapped nerve thats causing the problem? i have had a little peak at the end of the stump and it looks fine, he hasnt knocked the scab off again (he was just asleep on the bed tonight when he woke me up with a little squeek)
sorry for the essay, there is just allot to try to explain! help guys, im worried about our littlest one!
around 6 months ago i adopted a kitten that we heard about in our local newspaper. we felt so sorry for him we knew we had to have him. the story goes that when he was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around his one back leg. (i dont know how long it had been like that, maybe the entire time he was inside?) anyway it wasnt long after he was born that the lower part of his leg died and dropped off.
he now has a femur, and a fibula and tibia, but has no metatarsus. however this doesnt seem to stop him doing anything, he can run very quickly, climbs better than my 4 legged cat, but his jumping distance is a little reduced.
the problem is that with there still being effectively quite a long limb still remaining the end of which is quite close to the ground, as such he does sometimes bump the end of it and its almost always got a little scab on the tip of it. ever since we had him i kind of thought that at some point he may need more of it removing to prevent him injuring it further, and to enable him to run around without a care.
a couple of weeks ago he did come in the house making a bit of a fuss, and walking around keeping the "stump" right up as he does when he has bumped it. i was worried to death thinking he had been hit by a car or something. we took him straight up the vets and they eventually seemed to think he had hurt his back? (i had just assumed it was his leg?) 2 nights stay and some painkillers, as well as 2 x-rays after being knocked out which showed nothing. the pain killers and 2 nights rest at teh vets saw him back to his usual lively self...... until about 2 hours ago (5 a.m)
i have given him a good fussing and at the same time felt down his back and this isnt causing him any pain im sure, he is however pulling the back "stump" up and struggling to get it comfortable i think. so im basically sat up with him waiting for the vets to open.
my questions are........
1, has anyone else ever had a kitten lose a leg in the same way? (the vets said they had never seen this before)
2, has anyone got a cat with only a lower amputation like this? does it cause them any trouble?
3, could it be a trapped nerve thats causing the problem? i have had a little peak at the end of the stump and it looks fine, he hasnt knocked the scab off again (he was just asleep on the bed tonight when he woke me up with a little squeek)
sorry for the essay, there is just allot to try to explain! help guys, im worried about our littlest one!