Cerebellar hypoplasia (video of Amy)

[Lizzie]

I'm in tears also, especially at Amy's determination to get to each piece of food. I don't think I would ever learn to accept the way she copes; I would have to walk away and not watch.

I would put the odds of someone not taking such a kitten back to the pet shop at more like 999,999 to one, considering the number of people who can't even cope with a one-eyed or three-legged cat. When I visited the shelter a few weeks ago, I told them that I was ready for more special needs cats (I'd adoped three FIV+ cats a few weeks before) and they showed me one called "Wobbles". I wanted to be capable of adopting that lovely cat, but I knew that I wasn't. I can deal with behavior problems, socializing ferals, extreme medical problems, but I know I can't deal with a disabled cat that I can't help.

So, Laura, you have to be a very special person in order to nuture such a special needs cat - though I bet you think all the specialness is on her part.

Wobbles needed a low sided litter box, does Amy? That would mean having low-sided litter boxes for all since the other cats are bound, from sheer cat-contrariness, to use the special one. Does she fall down steps or stairs?

[Laura's Babies]

Lizzie, we don't have stairs here and she has never even see a set of stairs but those who do have them with CH kitties have to make sure they are not able to even get close to them.

Until this last year, Amy used a regular litter box, then I got her a puppy litter box and put it inside a kennel that the box would fit into and that worked out great. A neighbor gave me a corner box that has TONS of room in it and has a entrance only about a inch off the floor and that has worked out better than the puppy box in the kennel. It is large enough that she can lay down to do her business in should she fall over, which she does a LOT. Only once in awhile does she fall while trying to get in it and not able to get up in time and that is why the puppy pads are spread all around the outside of that box. I have regular litter boxes for the rest of the gang and on her good days, she'll go into those and I can't keep them out of hers..

Could you just think about fostering Wobbles to get her out of the shelter enviroment? You will be amazed at how HIGH the highs are when they accomplish an impossiable feat that you just new would never happen. Amy NEVER gives up! She has taught me to set my goals and do NOT give up, to keep trying until I accomplish that goal. The lessons I have learned for her are priceless! CH is a birth defect, not a disease that will kill them.

If her eating the food she dropped on the floor touched you, check this thread out!
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...67#post1330567

[catmandu]

Scrappy 2, Pouncierge and Miquelito are watching Amy and MEEEEEWWWWING
Go Amy Go!!!
Amys such a Brave Little Cat, and we have fallen in love with Her.
GO AMY GO!!!!!!!

[catfamily]

Oh Laura,Bigtime LES here.Thank God you got her instead of someone else.Since petstores are jerks and don't let you return an animal,another person would of dumped her in the woods or just dropped her off somewhere.Thank God her angel sent you there for her.
I love your video.Now I need to learn to do that
I wish Amy more wonderful years w/you.

[Lizzie]

Could you just think about fostering Wobbles to get her out of the shelter enviroment? You will be amazed at how HIGH the highs are when they accomplish an impossiable feat that you just new would never happen. Amy NEVER gives up! She has taught me to set my goals and do NOT give up, to keep trying until I accomplish that goal. The lessons I have learned for her are priceless! CH is a birth defect, not a disease that will kill them.

If her eating the food she dropped on the floor touched you, check this thread out!
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...67#post1330567

Laura - I think I've just filled up my house to the point where I can't do anymore. I added the three FIV+ guys (Blackberry, Dallas & Thumper) to my 20-year old Ginger and teenage Nougat about 3 weeks ago. Then a nearly socialized feral (Eeyore - yuck!) a week ago along with a barely socialized feral (Baby Love - another yuck!) that will be in isolation for some months. And later this week I will pick up Raven, another FIV+ cat (who was Blackberry's friend) and Belle, another somewhat socialized feral. And, I do want to take Dude (also, FIV+) who was Dallas' friend. Those are/will be the upstairs cats and, although they share the main living space and three bedrooms, I'm concerned about giving them enough space for quality life.

Having said that, I turn from my computer and see four cats all together on the sofa! But, I do know that Nougat needs to get away from the others at times, and I think Baby Love (another Siamese) won't be a cat pile cat either. Don't you think that a cat like Wobbles would be overwhelmed? The guys can be very rambunctious.

