Help with MAINE COON cat!

[theaussieduck]

I have concern about my 3 and a half year old Maine Coon who seems much skinnier compared to other cats of his breed.  I can easily feel and see his hip bones and he is very long and lanky.  

WARNING! LONG BACKSTORY!: About 3 years ago we adopted a purebred male Maine Coon cat called 'Tiny'. We got him from a breeder who confirmed that all her cats were healthy.  He was very active and loved to stand up on his back legs.  About a year after we got him we seemed very lazy, didn't move much, hurt when we picked him up and didn't want to eat much.  We went to the vet who said that he had a kidney infection. We went to check-ups and gave him what the vet prescribed him.  He got better but we noticed that he was walking almost pigeon-toed on his back legs, struggled to jump and didn't want to stand on his hind legs anymore (and still wont).  He also looked very lanky and we could easily feel and see his hip bones. Then one day we noticed that he wouldn't get off his bed and when he did, dragged his legs behind them.  We took him straight to a different vet who said he had broken both his hind legs so badly it was as if he was hit by something or kicked really hard; although there was no bruising on the skin or muscle.  We paid $4000 for surgery to insert metal rods and fix our broken boy.  After a couple months he got better but never seemed to gain that big 'Maine Coon size'.  His legs looked a bit better but he doesn't like anyone to touch near his hips and wont stand on his hind legs.  

Almost 4 years old now i know that Maine Coons should be fully grown by then.  The problem is he seems no where near average size, although he does have a very long body.  I can still see his hip bones which I think was from muscle wasting.  I thought he would get bigger and was wondering if what happened to him has affected his size or is he just a slow starter and will eventually grow bigger?

 

[cataan]

1) Dehydration could cause the physical symptoms you describe.  Feed wet food and add an equal amount of warm water to the bowl.  So half a can of food = add half a can of warm water.  Just pour it in don't mix it.

2) Hyperthyroidism can cause serious weight loss (and if left untreated, death).  Easy to determine with a blood test.  In fact, every year your cat should have blood work done for diagnostics for a variety of conditions.

3) Maine Coons are genetically predisposed to developing cardiomyopathy which will kill them.  If caught early, medications can extend their life span.  Initial symptoms would include lethargy.

4) Infection.

5) Metal dislodging from the graft.

 

[biancavd]

It's a commonly known problem in Maine Coons to have problems with their legs and muscles. Something about the muscle not fitting in the leg or being too small thus painfully going over the bones. Don't ask me for details, but it's possible this caused problems at your cat or maybe still is.

How is his overall activity and eating/drinking habits? Would you say he's been eating/drinking less after his surgery? How was his eating habit the first year? And the second? What is his weight? What was his weight when you got him at 13(?) weeks? Does he seem to have pain?

Cats don't show when they are in pain fast, but if he is it can cause him to eat and drink a lot less than he needs. You say he has a long body, as a Maine Coon should have, but he sounds way too thin, though I'm not sure if it's a problem caused since the surgery, or something that had already been.

 

[theaussieduck]

Thankyou for replying.

I forgot to mention that he is a healthy cat now and there seems to be nothing wrong with him besides the fact that his hip bones protrude and that he looks lanky compared to other cats. He is fine except for that. He is not skinny by all means but he just on the leaner side.  We feed him Royal Canin biscuits of a morning and meat of a night.  He eats like a pig but he just doesn't seem to gain more muscle around his hind legs and body. He only seems to have a bit of pain when we touch near his hips where he had the surgery and still kinda struggles to jump on things.  I've seen a Maine Coon younger than Tiny who just seems to be a much thicker build compared to him.  Hope this helps

 

[catpack]

You say he is healthy; but, having chronic pain is not normal, especially in a 4 yr old. I wonder if he has developed arthritis due to the leg injuries. Did you ever determine what caused such serious injuries?

If he were mine, I'd setup a vet visit to have a full blood panel run and have a series of x-rays taken.

 

[vbcatparent]

My purebred MC is very big and is solid as a stone. Four years old is about when they get done growing.

I'm a bit puzzled by Tiny's situation. He has a protrusion around the surgery site and still seems to have pain? He has trouble jumping -- what kind of trouble? Mine is not a very high jumper at all but he easily jumps on and off the bed.

Has Tiny been looked at (thoroughly) since the surgery? Does the vet know what caused the protrusion? Successful surgery doesn't usually leave behind that many problems.

I also wonder if Tiny is getting enough fluid in his diet. Does he drink a lot of water? Do you add any oils to supplement his diet?

 

[theaussieduck]

 My purebred MC is very big and is solid as a stone. Four years old is about when they get done growing.

I'm a bit puzzled by Tiny's situation. He has a protrusion around the surgery site and still seems to have pain? He has trouble jumping -- what kind of trouble? Mine is not a very high jumper at all but he easily jumps on and off the bed.

Has Tiny been looked at (thoroughly) since the surgery? Does the vet know what caused the protrusion? Successful surgery doesn't usually leave behind that many problems.

I also wonder if Tiny is getting enough fluid in his diet. Does he drink a lot of water? Do you add any oils to supplement his diet?

He had the surgery a bit less than a year ago now and as he broke his legs high up near his hips, I think that is why his hip bones stick up at the back of his body more than other cats. When he tries to jump up on things he will hesitate for a little bit and then jump. We have a small domestic short hair (around 10 years) who can jump much higher and easier than he does.  When comparing Tiny to our other cat you can see that he is not as agile and struggles to jump as well as she does. Tiny loves to play with his water bowl and he definitely does drink enough water. We used to add calcium drops to his biscuits of a morning when he was a kitten but stopped giving it to him a long time ago.

Just a quick question: Does your Maine Coon make loud noises? It has nothing to do with his legs but sometimes he gets incredibly loud!

 

[vbcatparent]

Mine is a very talkative little character! He has a whole collection of sounds to make, and when he gets in the mood to talk, he'll go through the alphabet! Depending on how emotional he is about something, he can meow pretty loud.

I would really encourage you to talk to Tiny's vet about the risk of arthritis. That protrusion might be mostly harmless right now, but over time it can develop more problems.

 

[biancavd]

It sounds like Tiny is in pain, which he shouldn't be. I would suggest taking him to the vet to get looked at properly and hopefully be helped as well.

As to his build. Not all Maine Coons will have the perfect Maine Coon standarts. In every nest, even though you have the perfect parents, you have the biggest kitten, but also the smallest. It's possible that your Maine Coon was one of the smaller kittens or had less potential than his brothers and sisters. This does not mean he's not a Maine Coon or not good enough, you just can't expect every litter to have World Champions in them. Love him and Cherish him for how he is, I don't think there's any problem with his build, this is just who he is. Fix the pain though, it might help him develop a little more.

However, if you have huge doubts about his build, you can always contact the cattery you got him from. They can give you more information about his parents etc.

 

[theaussieduck]

Thank you everyone for helping out! I will get Tiny checked out for any arthritis, muscle pain etc. I'll put up an update when we get him checked out.  

 

[RubyD's Mom]

My 4 month old Maine coon kitten also seems pigeon toed and her legs almost seem to swing out like she is prissy. Noticed this after one week of purchasing her. We assume it is because she is so dang long and her feet are HUGE (bigger than my 2 adult cats) so she walks funny.
Like the car that the discussion is about my Ruby also has two little pelvic bones that stick up on her back. She eats a ton and was very boney when I got her. You could feel every rib. She has put on weight good but those two bones sticking up bother me. She doesn't seem to have any pain at all, I know they hide it though.
Just don't want to expose her to X-Rays unless I have to.