How does a cat break his hip? Just ask ....

[katya02]

How likely is it that a healthy six-month-old kitten will wrestle with another cat and ... BREAK HIS HIP??? My beautiful little future sire kitten (I breed Siamese cats) got into an altercation with an older female who escaped from her area of the house on Friday night. I heard the yowls and a crash and ran to check, and my little guy came limping out of the room. No crying, no big deal, just a limp. The vet told me to put him on crate rest for the weekend and he was happy enough but still limping, so I had him seen this morning. The x-ray showed a dislocated fracture of his left hip!!! Nothing to do but clip out part of the femur so he won't have chronic bone-on-bone grating and pain. The hip couldn't be pinned because it had been three days.

So. Six months old. Broken hip. No hip joint in future, just muscle and ligament holding his leg to his skeleton.

I can't believe it.
Poor little guy - he was still purring and trilling at me as the vet took him away for surgery.

 

[jal]

katya02, I'm sorry. Our fur babies are our children. He's so young in age to have something so traumatic to happen, but what really, really counts is that you are there for him and can do what you are able to do for him (re: surgery). All we can do is take care of them in the same manner as we would take care of a family member. Good luck to you & him for a speedy recovery!

 

[gcvmom]

I had a cat that had this same injury at about the same age. He fell off a second floor loft wall inside my house and must have landed wrong, or perhaps his bones weren't that strong to begin with since he was born to a feral mom who probably didn't have the best diet to begin with.

The surgery was probably more traumatic for his humans than for him. He recovered just fine and was able to run, albeit with a limp, and play with his litter mate whom we also kept. The muscles adapt to holding the leg in place over time. The limp won't go away completely, but it will get better with time.

He lived another 7 years before we lost him to a coyote at our new place. I don't regret giving him the surgery at all.

 

[susiestar]

Poor baby, and poor you. It is so hard when they are sick! in my opinion having them hurt is even worse. Chances are thsi won't hurt his outlook on life at all. You may want to have his bones checked out, just to be sure this isn't because of some weakness that could be passed on. Chances are his teeny bones just were not strong enough to handle however he landed.

TLC, and maybe some homemade chicken broth for a few days and he will think he is right as rain!

 

[witzend]

I'm sorry Katya. I know that you love your little kitty.

 

[katya02]

I should hear later this morning how the surgery went ....
I asked the vet yesterday about whether his bones were fragile and she said they look normal on x-ray. I hope there isn't an issue there. Thanks for your thoughts and kind words, folks.

 

[Lothlorien]

poor thing.

 

[DaisyFace]

Katya--

My dog dislocated his hip joint over the summer....and it could not be "popped" back in so required the same kid of surgery you describe (Femoral Head and Neck Ostectomy...the top of the femur is removed and resulting scar tissue forms the joint.)

Just a few months after surgery...my dog is playing like a puppy--the leg and joint clearly do not bother him at all!

Do the physical therapy...it's the most important part of the recovery!...and soon I'm sure your kitty will be as good as new!!

(((Hugs))))

--DaisyFace

 

[Abbey]

Ouch. I know my Siamese supposed mama RULES the house. She's very curious and tries lots of things, like trashing my dresser every morning. She's half the size of the 2 boys but will spank them down in no time.

Hope your kitty heals well.

Abbey

 

[GoingNorth]

Katya, I am so sorry. While this sort of injury usually recovers surprisingly well because a quadruped bears most of his weight in front, it also leaves the animal with a short or cockeyed leg.

If you had planned on using him at stud, you NEED to have show titles on him. My big fear is that he will not be able to sit, stand, or move normally on the judge's table.

When I raised Maine Coons, I had something similar happen with an absolutely spectacular adolescent male that I too planned on keeping for breeding. He had totally eaten up the kitten classes, winning several BIS.

He then fell and fractured his shoulder (klutzy and uncoordinated due to rapid growth). It healed well by x-ray, but it left him with a limp and a foreleg that turned out slightly.

Even though he had all the kitten titles, exemplified the breed standard, and was royally bred, I couldn't use him at stud because he couldn't compete in the show ring.

