New F2 Kitten Oliver

[Gabrielle Nobrega]

Hi all,

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 ️

Also, here are some photos:

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[Patti]

Your boy is gorgeous! I'm so sorry to hear about his knees. Oddly enough, I know of another Savannah named Oliver who also needed this surgery, this was several years ago but I believe he was F2 as well.

To answer your questions:

As for confining him, you will just need to steel yourself against his protests. Put the crate in the busiest area of the house so that he will still get plenty of attention and interaction

I would take him out on a daily basis for physical snuggling and loving, just be sure he doesn't put a lot of stress on the surgical leg. Try to do this around the same time(s) each day so that it becomes habit for him and something he will look forward to

Five months is probably fine for this surgery, the orthopedic vet is the expert in this matter, I would rely on whatever he advises

I think as long as you are consistent in your interaction and time spent with him this should not impact his personality.

Good luck with the surgeries, please keep us posted on how he does. Is he neutered? if not, you might want to see if this can be done at the same time. Also, if possible try to avoid Ketamine as an induction agent for surgery, cats can have a bad reaction to this drug (however, if used as part of a cocktail of drugs it is much better tolerated).

 

[Gabrielle Nobrega]

Your boy is gorgeous! I'm so sorry to hear about his knees. Oddly enough, I know of another Savannah named Oliver who also needed this surgery, this was several years ago but I believe he was F2 as well.

To answer your questions:

As for confining him, you will just need to steel yourself against his protests. Put the crate in the busiest area of the house so that he will still get plenty of attention and interaction

I would take him out on a daily basis for physical snuggling and loving, just be sure he doesn't put a lot of stress on the surgical leg. Try to do this around the same time(s) each day so that it becomes habit for him and something he will look forward to

Five months is probably fine for this surgery, the orthopedic vet is the expert in this matter, I would rely on whatever he advises

I think as long as you are consistent in your interaction and time spent with him this should not impact his personality.

Good luck with the surgeries, please keep us posted on how he does. Is he neutered? if not, you might want to see if this can be done at the same time. Also, if possible try to avoid Ketamine as an induction agent for surgery, cats can have a bad reaction to this drug (however, if used as part of a cocktail of drugs it is much better tolerated).

Thank you Patti!!!
What a coincidence! Must be an Oliver thing... lol!

Such great advice. I think what I'll do is purchase two kennels - one for the kitchen/living room and one for the bedroom. I think he might be heartbroken that he cannot sleep with us though... Good call out on consistency with our schedule. I'm going to set specific times each day to snuggle! Hopefully he understands his legs are getting fixed.

He was nurtured on October 2nd and is done with all of his vaccines. I have spoken to the surgeon and requested he use a Propofol injection or Isoflurane and Sevoflurane gas for the procedures and made it very clear not to give him a Ketamine injection for sedation. Thank you for double checking about this!

I will absolutely keep updating this thread throughout his rehab! ️




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[Gabrielle Nobrega]

Neutered*!! lol autocorrect.


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[Patti]

You might want to consider using a small travel carrier for the bedroom that you can actually put on the bed with you so that he can be as close as possible (otherwise he may end up crying all night if he's in the room but not 'with' you)...

 

[Val]

Oliver is a handsome boy! Hope all goes well with his surgery.

 

[Steve70]

What a stunner!

 

[SV Dad]

Love those EARS!

 

[Bren Manos]

Your Oliver is adorable. I have a F2 4 month old named Oliver as well. I pray that all goes well with your baby and his medical needs.

 

[Bren Manos]

Hi all,

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 ️

Also, here are some photos:

am


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello there... First I want to say that your little guy is absolutely beautiful and was wondering if you set a surgery date yet?
Second, I have his brother (from the Top Gun litter) and funny enough, we both named them Oliver. I love seeing your little guy. I am so happy that I ill get to see how this lil guy grows up.