# 6 week old kitten with bent front legs



## mlktrkdrvr (Dec 7, 2012)

We were visiting with some church members last weekend and my boys were playing with a litter of kittens. Since I have a terrible time keeping barn cats here we were told we could have the whole litter when they were ready. When we went to get "the litter" Saturday it turned out they had given away 3 of the 5 and the only ones left were 1 male and 1 female with bent front legs. Needless to say that I was disappointed but we brought them home anyhow and the boys love their kittens (they made them a nice home in the kidding barn since there are no kids coming for a while). Anyhow it is breaking my heart to watch the little female walking around on her elbows. I read that they can be splinted to straighten out and am wondering if any of you have done this and what the results were. They are 6 weeks old and cute as a button but also I can't spend a fortune on taking free barn cats to the vet to have it done.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Could you take them in for 1 vet visit to get some advice?


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

Sounds like rickets or something. Can you get some kitten food- Wellness is expensive but it will get your kittens started out right-- we had really really really sick kittens and now (the one that is left) is fat and sassy and beautiful after 6 months of Wellness kitten chow (just the dry they love it)....


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## mlktrkdrvr (Dec 7, 2012)

I have them on Blue Buffalo Kitten and giving them a little bit of warm goat milk twice a day.


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

oh that sounds good, could we see a pic of the kitten so we had some idea of what you are talking about?....


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## mlktrkdrvr (Dec 7, 2012)

The first one shows how she walks. The second picture is her just sitting down. Her left leg is worse than the right but both are bent in.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Oh my, the poor little thing.


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## mlktrkdrvr (Dec 7, 2012)

When I google searched on bent legs in kittens it came up about constricted tendons. Said you could slowly straighten the legs by splinting them. Wondering if anyone has had any success with this and could give me advice


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

poor thing


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

awe..Ive never seen it in cats....I would call a vet and get some phone advice at least ..with goats I would stretch the leg until it got real stiff and splint it there..check in a week and try to get more stretch and resplint..ect...Vit E also helps with goats..not sure about kittens...


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

Wow poor kitty. maybe you could put little knee pads on her so she doesnt rub herself raw (or maybe she will develop calluses) it looks like a surgical intervention to me.... But if its not hurting her -- remember she doesnt know any different.... she can be your gimpy kitty....

Could it be a bad break of the knee that didnt heal right? that wont stretch out if its a broken leg set wrong (or not set at all)....


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## mlktrkdrvr (Dec 7, 2012)

They said she has been like that since birth.  I went out and splinted her with popsicle sticks and vet wrap. Will give it a week or so and see what becomes of it. If it stays on...she didn't think much of it and I did not put it on too tight. 

I have a pig called Gimpy  He got stepped on by his mom when he was 2 days old and is paralyzed on his back legs. I never gave him an extra help at all and he is probably about 80 pounds now and doing great. I never had the heart to cull him so I figured I would just let nature take its course as long has he was not acting like he hurt.


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## dayofthunder (Aug 23, 2013)

awe she's so sweet though.


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

You could always contact a rescue. You may also want to put some vetriycin in her eyes, looks like a little infection there. Common in kittens


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

I think you are doing the right thing by splinting her. If it doesn't work, it certainly did no harm to her. 

Her eyes look like they have a bit of infection in them. When our barn cats get icky eyes, we wipe them with a damp paper towel with a couple drops of tea tree oil or an infusion (strong tea) of chamomile and/or eyebright. It usually clears up in a day or two, but I continue for a few days afterwards.


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## OakHollowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Poor babies.  People should just be responsible and get their pets spayed and neutered. At 6 weeks they should still be nursing and learning basic behaviors from their mom. Blue Buffalo is a great brand, and adding goat milk should help out with the early weaning. I am not sure what to do about their legs, but a visit to the vet is a good idea. If there is any way to fix their legs, it will probably be easier to do when they are young and still growing quickly. 

That is really sad. I hope you are able to help them out and give them a wonderful life.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

mlktrkdrvr said:


> The first one shows how she walks. The second picture is her just sitting down. Her left leg is worse than the right but both are bent in.


Actually, it looks like contracted tendons. Animal Planet has a program called "Too Cute" that features 3 different litters of either kittens or puppies and one of the episodes had a Siamese kitten like your kitten. That kitten was taken to the vet and his leg was splinted using a little bitty plastic splint wrapped with vet wrap. It straightened out in a few weeks.


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