Author Topic: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia  (Read 3028 times)

Offline Hippykitty

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2008, 08:35:06 AM »
She needs a proper diagnosis, as she may even have vestibular disease, though this is unlikely. One of my old ladies had this and is fine now though she needed lots of nursing to recover. To restrengthen her hind legs I would GENTLY support her forelegs and encourage her to walk a few steps on her back legs (a bit like teaching a child to walk). I did this for a few minutes several times a day. She's fine now.

It would be great if you could rustle up the money to have her properly diagnosed by a good vet. Good luck.
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Offline Teresa Pawcats

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2008, 20:26:25 PM »

Does anyone know if these cats tend to have problems with bone structure in the hind legs?  She can walk and hop/run, but her hind quarters are very narrow with pointy hips and her legs look almost disjointed because they are further back than a normal cat.

Minimopsicals spine is very curved and her back legs are spread out due to the way she has adapted herself to balance,her tail is well developed too.
Muscle wastage should not be a problem as CH cats are active.

Offline blackcat

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2008, 18:49:26 PM »
probably best to get a proper diagnosis from the vet ... a back injury can also result in loss of control over the bowels ...

Whichever it is, good on you for giving her a home and care ... sounds like she need it ... :Luv:

Offline cristy

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2008, 18:45:38 PM »
no, I'm not positive.  The vet tech at the clinic said that it looked like CH because she had a CH cat at home.  Also, she does peck at her food and when she steps up with her front legs she always misjudges the distance...kind of like a depth perception issue...and sometimes falls over.

Offline blackcat

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2008, 18:41:18 PM »
If she has only limited function because of the hypoplasia then she may suffer muscle wastage - just like people do if their limbs are kept in a cast for a prolonged period. People get physio to help this. Are you sure she has CH and not some other back injury resulting from a car accident?

Offline cristy

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2008, 18:39:24 PM »
antibiotics, hmmmm, good to know...

Does anyone know if these cats tend to have problems with bone structure in the hind legs?  She can walk and hop/run, but her hind quarters are very narrow with pointy hips and her legs look almost disjointed because they are further back than a normal cat.

Offline blackcat

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2008, 18:00:14 PM »
antibiotics can cause that sort of unpleasant side effect too ....

Offline cristy

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2008, 17:44:20 PM »
Thank you all so much for the good advice about Little Bear (her face is black and white and I think that she resembles a panda:).  We are in an apt and although my husband really doesn't want 2 cats in this size space, I have the feeling that we will be keeping her....unless I can find an older couple with no kids and the time and desire to handle her.  I want to get her to a regular vet whenever we are able to afford it and in the mean time, I won't feel too bad about her being by herself.  This morning I built a set of "steps" up to the window in the room so that she can look out.  I put towels and cushions around the base so if she falls she will be ok.  She has been enjoying the sunshine all morning!  I am a tad worried, as her nose was slightly runny again today and her Clavamox is almost gone, but I will wait and see what happens.  She also made 2 diarrhea puddles on the floor during the night.  I am assuming that this is probably normal because of the surgery, stress, and her desire for liquified foods, but I am hoping that eventually she will be able to poo in the box normally too.  Thanks again for all of the help!!!

Offline Ela

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2008, 15:08:59 PM »
Quote
She doesnt sound like a feral to me, more like a garden cat 


I would agree this is no feral. You have been given sound advice by 2 posters so there Odis no point in me adding to that.

I suspect that you are in the USA as you used the word 'fixed'

Thank you for giving her the chance of a better life.
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Offline Hippykitty

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2008, 10:16:07 AM »
Hi, thanks for your email, prefered to reply here. I have done a brief check about CH and think it would be unwise to put her back outside, especially if she is very wobbly. She should be very easy to tame, because cats with CH tend to be very affectionate, which would over rule her feral background. As you probably know, she got CH as the result of her mother having an infection whilst she was still in the womb.

I would put her on wet food. Get some fur ball treatment from your vet to aid pooping. If this doesn't work, put a little lactulose into her food, not much, cats hate the taste. One of my old ladies (a cat!) gets bunged up sometimes and I have to syringe lactulose into her mouth, she hates the taste so much! But fur ball treatment, such as defurrum or katalax would be best first.