[Laura's Babies]

Sounds like your Inn is loaded there. I have 3 others with Amy in my small house. She mostly stays off to herself, not being able to romp and play with them, she just sits on the sidelines and watches most of the time. Now and then, she will join in briefly.

I was just thinking Wobble would not have the stress of so many at the shelter but sounds like you got almost that many at your house too! Stress is a factor in how they do so maybe she is comfortable there and use to it and it not stress her as bad as a move would.

You are to be commended for taking in the ones you have so let me thank you for taking in the ones you have that are less than perfect in some peoples book. Keep up the good "work(?)"!

[Lizzie]

The shelter, Purrfect Pals, is very good and I know Wobbles is receiving the best care he can in the circumstances. He does have to be in a large cage (very airy with a solid floor and close to huge windows) most of the time but is allowed out when possible. The shelter doesn't specialize in CH cats the way The Hermitage does, they don't have room since they specialize in FIV+, FLV+ and ferals. They have so many socialization volunteers that when I volunteered recently they said they didn't need me. If only I had a huge house, something I know many on PT wish they had.

How old is Amy now? I'm sure you have posted this before, but I can't remember.

[Laura's Babies]

Amy will be 4 in August. I dread her approaching another birthday since each one brings a further and worse decline in her abilities.

[CultureJunky]

Thank you so much for posting that of Amy, she is a beautiful and spirited girl with so much determination. I have heard of CH but never seen a cat with this condition before. I am so glad she has somebody who cares for her the way you do, she is very lucky.
Is she on medication perminantly and is she in any kind of pain?

She is wonderful and and inspiration

[sirrahbed]

I had not seen a CH kitty before and so I am glad to have been able to see Amy in action. I had no idea that the wobble was as severe as it is. CCL's Lucky may have a milder case but I don't think his is very noticeable.

I watched Amy when I got up an hour or so again and yes it made me have LES because it startled me. I keep thinking about her and now came back to post. I watch the video over and over and now she makes me

Like the others have said - I am thankful that she came to your house. I know you are one terrific meowmie to all of your babies.

I can see how determined that Amy is to go after her food - and she does not know anything is wrong or different with her right? She has all the perks of being a PT kitty

Amy is one pretty girl - nice shiny coat. I will enjoy seeing "the look" if you are able to capture it for us. Thank you for posting, Laura!!

[Laura's Babies]

I am glad I am the one that got her too! Like I told the vet when I took her for that very first visit, when I picked her up in that store, it was for a lifelong committment and there was no turning back, no matter what! I thank GOD it was me that got her for more reasons that you know.. It is the whole "Dance" that came with her and I wouldn't have missed it for the world, even as emotional as it is at times. It is an experience that I wouldn't have wanted to miss.

CJ & Sirrahbed, there is no medicine for this condition, no meds, no surgery, no physical therapy... nothing. I think she knows she is "different" but it don't bother her. The only pain she has is from the falls when she looses her balance and sometimes, even when walking on the floor, she falls hard. Everyone thinks she is in pain but she isn't. You can manulipulate her legs and hips, mash on them, pull them, and she don't care or try to fight you but in doing that, it makes them weaker for a few days so I forbid the vets to do that anymore. (That is what they want to do the first time a new one sees her for some reason)

I am glad this has helped some of you understand what CH does to them. That was part of the purpose in showing her in this video.

Here is a old video I got with my old camera (so the quality is bad) to show you the decline of her CH over the several years since this video was shot.

[mumpkees]

Laura:

The video was great! It looks like you really did help a lot of members learn what a CH kitty is. I'm not a regular poster, but am a long time mom of many s/needs babies with a variety of s/needs. We also are moms currently to five CH babies, having lost our MaxMan who had severe CH (unable to sit stand or walk on his own) and a laundry list of other disabilities, last October. Our CH babies range from moderately severe to mild CH, but all have several other disabilities besides the CH (blindess, deafness, epilepsy, food allergies).

