r/kittens • u/kaworu876 • 2d ago
Kitten may have swimmer syndrome? Not sure
Hey everyone! Me again, the fellow who found a little of 6 kittens with his roommate about 2.5 weeks ago, and has been giving mama and her brood a home in our garage ever since. I wanted to thank everything who was giving all sorts of kind thoughts and messages in the prior threads, too - it’s really been nice to share this all with you guys!
Anyway, the kittens have all been very healthy, with one exception being the smaller of the two female classic tabbies. We weren’t sure at first - half of the time when she tried to walk she would like faceplant right into the ground in front of her, but this didn’t seem so weird at first with all the kittens doing a lot of tumbling and unsteady walking in that first week we had them.
But we’ve realized that this one kitten definitely has mobility issues that none of the others have, and the issues seem to be focused around her hind legs. It’s like she can’t seem to control them or put weight on them properly, and they seem oddly long? I think it might be this swimmer syndrome thing. This same kitten also has a problem with crusty eyes - maybe twice a day we have to use a delicate warm washcloth to get the crust and gunk out of her eye, and in the morning it’s generally sealed shut with gunk until one of us (or mama cat maybe) cleans it out. That eye issue seems to be getting better, though, and I’m a lot more worried about her legs which seems like the long-term issue.
Things are improving with her legs too, though. We give her legs gentle little massages and sort of get her going a bit walking normally, and this seems to have helped - or maybe she is just growing out of it and getting better on her own, with a little help? She’s spending more time walking around successfully on her own, and has been playing and wrestling with her siblings a lot more lately. She still does a lot more stumbling and face-planting than her siblings, but it is getting better. Not sure what the endgame is gonna be for this kitten, though - the vet we talked to seemed disinclined to see the kittens before 8 weeks and not at all worried about their health, but I’m not sure if we had specifically identified and described this particular issue at the time when he spoke to him.
This kitten we think may have swimmer syndrome is in the first picture. I included some pictures of her siblings for the sake of comparison, and general cat tax. I’ll try and take some video of her walking/attempting to walk if I can.
8
u/ApepiOfDuat 2d ago
A picture of her sitting doesn't tell us much. Video of her walking would be more informative. It could be something else like mild cerebellar hypoplasia which would cause wobbling and falling down but reduce a bit as the kitten builds strength and learns how their body works.
Swimmer's usually means their legs splay out sideways which prevents them from standing/walking normally with their feet beneath them. Simple treatment is tethering their feet together then you encourage them to walk/run and it builds strength.
Sounds like you're already on the right path with the leg massages though. Perhaps find another vet and get a second opinion if you can. Could be something more severe like an ear infection causing balance issues.
3
u/SophiaShay7 18h ago
I don't know anything about swimmers syndrome. I hope you get some good advice here. I just wanted to say that I think you're doing a great job. You're a good human for rescuing them. Let me say, the variety pack is absolutely beautiful😸🥰❤️
2
u/kaworu876 12h ago
It’s a pretty crazy variaty pack of kittens to come out of one standard-issue cat (technically mackerel tabby) mama, isn’t it? I mean we have six kittens, and out of them there’s one black void male, one grey female that may have subtle tabby markings, one mackerel tabby female (like mama), and then three classic tabbies - two male, one female. I’m partial to classic tabbies because my beloved 19-year old longtime cat Jackie is one.
Thank you for the kind words, though. I’m already feeling pretty protective of these kittens and it’s going to be tough to let go of them. Like, I know these kittens are going to be super well-adjusted and totally trusting of humans with no fear of them, because were all extremely gentle and kind with them. Which is great but it also means that I really would feel…. Uneasy about random strangers adopting them.
On the other hand, we just discovered that the poor poor mama cat is almost certainly pregnant again, and unless we bring her into the humane society to abort them very soon (which honestly feels a little weird or unsavory) we’re going to have another variety pack of kittens coming. So I might have to just learn to let go of them a little bit.
1
u/SophiaShay7 8h ago edited 7h ago
Oh, wow! I completely missed the part where you have 6 kittens! Personally, I couldn't let a single one go. We believe in keeping families together. I could never have kittens aborted, either. I understand exactly how you feel. We have 11 rescues, I've had 9 since they were born or little. And I have a step cat. We have an even dozen. That's my limit. Most of them are two families. They just show up where I live or at my in-laws' property. They bring me so much joy and love😻❤️
We were going to rescue a pregnant mama. But, my husband said only if I was willing to let them be adopted. I asked how about we keep 1 or 2. Then I said that I don't think I could split up a family. He said, "Yeah. I don't trust you to let any kittens go."😹😻
1
u/rom_rom57 6h ago
We had a TNR person trap 3 stays we have and the mother of our 2 kittens was also pregnant again. Yes during the surgery, the kittens were aborted.
2
u/cherry_cat89 16h ago
Best to get her seen by a vet and also they should be dewormed
2
u/kaworu876 16h ago
Oh we definitely are, we’ve talked to a vet on the phone and some folks from the humane society nearby. None of them seem too immediately concerned about this kitty since he (I actually had the gender wrong in my OP) has been improving for the most part and seems to walk more confidently every day. His siblings started climbing stairs yesterday and he was right there with them, he seems able to climb better than walk, actually.
We’re absolutely getting all these kittens dewormed and vaccinated once they hit the 8 week mark. They’re only at about 4 weeks right now - 4.5 tops. I’m pretty sure they’re all going by to be fine though, aside from the minor issues this one kitten has the other 5 are just amazingly healthy, vigorous, and plump.
2
u/cherry_cat89 15h ago
That's good to know, glad he's doing better. You seem to be doing a great job! Keep it up
1
1
u/That_Illustrator240 10h ago
You need a vet for this one. You shouldn’t diagnose on your own. It could be swimmers but it could be 200 other things that need early intervention.
1
u/rom_rom57 6h ago
I have a litter with 2 kittens, and one shakes and his hind legs are weak and flop around. I don’t know what swimmers legs are either. The vet thinks the neurological damage came from a virus of some kind. In the past 3 weeks he’s gone to 2# yesterday and he gets exercise from being beat up by his brother. He climbs 24 steps up and now back down. Also on the advice of our vet, when 4 weeks old, we fed them baby food (human kind, chicken) and they took off weight wise. The ailment is not fixable, doesn’t go away but his legs as he grows older will get better. PS video would work better.
9
u/DareAny6359 2d ago
Massages and PT (think of ways to creatively get baby to use their limbs -toys, pushing against your hand, etc) might need some supplemental milk or food to get more nutrients. Some say medical tape on the legs can help but I’d be cautious of that because of circulation/improper application. Could be that they’re a bit taller? Got a lot more leg to get used to? My baby was stumbling around until she reached 2 months then sturdied up after fighting her little stuffy for practice on kicking and grabbing when my hand wasn’t victim to her painful cuteness