‘Wobbly kitty syndrome': Cerebellar hypoplasia

Iota has ‘Wobbly kitty syndrome': Cerebellar hypoplasia

This is cutie is Iota. Iota was born with a condition called Cerebellar hypoplasia (CH) or more commonly referred to by rescue organzations as 'wobbly kitten syndrom'. Though we do not know exactly what has caused Iota’s CH, it is normally caused by bacterial infections and viral infections caused by feline parvovirus (while in utero). The disease can also be caused by malnutrition, poisoning, injury or general accidents during development in the fetus. Cats with CH have uncoordinated movements and fall over often in severe cases they are unable to walk. Iota has a moderate CH case. He is able to walk and even run but falls over every time he stops or slows down.

the veterinarian told us not to get too attached to Iota because he could end up falling behind his siblings.

As fosters we were unsure of what we were getting into taking on a special needs kitten and his family, especially after they all had upper respiratory infections from being strays. In the first week and a half of taking care of them there were 3 or 4 vet visits and one emergency vet visit. On one of those visits the veterinarian told us not to get too attached to Iota because he could end up falling behind his siblings (worst case scenario), though it is normal for CH cats to fall behind Iota was determined to prove to everyone he could do everything a normal kitten could do, we too were determined to make sure he had the best chance possible!

yum yum!

The veterinarian told us that we might have to hand feed Iota because every time he’d get close to the food bowl he would get excited and fall into the food once he’d fallen in he was afraid to eat. So we had to come up with a way that made Iota feel confident he wouldn’t fall into his food, first we separated him from the frenzy of eating with 3 kitten siblings and his mom but he still wasn’t that interested in eating. We bought some chicken flavored baby food, Iota loved it, but we knew he needed kitten food so we slowly started mixing the kitten food in with the baby food and he kept eating it all up.

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Iota and his brother Mercury.

many CH cats and kittens are being euthenized because there is not a lot of awareness...

Another challenge he faced was not falling into the food while he was eating this took some created thinking. We found and old travel pillow and sat Iota in the middle of, it work great for wrapping around him so he could eat without fear of falling into the bowl. We had to hand feed him for about 1 ½ - 2 weeks toward the end of those 2 weeks he started eating without help and now he can eat with his family.

The next challenge Iota conquered was mobility. When he first got here he was very unstable and didn’t like to play or move hardly at all, this was partly due to him not being able to eat as much as he needed. He couldn’t walk more than a few inches without falling and playing with his brothers and sister was out of the question. He would just lie in one spot and watched.

Iota's special feed time

He faces every obstacle and conquers it in his own unique way.

play time

Once he started eating better his energy level increased though still held back a bit by his condition he started trying harder to participate in the kitten banter. He’d run and fall and get up and pounce then fall but he kept trying to catch and wrestle with his siblings. 

A few days ago I open up the smaller kitten room to the bigger bedroom and that’s when we saw a huge improvement in his mobility. I would enter the room and find him on the second tier of the cat tree on another occasion he was up on the chair napping with his brother. Now Iota’s brothers have to look out for stealthy attacks and have an additional challenger when playing with and chasing after each other.

In all of the challenges both small and large that Iota has face there is a strong determination in his demeanor. He faces every obstacle and conquers it in his own unique way. Just tonight he was introduce to stairs for the first time he would not stop going up and down the stairs till he knew he could get to the top and to the bottom. He did so with some struggle and not without falling over and sliding down a step but he kept going till he knew he’d overcome it. Then he took a long nap on the laps of the couple that is adopting him.

There are many CH cats and kittens are being euthenized because there is not a lot of awareness about CH. The unnecessary euthanasia of CH cats only highlights the need for more awareness and understanding of this condition. Iota has already come a long way, his Cerebellar hypoplasia (CH) will never go away but he will learn to manage it and teach himself ways to cope with it. Iota and many more cats with CH are proof that they may be a little more wobbly, but are just as happy as "normal" kitties without his condition. Having watched him these past few weeks I have no doubt that he will overcome everything his little kitten and cat life can throw at him!

By Elisabeth 

To learn more about CH, please visit this helpful site: chcat.org

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