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
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