# Is this normal?



## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

My rescue cats kitten is 4 weeks old today. he's alert and strong, he was the smallest and only surviving kitten born at 74 gram . today hes 351 grams. altough hes crawling about hes not yet useing his back legs. he seems to push on them but only out behind him . he can lift him self up on his front legs fine. is he just behind or is that normal for a kitten just turned 4 weeks ?


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Kittens at 4 weeks do walk around,myn can walk to food dish at this age.Hope he will be ok.x


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

this is a short clip of him so you can see what I mean. 
4 weeks today - YouTube


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

_awwww bless him, he is so pretty, i do hope he hasnt got anything wrong with his legs, hopefully a breeder will pop on and give you some advise,_


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## harrys_mum (Aug 18, 2010)

ah, hes gorgeous.
do hope his back legs are okay.
keep us updated.
have you tried putting him onto his back legs and see what he does.
michelle x


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

It does look as there is a problem there to be honest there was a thread a while back re: swimmer kittens looks simular there is treatment to resolve this problem they bind the legs till there stronger.If i was you i would read up on it but also get a vets opinion too.


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

_I agree with above poster, i would maybe get a vets opinion, i have everything crossed he is ok._


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

thanks I will look up on that swimmers, If hes not useing them by 5 weeks in a weeks time we are off to the vet, want to give him another week to see how he gets on . thanks for the advice and will keep you all updated x


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## LEHBSH (Oct 21, 2011)

I don't know in kittens as I have only just had my first litter but have been breeding dogs for over 16 years. In puppies if there are only 1 or 2 babies at the milk bar they can quite literally become too fat to walk. Actual swimmers are quite different to this and have a congenital deformity where the chest is flat, your kitten doesn't seem to have any problems in front.

When we had a puppy like this we crated obstacles within the nest to encourage climbing to strengthen the back legs, such as toys or egg boxes etc for the kitten to climb over, also you can put carpet tiles down to help him grip more easily.

The biggest problem is that they don't have to move to get food, so typically develop walking later....just laying there and suckling without having to manoeuvre himself to a free teat.

This said I think I would still have him checked over by a vet, perhaps they can x-ray to see if there is any physical abnormality?


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

vinya12 said:


> this is a short clip of him so you can see what I mean.
> 4 weeks today - YouTube


Looking at your video your little one does have a problem  I would take him to the vet sooner than a week. It could be swimmer kitten syndrome which is slightly different to Flat Chested Kitten though they can both appear together.
The kittens in this photo were four weeks old at the time








You can see how agile they are even at that age.


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

I have had a read on swimmers. and when i put his legs under him he trys to walk with them. I will book him in to vet and see what they say. I think he will need the legs taped though


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Yep just see if they can show you how to do it.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Looks rather like frog legs to me, I gather they usually sort themselves out when it's the back legs, often without any intervention.

Frog-legged Kitten


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## harrys_mum (Aug 18, 2010)

hows baby. have you been to the vet.
michelle x


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

yes vet said ,we will have to give it a few weeks and see. vet said hes small for his age and could be a slow developer. We are taping his legs to give him a helping hand and encoraging him to use them. just need to see how he gets on over the next few weeks


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## harrys_mum (Aug 18, 2010)

hope he gets on ok.
can you just keep making him stand on his back legs till he gets used to using them perhaps.
michelle x


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

yes im making him exersize them and i hold them under him to help him


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## K337 (May 20, 2011)

One of mine, Bloo, had the same issues as a kitten. His breeder bound his legs and kept them in a more natural position while encouraging him to use them.

Pleased to say at 13 weeks he looked the same as his litter mates and it's certainly never held him back around here!


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## harrys_mum (Aug 18, 2010)

thats good news, please keepus informed of his progress.
fingers crossed for you both.
michellex


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

Bet all these kittens were boys  I hope he improves soon

Btw he's beautiful


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

the tape is helping him to move faster across the floor. he seems to be doing his best to try and lift himself with his back legs. we will keep at it


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

thats great the more he uses them the stronger they will become


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## vinya12 (Jan 29, 2008)

just to let you all know, cosmo has started to stand up and take steps.  he still dose a lot of shuffling but hes getting there


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Excellent progress :thumbup1: It sounds as if he is a determined young man and he will make it


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Fantastic news.:biggrin:


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

Hi I have had a kitten like this i taped his legs left it for a week to 10 days and he walked and climbed just the same as his litter mates,incourage exercise and try a little physio as he will need to build up the muscle in the back legs. Your kitten looks and drags his legs just as my baby did.The legs need to be taped in the same position as if he was walking normaly. Hope this helps.


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## harrys_mum (Aug 18, 2010)

thats good news. been thinking of him a lot.
when he has good progress on his legs please put a new video of him so we can see his progress.
michellex


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