# Birth Defects



## Indylavi (Nov 16, 2003)

Hello, A stray cat that sometimes hangs around my house had some kittens. I'm not sure how long ago this cat had them but it appears only two has survived as that's all I've seen her with. I was going out yesterday and it was in my driveway with these two kittens. I'd say they are about, maybe a month old. Their eyes are open and they are able to move around a bit.

Both of the kittens looked ok but when I picked them up because I didn't want to back over them with my car. I noticed that one of them has no back paws. At first I thought it was injured. I looked closely and only saw two round stubs where the feet should be. It looks like the back paws didn't develop. I put the Mom cat and her two kittens in my heated shed because it's cold but left a way out for the Mom cat in case she needs to attend to her other kittens if they lived.

I don't have the money right now to take the kittens to a vet. I'm working on that though. I was wondering if anybody has heard of a cat with no back feet. It appears to be very healthy otherwise. It has no other abnormalities that I can see. It's front paws and all four legs look just fine. It just doesn't have it's two back paws. Does anybody know if this will greatly effect the cat in such a way that it will not be able to ever walk or live a good life? If at all possible I would like to keep and care for the cat. It's a cute little guy. I know if I was born with something like that I would want someone to still love me. I just have never heard of anything like this and either has any of my friends.

Is it possible for a cat to learn to walk like this somehow? Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks


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## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

First thing that worries me is walking on its 'stubs' can cause injury because their isn't any pads there. If you've ever had an animal with a leg removed, they normally take the WHOLE thing off to prevent walking on it.

Check the feet again, are they just stubs or are their pads meaning the feet was there?

Animals 'can' accidently bite their babies feet off when trying to remove the cord. I've heard of a dog that did that to a puppy. 

I highly suggest going to the vet now even though you don't have the money. Ask if you can make payments instead of paying it off in full. Some vets allow that. Call and check first though :wink: 

Be sure to keep us updated on the lil purrbaby


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## Indylavi (Nov 16, 2003)

Thanks for the info. I checked closely and it does have little pads on the end of the stubs. So I guess the toes didn't develop? I called the vet office near my house and sadly the vet is on vacation and not in but will be back in a week. So as soon as the vet gets in I'll take it. Otherwise the cat looks very healthly. It has a good set of fur and it meow's and acts like the other kitten. It just can't really walk right so it crawls a bit. Thanks for the help


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

Weird. My boy Xander had a lame leg we had to have amputated. And a stray cat has shown up outside missing one back foot! She sort of hobbles on it. We don't feel we can take her in now since we already have 4 cats and a dog, but I think she is planning to stick around, so I guess we'll be taking her to the vet to get fixed soon. She's only missing the one foot, and she hobbles on it when walking but lifts it when she runs. I don't know how your kitten will do. Have you seen him walk?


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## Indylavi (Nov 16, 2003)

I haven't actually seen it stand up and walk yet. When it goes to move it starts with it's back legs and tries to stand up. But the back legs don't grip so it just sorta scoots along that way. It's getting a little better at it but have not seen it actually get up on it's four legs


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## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

The back legs both may need to be amputated. It's very difficult(and painful) to walk on something without your toes. But since it would make kitty even more uncomfortable without both hind-legs, your vet will probably look for alternatives. There may some dog-wheelchairs that may come in cat(not kitten) sized.

Maybe some kitty-shoes would help? You know, like the sled-dog shoes?  Ok, so I dun even know if they exist, but they might!


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## Ioana (Jul 12, 2003)

Watch for their behaviour and make sure they act lively and playfully. My kitty's brother was born with a malformation -club foot. Even though I tried to work with him - he didn't survive. I invested time and money ( wich didn't matter) in Little Mo and I wish I had known earlier he had more malformations (internal) than the club foot. That way I could've saved him from being in pain. There is nothing that gets to me more than when a being is in pain and I couldn't/ or didn't know to do anything about it.
I wish you and the little babies you are watching over well.


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