Luxating Patellas

[John Popp]

Please make sure to have the conversation about the lean body mass of our cats and anesthesia with the surgeon. While Doctors can often believe the information about these types of cats and anesthesia to be largely anecdotal, they do understand that in many cases our cats may only be carrying about 40% of the body fat of a domestic short hair. Additionally, use of pain relief such as Fentanyl can cause adverse reactions and should be used very conservatively, 50% standard dosage.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Witchy's story and others is why I mentioned that the breeder should know that this is a congenital issue, in most cases. Frankly a kitten should be able to run and jump without fearing that this could happen, and if the limbs and joints are well-formed then all is well. Congenital is not the same as a genetic defect btw, I'm not saying that this is something that is necessarily hereditary although I do know some cases where a queen has produced a number of kittens with this defect and has needed to be spayed.

Witchy, I feel so bad for you. You did the right thing to return the kitten, you should not have had to deal with that AND how could you know what would happen with that breeder? If he was sold, one hopes to an understanding home...but I understand your guilt. Our brain can know what is the right thing, but our heart wants a different decision.

I think I know which breeder you talk of (Witchy), one of the breeders I could never recommend to someone even if they were local.

 

[John Popp]

Witchy, that is awful and sorry you were subject to it. I know how big your heart is and that you did the right thing. All of us who have great passion for our pets are branded by shoulda, coulda, woulda's and those with lesser hearts would have never looked back. Parsing things of intellect/heart and at times financial is never easy for those who have truly opened their hearts to their critters.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Witchy, I feel so bad for you.

Witchy, that is awful and sorry you were subject to it.

Thanks Brigitte and John. It was one of the toughest choices I've ever had to make.

Brigitte, it was Julia Dent. Nothing in my first purchase from her gave any indication she wasn't a decent breeder. Juba has the best personality of all 4 of my SVs. The 2nd kitten was a marble -- my favorite coat pattern -- and even though he was dragging one leg and hobbling on the other, he came out of the carrier and immediately cuddled with us then went on to explore his room. He slept the night curled up under my chin. My husband, who normally takes a bit to warm to new animals, was a puddle of mush over that boy. My gut tells me she euthanized him or sold him to someone at a discount, that he didn't have the surgery he needed and likely didn't have a physically comfortable life.

Whatever else Julia may have done wrong during her years as a breeder, I can say only great things about the personalities of the 2 cats I purchased from her. After she retired and the poop hit the public fan, I was left to wonder how the 2 I purchased could have such awesome personalities.

Gabrielle, sorry for this threadjack. Your post ripped the scab off of an old wound that will never heal.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Julia had some lovely cats, and I believe that at least 50% of kittens will be fabulous despite the best or worst efforts of the breeder. The kittens that see the biggest benefit of a good breeder are the other ones... And nothing tells you more about a breeder than how they deal with kittens with issues. Do they honor contracts, do they go the extra mile to make sure their cats are treated and healthy...

 

[John Campbell]

Looks very nice....

 

[SV Dad]

First, Witchy, really sorry to hear about your experience. (Witchy is right about a wound that will never heal. Rascal is my permanent wound.) I know how much you love your kitties.

Next, when it comes to pain control, I would be extremely cautious with fentanyl. I am not convinced pealing back the 12mcg patch lowers the dose that much. There are a lot more side effects than sedation. It can slow down the motility (ileus) of the GI track, which played a part in the sad Rascal saga.

 

[Connie P.]

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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So sorry he has the knee issue, but I love the pictures. He is beautiful!


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[Connie P.]

So sorry he has the knee issue, but I love the pictures. He is beautiful!


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I can’t imagine how hard that was for you. My heart goes out to you.


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