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kitten with deformed back legs

14:32:28

Question
my 4 year old ragdoll had her third litter about a week ago- and all the kittens have been feeding well.  I noticed that the last baby born had hind legs that were still tucked quite close to her body and presumed that this was just due to being tucked up in the womb. But by the next day they still looked odd and on closer inspection appeared to be something like clubfoot - where both hind paws are actually twisted at/or close to her ankle so that the bottom of her paws face upwards and inwards.  I wonder if there is anything that can be done to help this - or is it best to have the kitten euthanised- I would feel terrible at the prospect - but cannot afford to have another cat and know that it will be difficult to find her a good home if she is lame.

Answer
Ally,

I am sorry to be a bit late in getting back to you. It is possible the back legs are deformed, but it is also possible they can look that way and be fine.

What you need to do is to put toweling in for the bedding so the kitten has something a bit rough to push on when nursing or finding a nipple. You can also  pick her up and gently exercise those back legs by gently pushing on them and gently pulling on them. Maybe a couple of times a day.

I would do this and give her some time (I wish I could tell you how much).  I have seen kittens whose hind legs looked hopeless but did, eventually, straighten out.

Please see how it goes for a few weeks and see what happens with this kitten.

Please let me know.

Best regards... Norm.