I'm assuming you had her aborted? If so, that was probably wise, though unfortunate.

How wobbly is she? Cats with CH usually live normal life spans and adapt to the condition, according to what I've just read.

As to the problem of her being a feral. Just give her time and patience. Don't expect too much too soon. Let her come to you. It sounds as though it won't be too long before she overcomes her fear. In my experience, feral cats won't let you go anywhere near them for months, so if she's allowing you to hold her, you don't have far to go before she is domestic.

I would advise keeping her. If she has toy mice and somewhere warm to sleep, her litter is regularly changed and you see her for at least half and hour to two hours a day, she'll be fine in the spare room for a few months. After that, try to borrow a kittening pen from a cat charity (are you in Britain? If so, try CP), put this in your main room, so that she and your dominant cat can get to know each other slowly. Expect hisses etc initially, until Jasper becomes used to her.

If you intend to rehome her, be VERY careful who she goes to. She will need a special owner as she has CH. You may find difficulty finding someone to take her on. If you can afford her, keep her. 
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Offline Teresa Pawcats

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2008, 09:56:44 AM »
She doesnt sound like a feral to me, more like a garden cat  and from what you say she sounds to be only mildly CH. The most important thing is to bring her to full health and spend as much time as possible with her to earn her trust. A CH cat should only be allowed out under supervision.
Not sure what you have been reading about CH cats but in my experience they accept things just as well as other cats, the great misconception people have is believing them to be brain damaged, they are not; its purely a lack of developed cells in the part of the brain that controls movement and balance. because of the condition with movement CH cats can easily give out the wrong body language to other cats but things settle very quickly.
I think you should wait at least 3 weeks before trying to introduce,  she needs to recover from surgery and you dont want her to pass her infection on to your existing cat.
Wish I was nearer I`d take her in a shot.
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Offline Maddiesmum

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Re: feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2008, 08:02:40 AM »
Can't offer any advice save to say she doesn't sound too wild.  Good luck with her does she have a name yet?

Offline cristy

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feral with cerebellar hypoplasia
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2008, 03:00:28 AM »
I am looking for someone who is familiar with attempting to domesticate ferals.  The one that I have right now also has CH and care of a disabled cat is something new to me.  I trapped her on Monday and took her in to get her fixed.  She had her surgery on Tuesday (she was salso very pregnant) and has been recuperating in our spare room.  She is still very timid, but purrs very loud when we go in to feed her and pet her...she loves to be placed in my lap and held against my face.  She has been eating ok (especially if I hand feed her), but really prefers kitten milk over the wet and dry food that I have offered.  She has been subsisting on dry food and water for the past 9 months outside, but in this new environment, I'm wondering if that is just par for the course because she is scared and likes the comfort of milk and cuddles?  Also, she hasn't pooped yet, but since she isn't eating much solid food I'm thinking that that might be normal??  She has been waiting until we are gone to use the litter box, but seems to have no trouble getting in and out and, surprisingly, knew what it was for right away.  When we got her fixed they tested for fiv and leukemia and she was negative for both, but it was a clinic so they didn't do a full checkup.  On Wednesday morning after the surgery, her nose was running yellow so the emergency Dr. told me to give her a round of Clavamox which she was been on ever since.  I would take her to my vet in a week or so just for a check up, but my husband just lost his job and we absolutely can't afford another vet bill at the moment...I was lucky he let me take her in to be fixed in the first place since we had to dig into savings to pay for it.  I would love to eventually either find her a home or keep her...I was planning on putting her back outside after the recoup period because I didn't think that she would acclimate to inside well, but I think that she is going to surprise me because she is so purry and lovey.  My last question is, how long to do suggest I keep her by herself in the back room (we have another cat, Jasper...the king of our home...that she will have to meet eventually)?  I tried to bring her out yesterday for a bit, but she ran under the chair and hid, so I know that she definately isn't ready yet.  I just feel bad for her back there by herself.  Jasper is 10 and extremely docile.  He is also used to us bringing in other vagrants to fix up and place, I just don't want to scare her to death since I have read that ch kitties have a very low tolerance for anything new or scary.  This is so extremely new to me that I would appreciate advice that anyone can offer!
Thanks a bunch!
Cristy

 


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