I have a kitten that we rescued , he is handicapped. He has no center of balance, weak and needs to be taught how to walk again ,if possible. I need a wheeled sling. Wood or metal ,we do have a welder. It must be light and sturdy. He is 8 or 9 months old but, the size of a 2 month old.
He has no real balance or muscles strength. he may end up never being able to walk on his own without it. so it needs to be fairly comfortable and adjustable in height for therapy and growth, if he grows.
Do any of you have design suggesstions? I have a temporary one made up but, its a bit heavy and cumbersome, right now I am just using it to strengthen his muscles by getting him to stand, not walk.
Thank you, yea, we bought him the joint health powder there, plus bloodthickener, plus vitamins, If you have cats then you probably know that when you put a cloth on a certain part of their back they lose balance. They can’t walk. This is his major problem. He used to be able to run and play until about 2 and 1/2 months old then he started losing his balance and stopped growing. We actually thought the little guy would have died. but, he continues to fight for life. Just recently through lack of use he has lost most muscle strength. He eats well but, no muscle, thin skinned and has digestive problems. He needs to quite laying down. I have so many things going on I can’t be with him all the time, right now he is here beside me. He needs to get on his feet steady for a couple of hours each day. Doctors suggest euthanasia. We suggested they go to hell. He tries, we try.
We really need to get him steady on his feet and build him up if possible… LOL We tried water therapy with a sling but, he used it as a lounge and is quite content to relax in the tub, like a swimmer at the beach on a floating lounge. He likes water
I had a cat that loved the water so much that when he heard bath water running he would jump in with me. He made it difficult for me to have a private bath with my boyfriend at that time. Oh well, that cat is gone now. Someone shot him because he killed a bird…
But there are also stints that some vets put on animals but they have not been approved yet for full time use… It is rather sad when I see an animal come into my office and I really can’t help that animal because of some law that prevents from using a method that would heal that animal. For me, putting an animal down is the last thing that I want to do. If I can help the animal then I should be allowed to help it without fear of being locked up in jail!
Your description of his problems suggest more than a lack of balance. If he was an active newborn and then suddenly started having problems, it suggests that it is something more than a lack of balance. Best to let him go. Take as good care of him as you can, but let him go his way.
No Tent, as long as that boy fights for life we have to. He is inbred, he has problems but, I am hoping once he is out of growth stages he will stabilize and real progress can be made for him. He eats well and drinks well, a little problem urinating but, not bad. We have antibiotics for him in case of infections. Nope we don’t give up when something or someone wants to live, we must help the best we can, we know he may die but. we don’t have to encourage it. He is not in pain, he is just frustrated more than anything.
Night Opera, Stints? Can you describe please? Our vets said nothing about stints. Our vets want to put him down, they could try to rehab him but, the cost would be prohibitive for us and there are no guarantees. We have 36 other feline kids and 14 canine kids to take care of too. Cost is an issue.
If we can create or make something that might simulate these stints that might be better than a walker/sling
Kriswest,
Stints are used in extreme matters and are more life altering. It reguires massive amounts of labor the cost is horrible and it usually is not recommended and vets are told to not mention them. However, homemade stints serve the very purpose of walking aids but they are less bulky. I wouldn’t be able to describe it well but I’m sure that if you keep up with your own walking sling he will do better. Also stints are more painful to put on for both the cat and you. Stints are often used on very old animals that don’t have long to live.
By the way: that is a lot of animals to keep up with. In fact that is more animals than what my office could hold. Keep working at your own walking aids. Sorry that my thoughts are a bit jumbled, I got through with a cranky older man and I am kind of flustered with him.
Yea , its a lot of kids , but, they are all well trained and mostly behaved. Sort of like having a house full of decent 3 and 4 year old kids. Now if I can train my husband and son so well
We do have a vet that works well with us and provides medicine as needed so that we don’t have to haul a bunch in at a time, if we have health problems, huge help. She has everyone on file and we go by that. Oh and we do live in the country on 10 acres surrounded by woods, Lots of space. Not in a city if that is what you feared.
I tried googling for stints just to get a look at them no soap. I guess we will just have to stream line a walker for when he is strong enough to start trying to walk, By the way it was flea spray that set him backwards so bad. He was improving then 2 weeks ago I used a small amount of frontline and he became weak as a newborn overnight. I used far less then reccommended. I should have listened to my guts. Today was a milestone he used his front feet and grabbed my hand as I picked him up, he was able to eat some food on his own and he purred loud. So there is some slight improvement. Some hope. Thanks.
Frontline really sucks. The best (in my very lowly and humble opinion) is Advantix. Not sure on the spelling. Maybe those things aren’t called stints… Not really sure, and I can never seem to understand my boss. Which really isn’t a good thing especially when one works in a vets office. Oh well keep up the work with the little cutie. He will get better.
I’m wasn’t worried about the city limits or anything like that, I was more concerned about the smell… See you around.
