Kittens with Cerebellar Hypoplasia

My fiance and I recently took in two kittens that were rescued by an angel who works with the shelter where I volunteer.  We are not sure of their exact age, but the vet estimates between 4-6 weeks.  The owner of the shelter soon realized that something was not quite right with these kittens - they were very wobbly and kept on falling over.  They were diagnosed with Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH) which is a neurological disorder that causes cats and kittens to wobble and fall around. 

"The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for the control of motion. When a puppy or kitten is born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, the condition is known as congenital cerebellar hypoplasia.  Improper development of the cerebellum may occur due to injury, poisoning or just from an accident in development in the uterus.  Affected animals have tremors and unusual jerky movements or may fall down when they try to move. The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten or puppy grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all dogs and cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities."

 

The small one in the front we have called Minnie (or Minnie Mouse because she is so small) and the big sister we have called Daisy (or Daisy Duck as her walk resembles the waddle of a duck.)  Daisy is able to walk quite normally with her legs splayed out to help her keep her balance.  She does fall down now and again but is able to right herself very quickly.

Minnie is far more affected by the CH than Daisy.  She cannot stay upright for long and falls down on her side quite often.  Her little head also bobs a lot and her little body will often have tremors.  I noticed that when Minnie tries to eat, she keeps pushing the food bowl away from her due to her little head that keeps bobbing up and down.  This is most likely why she is so much smaller and weaker than her sister - she never got to eat much right from the start.  To help her gain some weight and get proper nutrition, I hand feed her wet food fortified with a high-calorie vet supplement. 

I use a very flat bowl for the dry food and both Minnie and Daisy soon realized that if they lie down with their paws in the bowl, they are able to keep the bowl still and eat properly.  The water bowl is literally filled to the brim so that they do not have to lean over and into the bowl to drink.  Eating and drinking is a very messy affair as food and water tend to go everywhere!  Minnie has also realized that if she leans against something, she is able to support herself enough to walk anywhere she wants to.

Minnie is very dependent on Daisy and she will often reach out for her sister whilst they are sleeping.

These two kittens are not disabled or retarded - they are perfectly normal, playful, lovable kittens in every way except that they fall down a lot.  They love to wrestle with each other and the games can get quite rough sometimes.  At the moment they are in a play pen for their own safety, but when we let them out for some "yard time" they take over our flat, charging around like two little looney tunes!

I will continue to update the blog with more photos and stories on these two unique kittens as they grow and develop.