Originally posted by aki
What exactly is cerebellar hypoplasia? Is it something to do with balance (you mentioned it in your thread)? Eli is very beautiful. I love his coloring!
It is caused by the mother cat contracting panleukopenia while pregnant. If the cat survives the virus, her developing kittens are often affected to varying degrees with brain damage. It affects the portion of the brain (the cerebellum) which is responsible for balance. Eli's littermates were all CH to a degree, but poor Eli was hit the hardest. It can be avoided if people were more responsible about vaccinating their pets ( FVRCP, altering, and not abandoning them) but I don't see it happening too soon. *sigh*