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Posture

Kristin

Animal Communicator
I'm sure this has been touched on before, but does anyone else's savannah stand with their knees touching? I haven't thought anything of it, but my friend came over yesterday, and she was asking about it. Are there any studies done of mobility issues in savannahs due to their posture?

I could have sworn I had photos of the leg thing, but I'm not finding them right now. I will try to get a picture next time I see Zeddie doing it.
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
This kind of shows it. Zeddie isn't feeling very well so she is very bloated, so excuse her excessive pregnant look
 

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Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
I went and looked through my pics and can't find any of my current SVs sitting with knees touching...
baz_maddie_IMG_6548_web.JPG Baz on right, his sister Maddie on left...
Dec31-07-sit-tahoe.jpg Missy sitting with feet together but not the knees...
MK27_116.jpg Nina...
IMG_9123.jpg Mar19-14-DSC_0230-collar.jpg Zari...
lila_IMG_9863_web.JPG Lila

It may not be a "Savannah thing" but more an individual cat issue with Zeddie?
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
This kind of shows it. Zeddie isn't feeling very well so she is very bloated, so excuse her excessive pregnant look
Oh you mean cowhocking...I was thinking front legs...
Jun28-07-sit-legs.jpg I once had a kitten with funky front legs, she arrived with them looking like this and I freaked out. Took her to an orthopedic specialist and he said that was common in large breed puppies raised on concrete floors and that likely she'd grow out of it. And she did...

Cowhocking is a cat structural fault... http://books.google.com/books?id=A5...CAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=cowhocking cats&f=false talks about it.

Definitely not something we want to see in a cat, and would be a show fault. I have vague memory of this being mentioned in our standard that judges needed to check that the legs truly were cow-hocked as sometimes the longer legs could give the appearance of it. Or maybe it was a breed seminar Lorre was giving at that time.
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
Yes!! Thank you! Is it just undesirable because of aesthetics, or could there be longer lasting issues in her body?
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
Yes!! Thank you! Is it just undesirable because of aesthetics, or could there be longer lasting issues in her body?
Did you read the link I included? It says that there can be pain involved for the cat... I don't really know too much more, sorry!
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
I read the bits on the cow hocking, but I am a little unclear on whether the Luxating Patella is caused by cow hocking? Or if it is the same? It says that hip dysplasia could also be a cause, but it is painful and they wouldn't jump and be goofy. Zeddie hasn't shown any signs of pain at all. Just the same, I will get a some treatments done. I will get some photo evidence of her treatment...it will be a neat (painless) experiment!
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
Cow- hocking is not terribly uncommon in cats but as Brigitte says it is considered a fault when showing cats. The premise is that cats can't run as fast or jump as high when cow-hocked so could not survive as well in the wild. As a pet there is usually nothing to worry about unless it is severe then it might cause issues. However, anytime a cat crouches even a little it can look cow-hocked so you really want to look at it when it's standing straight up, or even better, pick it up with two hands under the torso then slide the posterior hand back until it stretches out the hind legs - this way you can see how straight vs. cow-hocked they really are.
 
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