Tibby and Fibby the kittens with deformed legs
The Pan Handle Animal Shelter in Sandpoint, Idaho, called us about two kittens with deformed legs. They were part of a litter turned into the shelter, but they were the only kittens affected. They seemed to be missing bones in their rear legs.
The shelter had placed these two with a foster mom, Nicki D., who emailed us with some background on them. In her message she wrote, "So basically, these guys are hardly any different than taking care of a normal cat. Except that they are disfigured, and people start talking euthanasia and removal of limbs around them." (Nicki's emphasis.)
We named them Tibby and Fibby, a suggestion by one of our blog readers. In a blog comment, Chris K. wrote that the names were "Just a way to try and give back what they don't have, at least in name and spirit!" We liked the idea and the names seemed to fit them!
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Once they were transported to Montana by some wonderful volunteers, our vets X-rayed the two babies and found something truly odd – the kittens have no fibulas at all, and their tibias (the shin bone) are twisted like a small pretzel. What's more, the tibias don't connect to the femurs, or thigh bones, so their lower legs kind of flop. Our internal medicine specialist at the clinic, Dr. Britt Culver, has never seen anything like this before, nor have any of our other vets. You can see the X-rays here.
But, like all of our animals, Tibby and Fibby don't let their disability slow them down one bit.They love to explore, play with toys, and purr if we walk into the room. These two adorable characters have no idea they're not "normal!"
November 2007
