My cat has Rickets, but runs fine. Can a healthy cat have it?

I think perhaps you're asking about Rickets Disease. Rickets is a disease of young, growing animals that causes soft and deformed bones. It is commonly caused by insufficient phosphorus or vitamin D in the diet. More rarely, calcium deficiencies are to blame. As in most diets causing defective bone formation, the cause is typically an imbalance in the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Animals fed all-meat diets are commonly affected. It's very important to get him on a well balanced diet - I recommend Hills, Royal Canin, or Purina (although I don't know if they are available in Turkey) - to try to correct the issue. Prognosis is generally good, after an appropriate diet is started, unless he's started to have broken bones or his growth plates are affected. I hope that helps!

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Lio. Most kittens with this condition do have trouble walking and become weak after extended play. The condition can, however, be treated in most cases that haven't experienced broken bones by switching to a healthy balanced diet and exposure to sunlight. You can read more about this condition at https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/bone,-joint,-and-muscle-disorders-of-cats/disorders-associated-with-calcium,-phosphorus,-and-vitamin-d-in-cats . It is possible this kitten was mildly affected and is improving with proper diet.

The outlook for treating rickets is good if there are no broken bones or irreversible damage to the bone. The primary treatment is to correct the diet, and there should be no need for lifelong medication. Best of luck.

Any commercial cat food should have the appropriate amount of calcium and calcium:phosphorous ratio to result in remineralization of the bone. This will not correct any limb deformity or fractures but should prevent these problems in the future. Veterinarians often recommend restricting activity to give the bones time to mineralize, but this often happens quickly ( within a month or so).

Yes, it can be normal. As long as she is having no problems walking, jumping, etc I would not worry about it. If she is having issues then you need to take her to the vet for an exam and x-rays of the hips/hind legs. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

High calcium is not very commonly found in cats on well-balanced cat foods. Potential causes for hypercalcemia in cats include lab error or lipemic blood sample, cancer, kidney failure, bone disease, hyperthyroidism, toxic exposure, supplements, among a few others. I would recommend that you follow-up with your vet about these possible concerns. The vet may recommend additional testing, including an ionized Calcium level, which more accurately evaluates the calcium in the body than total calcium on most in-house blood panels.

Some cats can have a smaller frame than an average size cat and still be completely healthy. Other causes of being smaller than other cats could include congenital malformations, decreased nutrition, intestinal parasites, or other medical illness. Without a medical examination, we won't be able to tell you whether you should be worried or not. When you get the availability, I would have her looked at by a vet.