Kittens with Cerebellar Hypoplasia - part two

In February 2010, Ian and I took in two kittens that were diagnosed with Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH). This condition affects their motor skills and makes their movements very uncoordinated.  This was Daisy and Minnie when they first came to us, two tiny undernourished and very shy kittens.

At first I hand fed them to ensure that they got the nutrition they needed to become stronger.  Daisy was soon able to eat on her own and little Minnie realized that if she lay down with her paws in the food bowl, she could eat on her own.

Things went well until April when their tummies started to give trouble. They were not growing or putting on weight, and after trying several different diets, we took them our vet.  After spending almost half an hour with the kittens, the doc gave them strong antibiotics and put them on a specialized prescription diet.

Within a week we noticed that their coats were getting softer and shinier and that they were both gaining weight.  They were also playing a lot more.  The problem seems to be sorted now although we have to keep them on special food as their tummies just seem to be very sensitive.  (The equivalent of a human having irritable bowel syndrome.)

After the initial introduction and integration period our resident empress Amy accepted the twins as though they were her own sisters.  These days, they are inseparable and we will often find Amy and Daisy fast asleep next to each other.  Amy now regularly grooms the twins, which is great as they are not able to do a very good job themselves.  Daisy tries to copy everything that Amy does and most of the times she succeeds. Other times we have to pick her up from the floor where she landed in a very unladylike manner.

 
Minnie pretty much does her own thing and her favorite sleeping spot is on the couch under the duvet.  We occasionally get the use of the duvet when we are watching television in the evenings.

Don't think because Minnie is the smallest she is also an angel.  A couple of times we have found her busy with something naughty with her sister watching from a distance.  Minnie was the first one to learn how to escape from the play pen and it took Daisy a while to figure it out. Now every morning (yes, even on weekends) Minnie escapes from the pen at 05:30 and comes waddling and squeaking into the bedroom for a cuddle on the bed before we get up.

I think there is something to be learned from Minnie.  Even though she often falls over and cannot really keep up with her sister and Amy, she does not give up and it does not stop her from trying to climb into cupboards or chasing toy mice.  If she falls down, she just gets right up and keeps going until she has reached her goal. 

Whether we adopted them or they adopted us, they are now a part of our lives and even though it has been only 4 months, we cannot imagine life without them.