He wound up going to a lovely pet home where he lived a very happy seventeen years as a beloved family pet. In all honesty, I think he was a lot happier there than being hauuled from show to show on campaign and having to live in confinement as stud cats usually do.

One thing you want to do NOW is to start him on joint supplements (I prefer cosequin). He will not bear weight normally on his back leg and will throw more strain on the other leg and his back. The supplements will help prevent him developing arthritis as he gets older.

You also want to watch his weight though that is usually not a problem with modern Siamese and Orientals--they tend to be very lean.

 

[katya02]

Thanks for the heads-up re cosequin, GN - I should have thought of that. We had our horse on it when he was showing. I'll do that, and I'm looking into laser physio for healing as well as 'regular' PT. One thing is, this cat is an Old Style Siamese and I haven't been able to show him yet because all the shows are ten hours away. Obviously CFA shows are out (he's registered CFA but of course doesn't meet the modern CFA breed standard), but I've been campaigning to get CFF shows nearer our area and planned to show him, if not as a kitten, then as an adult - but now that's not an option, as you say. I do have to reevaluate whether he can be a stud for me. We'll keep him as a pet, as my husband loves him the most of all the cats we have. My moderns, thankfully, are as healthy as horses!

 

[GoingNorth]

Oooh! He's an old-fashioned "applehead"? I just love those guys! In fact, My Jake is a blue-point "DSH"...actually he was a feral who was caught in a live trap up here in the dead of winter.

The breed standards thing annoys me incredibly, especially with CFA and TICA. For quite a while a Maine Coon that blew away TICA shows couldn't even get a breed ribbon at a CFA show.

TICA went for a very "feral" look in their Maine Coons which not only made the cat look "mean" in my opinion, but also introduced some lines into the breed that had health and temperament problems.

The worst of all of them happened with the Persians. I can remember when the "peke face" was only allowed in red Persians where it first showed up as a mutation.

Now ALL Persians have that pushed in face with tiny nostris. They went from being a very healthy breed to having a myriad of health problems. I actually got into showing cats in my very early twenties with a pair of Persian show alters.

Both were very healthy cats with the only problems being grooming issues--my blue-cream girl had so much coat that I used to stick a "bib" (sort of a pull over that covers the neck) on her when she ate because otherwise she dragged her ruff through her food.

 

[Star*]

Katya -

I am so sorry to hear about kitteh's injury. I just found out the other night on Animal Planet that there are two types of Siamese. The old world type (which I like) and the newer type or I think they call them Americanized. ?? Maybe not accurate on that. With all the color varities, I think the one that really struck me was the lilac point.

I also like the Ragdoll kittens.....oh gheez....who am I kidding I love animals period...my cat was a dumpster find and now lives like a Queen. She's a torbie and partly feral. The only time she's really affectionate is when I "think" to myself "Oh no I hope the cat doesn't come near me." THEN? I get her in my lap. (reverse psychology at it's lamest)

Hope your fella is doing better today. As are you - hang in there both of you. And now you have the excuse NOT to let someone in the room - it's a recovery room.....

 

[GoingNorth]

Interesting sidelight on Meezers--the original ones that came to the UK and US were most definitely NOT the long lanky ones you see today.

In addition, one of the males had WHITE paws. I found it interesting as the tendency for white spotting has always been there.

Now, they've developed "new" breed called a Snowshoe. It is basically an old-fashioned Siamese cat with white mittens and (preferably) a white blaze on its nose.

 

[katya02]

Yes, the whole 'allowed' and 'not allowed' color thing is strictly political. At first the CFA wouldn't allow anything but seals and blues; then grudgingly allowed chocolates; then took more time to allow lilacs. They've refused completely to allow lynxes, reds, creams, etc. because of the limited use of outcrosses even though half of their other recognized breeds have multiple outcrosses allowed and/or came from crosses in the first place. Just politics. And in Thailand there are pointed cats with various white spots and different colorings all over the place. Now the CFA has recognized lynxes etc. as Balinese, rather than separating them as Javanese, and I hope they do the same for short-hairs. The CFF recognizes all colors as Siamese. Restricting permitted colors and closing the stud book just resulted in the present problems with health and loss of reproductive vigor in CFA-standard Siamese, in my opinion.

