While most literature suggests that swimmer syndrome is more common in puppies, this is simply not true. Swimmer Syndrome is the name given to a condition in young kittens (and puppies) characterized by the animal's failure to stand or crawl normally due to an inability to support its body weight on its legs. It is much more common in puppies. FCKS is usually, but not always, fatal. Speedo, who was born with Swimmer syndrome, requires multiple different types of physical therapy daily. Now you should have a kitten whose legs and feet are in the position they should naturally be in. For more information on Flat Chested Kitten Syndrome, please see this very useful article on Pawpeds. What is the cause of "swimmer" kitten syndrome? SWIMMER PUP SYNDROME. The result is that the legs hang limp behind or to the side of the kitten. Take your piece of tape and wrap it immediately onto the kitten’s fur around the kitten’s thigh bone, also called the femur, or hock. Its causes are not fully understood but it is thought to be a mechanical issue. Do it as early as you can, but be aware that the smaller the kitten the more fiddly it is to bandage their legs, and the more distressed mum may become. The legs have the appearance of a frog, or breast stroke swimmer, which is where the other names have come from. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. It can have many underlying causes, many of which lead to rapidly declining health, or even death, without immediate intervention. Oct 1, 2014 - This is Speedo, our new, loving and adorable foster kitten from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (). The fabric tape is stretchy, which helps with this. There is no diagnostic test for swimmer syndrome; it is diagnosed by visual observation and kittens should begin treatment as early as possible. - Answered by a verified Cat Vet. Remove and replace one to two times a day for physical therapy exercises. In a very small minority of kittens, the ligaments appear not to tighten up. Take some stretch fabric strapping/plaster tape (it is essentially a roll of sticky plaster that looks like a roll of sellotape - the sort of thing you use to hold a bandage on, you can get it in Boots or any chemist). A flattening of the thorax and abdomen, top to bottom, becomes evident about a week after birth from some unknown cause. Swimmer syndrome is seen occasionally in new-born puppies and kittens, where instead of their legs being positioned under the body, the back legs and sometimes the front legs are flattened and ‘splayed’ to the side. This article is not a substitute for medical advice. Its causes are not fully understood but it is thought to be a mechanical issue. It is called ‘swimmer’ because the kittens get around by using a swimming motion with their legs to scuff around instead of standing up properly. On the right, a 3 week old kitten with standard leg position. He was much younger (about 2–3 weeks) but the methods may still work. You’ll find that even one week of leg taping/wrapping and physical therapy can make all the difference, and can give the kitten the gift of a lifetime of mobility. Kittens may also be impacted by an unbalanced diet of the mother cat, which can lead to musculoskeletal issues and deficient ligaments for her young. All kittens, and human babies, are born with loose ligaments, and these ligaments tighten up in the days and weeks after birth. Rescuers should not assume that a kitten has swimmer syndrome if she is under 3 weeks of age, as newborn kittens may appear to have splayed limbs simply due to age. Any movements to try to walk look like the animal is swimming. However, lung collapse can be a secondary symptom caused by bony deformity affecting the thorax such as pectus excavatum.
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