I was fortunate to get an appointment with a TCR vet nearby for little Yin on Tuesday morning, to assess her legs and find out the cause of her walking issues. The bus ride there, although short, was her first exposure to the outside world and full of loud noises...she hid under the blanket in the carrier:( I decided to take a cab home even though I didn't really have the finances to do so, as she was so scared before. At the vet, she was a trooper:) The exam found her healthy overall, with good heart/lungs and proper weight, and confirmed she is a girl! Upon examining her hind legs, the vet found that she had issues with her knees called luxating patellas. This means that the kneecap, instead of staying in the groove of the bone, can move to the left or right side. This causes mobility issues, limping, shaking of the leg to "right" the kneecap (which I've seen her do) and can be painful if the kneecap doesn't pop back into place. There can also be a level of hip dysplasia involved, and the causes of both can be due to trauma at the time of birth, or congenital. She didn't have any pain reactions to her spine or hips, and has good strong pulses and feeling in both hind legs. This makes the chances of nerve dysfunction extremely low, which is a good thing.
Here's a good website I found that helps explain the condition:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/healthinfo/LuxatingPatella.cfm
We didn't do an x-ray, but depending on how she develops, we can do one when she's 7-8 weeks old as there is a chance that she does have some level of hip dysplasia. After discussing her progress with the vet, the consensus is to encourage her to use her hind legs (walking, running, climbing) to help the muscles and tendons strengthen the knee area, which will help support her legs. She has shown some improvement, taking more and more "normal" steps and can keep up with Yang while playing and climbing. She runs! Kinda like a bunny, but she can move pretty fast when she wants to:) I got a little scratching post for them with a bed at the top, so they're running around that and climbing it now, though the chair and futon are still the favourites.
Here's a video I took last night, and you can see her running around. Also, you can observe how Fluffy is becoming more social with me, even stopping to sniff my feet.
(The noise in the background is me watching "So you think you can Dance" on my laptop...we all have our vices!)
Last night I scooped her up and she fell asleep in my arms, and was dreaming...adorable! This morning she was purring super loudly when I came in to see them:) High hopes, indeed!
Yang is super cute and sometimes forgets he has extra thumbs. He's practicing his stalking, pouncing, and sideways "scared kitty" looks. He's becoming a talker too! Now whenever I come in, he mews at me:)
They're both taking an interest in solid food as well, which I'm happy about. I leave extra dry and wet food out now so Fluffy doesn't have to share as much. I've seen Yin trying to chomp on some kibble:)
Here's a couple pics from the last few days:
I gots a mouse!!
Sleeping after playing with one of their favourite toys:)
Watching Mom use the litter box. Hoping they'll get the hang of it soon. Right now, they're more interested in playing with the litter:p
This is the first time they came up to snuggle with me:) It was late and I was thinking of heading to bed, but then this happened, so I stayed up for one more episode of the show I was watching (The Wire).
This weekend will be their first nail trim experience. They're getting caught on everything! I'll do it when they're sleepy, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I've already gotten them used to me touching their feet:)
So the situation is that next week, we will find out how Stitches reacts to the babies. I have my fingers crossed that he will like them (or at least tolerate them at first, then like them).
I'll leave you with one more video, of morning play-time!
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