Luxating Patellas

[Gabrielle Nobrega]

Hey everyone!

I posted this in introductions because it was my first post but thought I would share in the general discussion as well:

I'd like to introduce my new little one, Oliver! We've had him for about two weeks now and are SO in love! He's a total love bug - always wanting to snuggle & is a pur machine! He loves playing fetch and tug of war. He warmed up to us right away (he sat on my lap the entire 4hr drive home), has slept with us every night and wants to be a part of whatever we are doing 100% of the time.

He was surrendered back to his breeder by his original owner two weeks after she adopted him and re-homed with me.
When he was surrendered his old owner failed to mention that he was injured while playing - we didn't know he was limping until 20 mins before I picked him up.

Anyways! I've been to three different vets and it looks like he is suffering from patellar luxation and is going to need knee surgery in both back legs.

He'll be 4 months old next week and already weighing in at 8lbs. He's very active and doesn't seem to realize he's broken. We've done everything we can to prevent him from jumping but he just loves to move!

I found a board-certified orthopedic surgeon to complete the surgery and he wants to do one knee at a time when he reaches 5months old.

After doing a lot of research I still have some questions and I'm hoping you guys can help!

Have any of you had kittens needing knee surgery?
He will have to be in a large kennel for 6 weeks per knee.. he does not like to be confined AT ALL - how can I make this more tolerable for him? Can I take him out to snuggle?? He LOVES watching planet earth.
Is 5 months too young for surgery?
Will it impact his personality?
Please share any tips and tricks and advice!!

Thank you so much ️

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[Brigitte Cowell]

Welcome! Your boy is a gorgeous one. I've no experience with this surgery in cats, I did have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel needing that surgery some years ago, but as dogs are wimps about pain he didn't need as much confinement as I think a cat needs. Cats tend to ignore pain, and Savannah kittens have so much energy it is very hard to keep them as quiet as they need to be.

I have seen in threads of either Savannahs needing broken bones pinned or this kind of surgery, that dog crates are the way to go, but sometimes the cat needs sedation with something like buprenorphine on top of this to keep them doped up and quieter. It may completely depend on your baby and how they cope with being confined.

I'm curious though, you have been told by the breeder that this was an injury? Luxating patellas are usually a congenital defect... as I understand it anyway... https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/luxating-patella-in-cats

 

[Elf]

I know that on the one of the Facebook SV groups someone just had this surgery done on their cat, and at least one other person chimed in about how great their cat did after the surgery. I think it might be more common in lean leggy breeds, as Abyssinians can have it more frequently than other breeds.

Usually it has to do with the way the bones grow, more than an injury (though it can make it worse).

My little F3 has grade 1 luxating patella in one leg. At that grade it might never cause an issue, but if it does, we will get it fixed.

Oh, and I have it too in both knees!!! LOL

 

[Rob1984]

ya like brigitte said i thought it was a defect as well my friend took in a pregnant stray and one was born like this he wasn't injured but my friend knew as soon as he was able to walk that he walked funny and something was wrong with him


but anyways he is a very good looking cat and goodluck with the surgeries

oh ya and for the struggles with the carrier they all hate them to get him to tolerate it you would probably have to get one big enough to fit yourself in it with him then he would probably be ok with it

 

[Gabrielle Nobrega]

Welcome! Your boy is a gorgeous one. I've no experience with this surgery in cats, I did have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel needing that surgery some years ago, but as dogs are wimps about pain he didn't need as much confinement as I think a cat needs. Cats tend to ignore pain, and Savannah kittens have so much energy it is very hard to keep them as quiet as they need to be.

I have seen in threads of either Savannahs needing broken bones pinned or this kind of surgery, that dog crates are the way to go, but sometimes the cat needs sedation with something like buprenorphine on top of this to keep them doped up and quieter. It may completely depend on your baby and how they cope with being confined.

I'm curious though, you have been told by the breeder that this was an injury? Luxating patellas are usually a congenital defect... as I understand it anyway... https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/luxating-patella-in-cats

Hi Bridgette!

Thank you so much!
Yes, I think we will end up getting a couple of Great Dane size kennels - one for the bedroom and one for the living room. He really really hates even being locked up in a room if my boyfriend and I are not there too. We tried to keep him in our bedroom his first couple of weeks (which was suggested by almost everyone) with us and ended up caving & gave him free run of the house by day 3 (we don't have other pets).
I didn't realize drugging him was an option - I've never heard of buprenorphine before. I'll discuss with our vet.

Long story about his diagnosis incoming:

The orthopedic surgeon said that luxating patellas can be either a congenital defect, caused by trauma, or a combination of both.
The breeder was not the one who diagnosed but did ask his previous owner when she noticed he was struggling to walk. His previous owner said he was jumping for his feather toy a couple of days prior and started limping shortly after.

