Kitten with lack of coordination at 9 weeks

[Lizzie]

While I was at the shelter yesterday, I mentioned that I had been thinking of fostering. Half-an-hour after I got home, I got a call and agreed to foster four semi-feral kittens, now 9 weeks old. Someone else from the shelter has been working with them for a few weeks and they were spayed/neutered last Thursday. My concern is for the female, the runt of the litter who looks at least 2 weeks younger than the biggest male cat. (Although I knew that a litter could have several fathers, I didn't realize that a cat could go on being impregnated for a while after first becoming pregnant, and so the birth is led by the one who is ready and the others have to follow no matter how unready.)

Anyway, besides being very small, she has very poor coordination in her rear end. She does manage to run and she can jump a little onto her brothers, but she can barely manage to climb onto a shoe box and is constantly falling onto her bottom and then side. Her back legs are wide spread and very shaky. Is this normal? Is she simply very young and still recovering from her spay operation? She's having trouble with the dry food (Iams kitten food) that the volunteer left with me, she takes up several pieces and drops them before she crunches through one piece. Fortunately I had a few cans of kitten food which they've enjoyed. I'll get them something higher quality today.

I hope you can reassure me. It's scary looking after such young kittens which I haven't done for about 12 years.

[jazzcat]

I wonder if she might have what Laura's Babies Amy has? Sounds very similar. I can't remember what it is called but I'll do a search.

Edit: I found the link to Laura's post.
Amy's CH

[Lizzie]

I thought of that too but can one kitten in a litter get it and not the others? Also, wouldn't someone who has worked with kittens for decades have spotted this? When I commented on the female cat's size, she simply said they were all healthy.

[jazzcat]

I don't know anything about it but I do believe one kitten in the litter can suffer from it while the others are healthy. Maybe with her being so much younger things didn't develop fully in time. I wonder if the spay triggered things and that is why the previous foster thought she was healthy. I wish Laura was here to answer your questions.

Hopefully this is just a case of a slow recovery from being spayed. I personally haven't heard of it but I haven't been around a lot spayed kittens and I bet it's possible. Can you call the vet that spayed her and ask what they think?

[Lizzie]

I'll call the shelter later this morning to discuss with them. At least worrying about her is taking my mind, somewhat, off a long dental appointment this afternoon!

One of them pee'd on the carpet yesterday and that could have been her. I put it down to new home nerves but perhaps she is having trouble getting into the litter boxes, though they are the low kind. Is there a really low version that I can get, does anyone know?

[QueenScoopalot]

She does sound like she has cerebellar hypoplasia to me. Does she 'chicken peck' her food? I have a number of CH kitties here, and it's a birth defect that is caused by the mother cat contracting distemper (panleukopenia) while pregnant. It affects the cerebellum portion of the brain, which is responsible for balance. The way a cats uterus is set up is in 2 sections called "uterine horns". So some kittens can be affected by the virus in utero, while others are not. Sometimes entire litters of CH kitties are born, though it's more common for one or two to be born with CH. It does NOT get worse, and if anything the older she gets, the more she'll learn as to what she can, and cannot do. There is a group on Yahoo (chkittyclub) and often persons are looking to adopt these special kitties there. Here's a link to CH Kitty Club members stories (a few of mine are there)..read some & it may help you determine if this is what she has. Here's the link to the Yahoo group which is very active. You have to sign up to be a member, and I opt for digest form. Community email addresses:
Post message: [email protected]
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List owner: [email protected]

Shortcut URL to this page:
http://www.onelist.com/community/chkittyclub

[emily_the_spoiled]

If the sides of the litter box are too high for you I have used the cardboard 'box' with everything but the bottom inch or so cut off. I then line it with plastic and put the litter in. That way the kittens can get over the "edge" without any problems.

Can we see some pictures????

[Lizzie]

Can we see some pictures????

That's a little difficult at the moment since they are still semi-feral so play under a bamboo recliner a lot (I'll remove that later this week to increase their socialization). And you know how kittens move anyway - flash, flash, crash! I should learn how to use the movie function on my camera. I'll be sure to post some later this week. I'm still rather reeling from being taken up on my offer so rapidly.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Sounds familiar to what Inka has (and Ally) . Don't worry to much, with lots of love and exercise, your little girl will adjust to this world!! If her case is as mild as Inka's, no need to worry then!
Good luck

[catmandu]

Sadly that Kitten may be develpmentally challenged.
I hope that you can keep her, and with work she may be fairly normal.
You should write Queen Scoops a Lot, as she has a lot of experience with these Kittens.
Good Luck with those Babies.

[Lizzie]

Thank you for the online resources, Queen S., I'll check them out later this week when I'm not so frantically busy. The more I watch her, though it's only been 24 hours so far, the more I am convinced that she does have CH or something similar. She enjoys playing, and tonight had a wonderful time with some very light plastic balls which is easier on her than trying to gallop around with her brothers. I'll put some lined box lids in the corners of the room before I go to bed tonight since I think she is the one having litter box problems.

I came home to find the others in the climber, even the black male who is almost as small as she is, but the special girl was curled up on a corner of the blanket under the chair by herself. How glad I was that I'd splurged on a round, well padded and fleecy cat bed for her - though I really, really couldn't afford the $40. I put it at the base of the climber and hoped for the best. Half-an-hour later, I put my head round the door and she was curled up in it fast asleep.

I also bought them Royal Cannin feline baby diet which is tiny and much better for them than the Iams, and canned kitten food so that I can be sure she eats enough at every meal.

I've avoided calling the shelter. The kitten is healthy and eating well, and there is nothing they can do for her. Hopefully, they will let me keep her past the two weeks, not for me to adopt her but to build her up a bit. If I can find someone online, through Queen S's contacts, who wants her, then I can present that information to the shelter.

[Sevaede]

Thank you for doing such a wonderful thing for these kittens.

My heart breaks for the little girl. If I could afford to take in a special needs cat that would need lots of expenses and vet visits then I would but sadly I cannot. I wonder if there are any special needs babies that all you can really do for them is give TLC.

[critters]

I wonder if there are any special needs babies that all you can really do for them is give TLC.

CH babies, in my experience, seldom need much special equipment, vet visits, etc, except maybe with a more involved CH baby. Or you might try a tripod or a one-eyed kitty; I consider both disfigured rather than disabled. If you're interested, they're out there. It'd be GREAT to have more special critters families!!!

[emily_the_spoiled]

I have two "special needs" guys (one blind and one deaf). I have no additional expenses for either of them. The biggest problem is the deaf guy has no "volume control" so he has no idea how loud he can meow (especially at 4AM ) But they are both love bugs a nd I have no regrets about either one.

[Lizzie]

Her only special need at this time was for a lower litter box which I provided yesterday evening and she used right away. I also had to clean a corner of the room which she had used until then. I still need to look at the resources Queen S. sent me, but from what Laura has said, I think the only special thing she has to do for Amy is try make sure there is padding where she might fall.

It was sad to see her this morning, sitting at the base of the climber and looking up at her brothers who were at the open (screened) window for the first time. But she loves her new bed and I gave her a long cuddle; she was content.