Before I talk to you about Amy, I wanted to clarify some of what you posted from Wikipedia. Actually CH occurs when a mother cat during her pregnancy comes in contact with a virus called panleukopenia or cat distemper or several other names the virus is known by. It can also happen when the mother is vaccinated for panleuk and the vet/caregiver does not know she is pregnant. The virus attacks the cerebellum - the portion of the brain that controls balance and other fine motor skills. It also attacks other rapidly replicating cells - usually the optic cells and hence the reason that many CH cats have vision issues also. Depending upon when in the pregnancy the mother contacts (or is vaccinated) panleuk exposed kittens can be reabsorbed, aborted prematurely, still born or born with CH to varying degrees or completely normal. Usually it is only a single kitten in a litter, but entire litters have been born before all w/ CH.

While sometimes it is obvious at birth, as in the case of MaxMan who had it not been for his other mother would not have survived because he could not propel himself to his mother and once there wasn't even able to hang on to her nipple. Normally it is not until the kittens begin to right themselves and try to walk that you realize "something isn't quite right". The litter mates are scampering and wrestling and toppling, but getting right up. The CH baby is still trying to get his legs under him and once up, immediately topples, but as many have said - the sheer determination is already apparent. CH babies do not give up!

True CH never gets worse - it never gets better either, but as kittens get older up until about two years of age, they learn to compensate and seem 'better'. After about age two - what you see is what they will be able to do the rest of their lives. The one time that older cats with CH actually do seem to get worse is when they have had a weight gain. We took two brothers who had been surviving in a feral colony for two years but because of food competition from normals and cold weather, were severely underweight. They are both moderately severe in that they walk two steps and topple, walk and topple. Once they got up to normal weight, neither was able to get up long enough to take steps, they lost their climbing ability also - but again determination kept them trying and now they are back to where they were when we first got them.

CH symptoms range from mild - they walk like little drunken sailors or will walk stiff legged little 'goose steps' to severe - barely able to walk or not walk at all. Some CH kitties 'circle', some shake like those souped up cars, some have mild to severe head intention tremors (head bobbing) which is exagerated when they get excited. Some can walk a few steps and fall, get right back up and go on. Others fall and then 'freeze' for a few seconds before they can right themselves. Others cannot sit, stand or walk on their own - even with PT. None of these babies are in pain and all with a loving caregiver can and do live wonderfully happy lives - MaxMan had severe CH and his laundry list of other disabilities - he was the happiest spoiled kitty that ever lived.

Feline herpes (is a virus not a bacterial infection) does not cause CH, nor will malnutrition, poisoning, injury or accidents. CH is only caused by pan leuk virus. These other things can mimic some of the CH symptoms and as such a vet consult should be done to address and help these issues. CH is not a 'disease' - it is a condition caused by a virus and as such is not contageous to other cats, your dog, guinea pig, birds, the kids or you. The cat will have CH all its life, but will not die from CH. There are many CH cats who are celebrating birthdays in their teens.

However, dogs who are born with cerebellar hypoplasia normally do get worse as they age and ultimately do die from the condition. The CH that dogs contact is not caused by the same virus as that of the cats.

Now as to Amy - I viewed both videos and watching them, I cannot see the progression of getting worse that you mention. I do see that she has gained weight from one video to the next and as I said above this will cause the condition to "worsen" to us until they again learn to compensate by getting their balance etc. There are other things that do mimic CH and if Amy truly is getting worse, then you will want to talk to your vet about possible tests to run because while she may have Ch she could have something else going on - an infection, tumor, toxo, etc. If you would like, contact me via PM to exchange email addys and we can discuss further.

Sorry group for this being so long, but since Laura was so gracious to share the video of her baby and a bit of CH information, I wanted to chime in with the corrected facts. As with all special needs babies, with a loving caregiver and a few MINOR adjustments, CH babies can be a wonderful addition to a family. They are fiercely independent, incredibly determined little guys who once you have loved one, you will wonder how you could have lived without one (or five LOL) as a member of your family.
/mari

[lvpets2002]

Oh Dear Amy you are a Gift to your meowmomie.. I wish I could just hold you sweet adorable baby.. Thank you meowmomie for taken & keeping this baby in your life..

[kuhio98]

Thanks for posting this, Laura. I had never seen a CH kitty in action before. Major LES. After seeing it, I truly marvel at the photos of Amy climbing to the top of the cat tree! That girl is very determined!

[caffeitina]

Amy is adorable! And it looks like she doesn't let the CH slow her down at all. She's a special kitty and you should be proud