Luxating Patella

[ramiov]

Hi ,

I am new to Savannah Cat Chat and had a question regarding my 5 month old F6 Savannah. Recently I noticed her hind right knee appeared to be popping in and out when she moves around. I read up on sprains and came across something called a luxating patella, where the knee pops out and it looks exactly the same. I am just trying to see if anyone else has come across this and what their experience was. I am taking her to the vet soon to have it looked at. I read that only surgery can fix this and if this is in fact what she has then I am leaning towards surgery, but I just wanted to know how others would or have handled situations like this. From what I can see she doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain as she still runs and jumps, but I can see her constantly limping on it when it pops out frequently. Any thoughts, comments, or advice would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Pam Flachs]

Hello and welcome! I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have no experience with the issue you are describing, but best to have it checked out by your vet. In the meantime, I would think limiting her jumping places might be a good idea, especially since you say she limps after her knee "pop" out....keep us posted!

BTW...would love to see pics of your girl

 

[Rafiki]

That is a floating kneecap, right? A friend of mine had a Siamese cat with that problem at around 6 months of age. Surgery was needed but it did fix her right up. You should definitely have a vet check her out.

 

[Patti]

Luxating patella is a condition where the kneecap becomes dislocated. It's more common in dogs but can happen with cats as well. Sometimes the cat will grow out of it depending on how serious it is, otherwise it needs to be corrected by surgery, which unfortunately can be expensive. Hopefully your kitty has a milder form and it will correct itself with exercise and a joint supplement such as glucosamine.

 

[The Kasbah]

Yes, Luxated Patella is a "floating kneecap." The condition can be brought on by injury, but is more often a congenital defect, where the inside of the kneecap fails to grow properly and is without the "grooves" that keep it in place. The condition is most common in small dog breeds, but occasionally also afflicts cats.
Animals affected by this either experience the "popping out" that you have described or in more severe cases, walk "cow hocked" with a "paddling motion."

While it MAY be possible for some kittens to outgrow the condition, more often than not, surgical intervention is required, due to the fact that continued activity places additional strain on the kneecaps and leg joints, which over time (our vet estimated 4-5 years...so pretty quickly) will develop into a painful arthritic condition and at that point, even performing the surgery will not reverse the damage done and the cat, who is still quite young, will suffer from arthritis pain for the balance of his/her lifetime.

Fortunately, although expensive, surgical intervention will correct the condition an is quite successful., will restore a normal gait and relive the unnecessary stress on the joint, which, over the long term will protect the animal from developing the painful arthritic condition.

Recovery after surgery takes approximately one month. The cat is typically kept with the vet for a few days "post op" and then returns home to convalesce, confined to a large crate to prevent strenuous activity until the healing is completed. Take home pain meds are administered for the first 7-10 days.

A kitten born here last fall suffered from this condition, so the experience I have recounted for you here is not only personal, but very recent. Our boy had his surgery at 5 months of age and was able to join his forever family one month later. His new people report that he is doing splendidly!

I hope that things turn out equally as well for your companion.

All best,

 

[ramiov]

Hello and welcome! I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have no experience with the issue you are describing, but best to have it checked out by your vet. In the meantime, I would think limiting her jumping places might be a good idea, especially since you say she limps after her knee "pop" out....keep us posted!

BTW...would love to see pics of your girl

Hello and welcome! I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have no experience with the issue you are describing, but best to have it checked out by your vet. In the meantime, I

Hello and welcome! I am sorry to hear about your girl. I have no experience with the issue you are describing, but best to have it checked out by your vet. In the meantime, I would think limiting her jumping places might be a good idea, especially since you say she limps after her knee "pop" out....keep us posted!

BTW...would love to see pics of your girl

Hi Pam,

Thank you for responding. I will definitely try to keep her away from high areas. I have uploaded some pictures of her to my album named Keva if you would like to see her .

 

[ramiov]

That is a floating kneecap, right? A friend of mine had a Siamese cat with that problem at around 6 months of age. Surgery was needed but it did fix her right up. You should definitely have a vet check her out.

Hi Rafiki,

Thanks for sharing. I am most likely going to go with surgery. It is reassuring to hear that it was successful with your friends cat.

 

[ramiov]

Luxating patella is a condition where the kneecap becomes dislocated. It's more common in dogs but can happen with cats as well. Sometimes the cat will grow out of it depending on how serious it is, otherwise it needs to be corrected by surgery, which unfortunately can be expensive. Hopefully your kitty has a milder form and it will correct itself with exercise and a joint supplement such as glucosamine.

Hi Patti,

Yes, I definitely think that is what she has. Thank you, I do hope as well that it is a milder form. I am checking with my insurance company to see how long the waiting period would be and if they will cover it. Otherwise I might have to pay out of pocket. Hopefully they will at least cover some of it.

 

[ramiov]

Yes, Luxated Patella is a "floating kneecap." The condition can be brought on by injury, but is more often a congenital defect, where the inside of the kneecap fails to grow properly and is without the "grooves" that keep it in place. The condition is most common in small dog breeds, but occasionally also afflicts cats.
Animals affected by this either experience the "popping out" that you have described or in more severe cases, walk "cow hocked" with a "paddling motion."

While it MAY be possible for some kittens to outgrow the condition, more often than not, surgical intervention is required, due to the fact that continued activity places additional strain on the kneecaps and leg joints, which over time (our vet estimated 4-5 years...so pretty quickly) will develop into a painful arthritic condition and at that point, even performing the surgery will not reverse the damage done and the cat, who is still quite young, will suffer from arthritis pain for the balance of his/her lifetime.

Fortunately, although expensive, surgical intervention will correct the condition an is quite successful., will restore a normal gait and relive the unnecessary stress on the joint, which, over the long term will protect the animal from developing the painful arthritic condition.

Recovery after surgery takes approximately one month. The cat is typically kept with the vet for a few days "post op" and then returns home to convalesce, confined to a large crate to prevent strenuous activity until the healing is completed. Take home pain meds are administered for the first 7-10 days.

A kitten born here last fall suffered from this condition, so the experience I have recounted for you here is not only personal, but very recent. Our boy had his surgery at 5 months of age and was able to join his forever family one month later. His new people report that he is doing splendidly!

I hope that things turn out equally as well for your companion.

All best,

Hi Cynthia,

Thank you for sharing your first hand experience with this. I am so glad the other kitten recovered and is doing well. After working things out with the insurance company I plan to pursue surgery if that is what's needed. Hopefully it all gets taken care of in the next few months, I would hate for her to develop any longterm issues with arthritis. I have come across very few who have experienced this with Savannah cats so it is very helpful.

I hope to post an update soon after we work everything out with the insurance company and see what the vet has to say. Thank all of you for your informative and kind words.

 

[Pam Flachs]

I saw her pics: Keva is gorgeous! Best wishes and good thoughts for her, and good luck with the insurance aspect...let us know how the vet visit went.