My moderns aren't super-extreme, although one has a bit more of a 'show' pedigree. They are all from healthy lines and are completely healthy themselves. I like them in their moderate form - very muscular, elegant, nice short coat, and big Siamese personality. But the appleheads are so cute!! Just different. My Balinese cats are traditional in type. I have a couple of lynx-point cats as well, one short-hair and one long-hair (Balinese). They are gorgeous.

The CFF guidelines are more 'applehead', while the TICA breed standard is definitely 'classic', which is more what I'm aiming to breed. The appleheads have unfortunately dwindled to very few bloodlines in the US and need outcrosses badly. I'm working with a couple of breeders to use healthy lines from both types and try to get some lines from outside the US to improve health and longevity. I love these cats - they're so smart, they open my lever-handle doors, turn on faucets, play fetch .... and talk to me when I'm down!

I bring my little guy home this afternoon. He'll be the most spoiled patient ever! Thanks guys for your encouragement and sharing your experience with this surgery in your pets. Things don't look so bad now.

 

[GoingNorth]

I'm curious about the laser-PT treatments. My dog has terrible spinal arthritis and arthritis in his right hip.

Surprisingly for a German Shepherd, he does NOT have hip dysplaysia. He fell down my back stairs on ice at five months of age and landed spraddled.

He dislocated his hip. They were able to knock him out and pop it back into joint, but the joint was left "loose" so that over the years he's developed bone spurs.

I know acupuncture works and am considering driving to Madison UW vet school to have him treated with that.

The back trouble is caused by a combination of fashion (beeding for a sloped back) and having been a very hard working dog until he was around 5 or so. He did tracking and has all his AKC obedience trials.

We've had all sorts of stink about Maine Coons as we only closed the stud books completely in the last several years.

The Maine Coon most likely evolved from Norwegian Forest cats brought here by the Vikings mixed with Turkish Angoras and British Shorthairs.

It's really a recreated breed despite such individuals having been around for eons. As such, a lot of Persian was used in the breeding, which led to a lot of exotic colors.

A big secret in the Maine Coon fancy is that very occasionally a pointed kitten will show up. They are petted out and no one really talks about them.

There's no reason that it should be such a big deal. I got a seal lynx point kitten in a litter from two cats that themselves were very close to foundation.

Given that the point dilution gene is recessive and can be carried for generations, it's going to happen.

My Jake is a "Siamese", but I'd lay odds his sire and dam were two "standard issue" ferals that happened to carry the gene.

His coat is also very dark, but that is due to years of exposure to cold temps. The point dilution gene is actually cold sensitive. The reason the color is darker on the points is because those parts of the body are cooler.

He's also extremely healthy. He survived years in a bitterly cold environment with nothing more than a notched ear from fighting and a scarred cornea in one eye doubtless for the same thing.

I'm sure he would be a good "outcross" LOL, except that he was neutered as soon as he gained some weight and got healthy enough to have the surgery done.

 

[katya02]

The fact that so many breeds are created or recreated is what irritates me about the insistence on only totally 'pure' Siamese bloodlines, to the point where the entire breed is getting ready to collapse. It's like royalty, Know what I mean?? The gene pool needs some chlorine. When the Siamese cats in Thailand have multiple point colors and extra patterns, you know they've crossed with other genes, yet people who bring a cat here from Thailand talk as if they've got the original, pure-for-a-thousand-years cats. Actually I think bringing in those genes is a great idea, I just don't like the political stuff about how no other cats are really Siamese, when these cats are clearly crossed with others. However!

As you say, the partial albino, temperature-sensitive gene can be carried in other breeds. We had a Siamese who got sick and ran a high fever for five days - his mask came in almost white. It took months for it to regrow and come in dark again. Another cat got stressed during a move and got white hairs all over his body, salt and pepper sort of thing. That also disappeared in a few months as the hairs turned over.

I finally got to bring my little guy home yesterday, a day later than they said. His entire left hindquarter is shaved to his hock - looks a bit poodle-ish! The trumpet collar is not making him a happy boy. But he's still got his sweet personality going (charmed all the hospital staff). I'll get his exercises done every day and try to keep him from injuring himself, and hope for the best. He's already walking on the leg very well - incredibly well. It amazes me.