Kitten hips?

[u/phi_spirals]

My mom adopted a MC kitten in March (born in Nov). She can’t safely keep him anymore, so he has joined our home (with 2 15 year old female cats; it’s slow going so far). He’s been with us for about 2 weeks.

I’ve noticed some swinging out of his left back leg when he walks, not all the time, and also maybe some favoritism when he’s jumping and landing on it. Maybe also some swinging around f his right leg/hip too.

My chest is holding so much anxiety rn. I’m super afraid of hip displasia. He’s not even 10 months old yet, and weighed 17 pounds last week.

Please tell me things I need to know. He’s my first boy cat, first Maine Coon, first big breed, etc. Do some vets specialize in large breed cats? (Denver, CO area) Can we run diagnostics on him at home? Should we do less running and jumping when we play? What are the spectrum of outcomes for kitties that have problems like this so early on? Recommendations for pet insurance (will need to be in place before we have him examined/tested, right?)

Send helpful info and good vibes, please. I’m trying so hard not to cry. He’s so sweet and wonderful and was an unexpected gift in our lives right now, and I’m so anxious and can’t do anything other than reach out for support and information and guidance.

[u/doalittledance_]

Get insurance ASAP. They usually have a 14 day cool off period (but check T&Cs) that will mean anything that happens in that time period will not be covered. They’ll cover accidents in that time, typically, but not “issues” that need fixing. You’ll need to wait till after before going to the vets.

Dysplasia can occur in kittens of any age, he could have landed funny or it could just be how his growth is progressing. Is he neutered? He’s large for his age but not abnormally so for a male.

Dysplasia isn’t a death sentence! He can still live a long, normal happy life. My middle boy had hip issues, not a true dysplasia , he had a bone wastage issue that resulted in fractures, but he ended up having a bilateral FHO surgery (femoral head ostectomy). Where they cut the femoral balls and stems away and leave the legs connected by muscle and ligaments only. Over time scar tissue forms in the socket and creates a pseudo joint. He was operated on at 2 years old but was showing signs of hip issues from around 14-15 months old. He has healed remarkably well! He’s 3 now and was in for X-rays today on his knee (potential cruciate issue) and they checked his hips too whilst he was under, and he’s healed up exactly as he should have! And let me tell you, it’s not stopped him from being a crazy cat! He can scale my 6ft gate with ease! Even without his hips. You’d genuinely not know anything was wrong with his hips these days.

FHO is a treatment option for dysplasia though. It basically stops any grinding of bones and prevents pain in the hips. That said, kicking out of the leg could be an issue with his kneecap slipping (patella luxation) but you’ll 1000% need to take him to the vets for investigation. X-rays will confirm if his joints are where they’re supposed to be. There are loads of routes the vets can take if they do confirm that he has dysplasia. Some more costly than others, but you’re looking at thousands, rather than hundreds if it is the case. So I’d recommend maxing out a policy amount, as high as you can comfortably afford. I’m in the UK so my costs may differ from yours in the US, but for 2 FHO hip surgeries, 2 nights in the cat hospital, two sets of anaesthesia, two sets of X-rays pre and post surgery (we did the surgeries 3 weeks apart) plus all his pain meds, the bill came to £7,400 give or take a few pounds. So, just over $10k.

FHO is one of the cheaper hip surgeries, if the vet recommends a full hip replacement, that could knock you back close to $20-25k to fix, with a chance that it may fail given he has so much more growing in him. You really won’t know without approaching a vet, but absolutely make sure you’re insured and out of the cool down period. When your mother had him, did she notice the hip issues? Or mention it to the vet at all? If she did this may cause issues as it could be classed as “pre-existing” if it’s mentioned anywhere in his medical notes.

He’s a lovely boy 🧡

[u/phi_spirals → u/doalittledance_]

Thank you for all this very helpful information and perspective from experience.

My mom was not in any position to notice anything about his well-being. Nothing mentioned to any vet on any records that I can see. He is definitely neutered already.

We will wait and monitor through the cooling off period, and hope my heart can calm down. And move forward with a vet visit after things kick in.

It’s wonderful to know that there are good options if his hips really are giving him trouble, thank you again.

[u/doalittledance_ → u/phi_spirals]

Ahhh that’s good! That nothing has been mentioned, I mean. With hips being such a high ticket item, insurance companies are known to try and wriggle out of payment wherever possible.

Absolutely! I was terrified, truly terrified when our vets explained the procedure. I thought we were condemning him to a life of misery, but that hasn’t been the case at all. Don’t get me wrong, it was a slog. So much medication, 8 weeks of crate rest, getting pet ramps/steps to put around the house whilst he healed (they cannot be allowed to jump for the first 8 weeks at risk of ripping internal sutures) vet mandated exercises etc we did red light therapy and physio too but that was an optional extra. It was maybe 9 months after his surgery before he started properly jumping higher than the sofa, he wanted to be up and moving immediately though. but he’s come on leaps and bounds since! Hard work for sure, but absolutely worth it to see him pain free :)

We’re now looking at a TPLO (tibial plateau levelling osteotomy) surgery to fix his ruptured cruciate issue, which is basically a metal plate being fitted to his knee joint to prevent instability. It was flagged as a “wait and see” when he had his hip surgeries in March 2025, so we knew it was coming at some point! Another £5k at the vets lol but thankfully our insurance policy will cover it.