Meet our new addition to the family! This little kitten is 9weeks old and we don't have a name yet. My veterinary friend asked if I was interested in adopting him because he was born with a birth defect and may need some extra care during his life.
It seems he was born without a patella on one knee and with a luxated patella on the other. He is able to walk and run, but with an abnormal gait.
You can see in this photo that he carries his knees close to the ground. He can climb into his litter box and his bed, but he may not ever be able to jump up high. Cats are amazing when it come to motility though, so I won't know until he is full grown whether it is going to be a long term problem.
He also does not appear to be in any pain.
He has already bonded with my son, which may not be a good thing because my plan was to have him live with my mother if he can get around well enough. She has two cats and one is very old and in the process of dying. However my mother is 81 and will not be able to handle a cat that may have problems.
He has already bonded with my son, which may not be a good thing because my plan was to have him live with my mother if he can get around well enough. She has two cats and one is very old and in the process of dying. However my mother is 81 and will not be able to handle a cat that may have problems.
Of course my son would be thrilled if he stayed with us, I just wasn't going to take on any more animals right now. Time will tell how this plays out. For now he will stay with us until he grows up a little and I can evaluate his abilities. Now we just need to find him a name.
4 comments:
I think you should name your cute new pet Smokey because he looks like a Smokey to me. However it's up to you what you want to name your adoorable kitten. I hope his disablty doesn't become a problem for your kitten when he is older. Good luck rasing that cute little furball.
Oh, he's so adorable. Look at those eyes! You're right, though. Cats are very adaptable. I don't see the patella issue being a big deal as long as he can get around. We have an elderly cat who has some trouble getting up on couches and such. We bought a few of those doggy steps advertised on TV to help with that. Works like a charm.
Good luck on naming him. For some reason, he looks like a Ralph to me.
Ted is the name of this cat. He looks just like the cat my roommate and I had in college. We picked her up at the pound one afternoon and she was a great little cat. She played fetch which was weird but wonderful. She lived to be 22.
@Kristine: He does look kind of smokey in this photo, but's he is really more of a silver. Thanks for visiting!
@Kathy: I know, the eyes are amazing! He is already running around my house like nothing is wrong, and can climb up on the bed. Plus, it might be nice to have one cat who can't jump on the kitchen counter, right?
@Jen: Ted lived a very long time!She must have been good company while you were in college.
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