3wk old Kitten having problems balancing

[Aimee]

My friend who I babysit for has 3 kittens. There cat had kitties. She originally had 4 but one died. One of the kittens has problems walking. She said it was developing slower than the other ones also. It took the kitten a week longer to open it's eyes. It's not a runt though. When it tries to walk it will fall over to one side or it will fall forward(it's but will go into the air). It doesn't try walking that often. Usually only if it want's to get closer to it's mother or sisters. I was wondering if anyone maybe knows what going on with the little guy.

Thanks for any help,
Aimee

[davet]

just a guess but i suspect a congenital proble of which you have no controll but i would definitly get it looked at...mites can cause this but the kitten is a little too young for this...it might help to also massage the legs and the spinal column very gently to force excercise....but get it looked at ASAP

[Traci]

The sooner your kitten is seen by your vet, the sooner treatment can be applied to hopefully slow/halt the progression. This could be anything from what Davet describes as congenital to feline infectious disease (distemper, FELV, FIV, and other immunological problems, only your vet can tell you)

[Aimee]

It's not my kitten.
She said she will try massaging him,and see if that helps. I don't think it is a disease. Him and the other kitties all look perfectly healthy besides his walking problem(this was my first time seeing them). The mother hasn't been outside since she had kittens because they don't want her pregnant again.

Thanks for your advice,
Aimee

[jason]

She said she will try massaging him,and see if that helps. I don't think it is a disease.

can be dangerous to play the guessing game when such an obvious indication of potential problem is as noticable as you have described.

if the situation has or does continue for more than a week or so then getting that cat seen by a vet should be done in haste.

[Traci]

Jason is right, massaging and playing roulette over a condition yet undiagnosed is dangerous. You could actually cause more harm than good.

FELV/FIV and other immunological problems can indeed cause conditions such as you describe. Distemper can also cause a condition known as cerebellar hypoplasia, which can cause the exact same signs you noted: Poor gait, unable to walk, favoring one side, circling, forward motion and unable to eat properly, etc. Any of these infectious diseases can be passed through the placenta before birth, and if they don't have enough maternal antibodies from the mother, each of them can be susceptible. You must know that conditions such as feline distemper can be fatal if not detected and treated properly right away. Since one of the kittens died, you don't want to put the others at risk.

Get this kitten to a vet ASAP, test for distemper, the vet is the only one who can tell you (your friend) to what degree of seriousness this might be. It is NOT normal for your kitten to be unable to walk, not normal at all.