Cerebellar Hypoplasia, now we know!

Mommy realized early in my life, and I am only 2, how different I am than my brothers and mommies past cats from kittenhood. She began noticing it more after my first shots but then I seemed to get back on track for awhile. Still the clumsiness exists, I almost fall just jumping on a windowsill! I use to have fun playing with Ty but now that he has grown stronger and larger, he sometimes scares me so mom has been finding me sleeping in the large cage where Ty still goes in to eat. She was making room in the barn to store the cage again but now that she found me using it, she is not sure how to handle this change. I sleep all night with Grammom and for awhile it's like being the only cat, I like that feeling. I do love Tinker, Setzer and Cherokee the most because they are so loving to me. Toy leaves me alone so that is good but Ty wants to rough house, he doesn't understand my disability. Actually, the Vet I use to see just said I will catch up to my brothers in time but mom could see that it wouldn't happen. She was looking at cat to adopt on Catster and liked an orange kitty named DUDE who is living in NYC. That's how she came upon the answers she had been needing. He has Cerebeller Hypoplastia and has a video on youtube...then mom found other's that put video's on youtube showing this disability in their cats too. Now that there was a name for this problem I have she could research further on the net. ...........
"CH cats are sometimes born to females who have suffered Feline Infectious Enteritis (FIE), Feline Panleukopaenia, Feline Distemper) during pregnancy. It is not known to be caused by a pregnant cat receiving a Enteritis vaccination and is usually only seen in kittens born to feral, stray or unvaccinated cats."
My mom was a feral cat and was rescued shortly before my two sisters and I were born.
"Affected kittens may not grow as large as unaffected kittens or they may have a slower development. The virus affects the cerebellum area of the brain, an area involved in fine motor control. Typical symptoms are poor co-ordination, gait abnormalities and perception. Affected cats are wobbly and unco-ordinated and have characteristic head tremors which are evident when they try to focus on something like a bird. They may even have sight problems but it is difficult to assess their sight due to their strange posture and gait. It often looks as though their body goes the opposite of what they are telling it to do, or one part goes in one direction while the other tried to head off elsewhere! They adapt to these challenges but will always be clumsy and may be nervous or unsure of themselves in new situations. Barring any accidents caused by their unco-ordination, their life expectancy doesn't seem to be affected and given a safe environment, they live as long as unaffected cats and seem little troubled by their condition. It is not advisable to give a (CH) cat free access to outdoors as their mobility problems, perception problems and possible sight problems makes things doubly hazardous! For more information....http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiEUECIwTTU
http://www.catster.com/cats/815635

Please show Dude some love! Send him some gifts and make his day!!!!Wuv, Tang

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