In all of his visits to the vet (for vaccines, getting him neutered, wellness checks - a total of about 5 visits from 9/1-10/10) he didn't show any signs of knee issues.
His previous owner said he started limping after jumping for his feather toy on 10/12. The surgeon said if it was congenital it would most likely have happened over time (he's at a grade 3/4 currently).
But it's also possible he had grade 1 luxation (which they can usually live with and not need surgery for) that got a lot worse with injury. It's hard to say for sure but we have reviewed video from a few days before we adopted him and he was walking/running/jumping with ease.

The breeder is covering all costs for the procedures and I'm not too concerned whether it's genetic or caused by injury. She is amazing and has been so informative throughout this entire process. I only mentioned this because when adopting him I wasn't expecting to have to facilitate his rehab and wanted to reach out for help from anyone in the community who has experienced this before just to make sure I'm doing everything I can to keep this little guy happy!

️


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[Gabrielle Nobrega]

I know that on the one of the Facebook SV groups someone just had this surgery done on their cat, and at least one other person chimed in about how great their cat did after the surgery. I think it might be more common in lean leggy breeds, as Abyssinians can have it more frequently than other breeds.

Usually it has to do with the way the bones grow, more than an injury (though it can make it worse).

My little F3 has grade 1 luxating patella in one leg. At that grade it might never cause an issue, but if it does, we will get it fixed.

Oh, and I have it too in both knees!!! LOL

Thanks Elf!

I didn't even think to look up Savannah Groups on FB.. could you share the names of a few that I could join?
I've shared with Bridgette in my previous comment why we think it is more so an injury, but don't doubt it may be genetic.

So great to hear that people have had success with this surgery on Savannahs though . I've never even heard of it before!

Both my boyfriend and I have had multiple ACL surgeries so it's only fitting that our little one has knee surgery too.

Hope your luxating patellas don't cause you too much discomfort! Lol


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[Gabrielle Nobrega]

ya like brigitte said i thought it was a defect as well my friend took in a pregnant stray and one was born like this he wasn't injured but my friend knew as soon as he was able to walk that he walked funny and something was wrong with him


but anyways he is a very good looking cat and goodluck with the surgeries

oh ya and for the struggles with the carrier they all hate them to get him to tolerate it you would probably have to get one big enough to fit yourself in it with him then he would probably be ok with it

Hi Rob,

Thank you! I wrote about why we believe it was caused by injury in my comment to Bridgette above.

After reading everyone's responses I think I'm definitely going to opt for a Great Dane sized kennel and who knows, I'll probably end up sleeping in there with him. LOL.


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[WitchyWoman]

The breeder is covering all costs for the procedures and I'm not too concerned whether it's genetic or caused by injury. She is amazing and has been so informative throughout this entire process.

This is outstanding. My 2nd F2 came from the same breeder as my first F2. Right before she shipped the 2nd one she phoned me to say he had a slight injury that occurred at the vets and did I still want him. She described it as a slight sprain that the vet said would clear up quickly. The kitten arrived with two severely injured back legs. I took him to the vet the next day and she said he had two severe luxating patellas and a hip injury. She got on the phone with a specialist right away and his conservative estimate for surgery was $4000 each leg with no guarantee of full recovery. I called the breeder from the vet's office and she did not believe my vet's findings nor the specialists estimates and wouldn't help financially.It broke my heart because I fell head over heels for him overnight. The first kitten she sent me was deaf and she claimed she didn't notice but I smelled a rat with the 2nd one.

 

[Gabrielle Nobrega]

This is outstanding. My 2nd F2 came from the same breeder as my first F2. Right before she shipped the 2nd one she phoned me to say he had a slight injury that occurred at the vets and did I still want him. She described it as a slight sprain that the vet said would clear up quickly. The kitten arrived with two severely injured back legs. I took him to the vet the next day and she said he had two severe luxating patellas and a hip injury. She got on the phone with a specialist right away and his conservative estimate for surgery was $4000 each leg with no guarantee of full recovery. I called the breeder from the vet's office and she did not believe my vet's findings nor the specialists estimates and wouldn't help financially.It broke my heart because I fell head over heels for him overnight. The first kitten she sent me was deaf and she claimed she didn't notice but I smelled a rat with the 2nd one.

Witchy,

I'm so sorry to hear that.. poor little guy!!

I can't believe the breeder would not work with you financially and did not believe your vet... what an awful situation.

Did you end up keeping him??
I'm curious to know how he did with the surgery.. and how everything panned out.


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[WitchyWoman]

Did you end up keeping him??
I'm curious to know how he did with the surgery.. and how everything panned out.

I sent him back. That was 4 years ago and I'm still heartbroken. I kept in touch with the breeder for awhile and she said her vet said he didn't need surgery. She kept the cat until he was close to a year old and then sold him, shortly after that she retired and did awful things with her queens -- some of them went to unscrupulous people and the cats ended up in rescues, one died a terrible death, and I don't even want to know what happened to the rest. I will forever carry the guilt for not keeping the kitten. I had a geriatric DSH at the time who required a lot of care and I did not want to take on the challenge of caring for the kitten.