Dem Bones Dem Bones

Gizmo is a cheeky and boisterous 1½ year old cat.

When Gizmo was a kitten he and his littermates were fed a diet of kitten food and mince. Between the kittens and all the food gone it was unknown that Gizmo was selectively eating only the mince whilst the littermate was eating all the kitten food !

As Gizmo grew he was getting progressively lame with very short steps and associated pain . He was presented for examination at Rappaw vets and had blood tests and x-rays. The results of his examination and tests revealed Gizmo bones were very thin and had lost thier density, this was causing the bones to have lots of little micro fractures, a fractured sternum bone and was becoming increasingly painful .

On an x-ray we expect to see bones that are thick and white. Gizmo's x-ray showed bones that looked dark and thin.

The condition of the bones being brittle in this way is known as “Secondary Nutritional Hyperparathyroidism .

If this condition is not identified or treated then multiple bones will fracture completely and will be unable to be fixed so in most cases euthanasia is required .

This condition has occurred because of Gizmos preference to a solely mince diet. In a growing kitten this was causing an imbalance of low calcium and high phosphorous levels .This in turn caused a lack of calcium in the bones via a mechanism involving the parathyroid glands and so the bones did not develop properly and became very brittle .

To treat this condition Gizmo was fed a premium kitten food diet only and strictly rested for 4 weeks with some pain relief medication. With the correct nutrition and rest the bones improved and became stronger with all the micro-fractures healing. Repeat x-rays taken 4 weeks and then 4 months later and showed that all the bones had healed and were back to normal,This is shown on x-rays with the bones being much whiter as they are now denser and thicker than previously .

Gizmo is now a really boisterous and confident cat . He ensures he keeps his dedicated owners fully on their toes and has an amazing playground .

BEFORE