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| Title: | Meower Power - Where Differing Opinions are Respected |
| Notice: | purrrrr... |
| Moderator: | JULIET::CORDES_JA |
|
| Created: | Wed Nov 13 1991 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1079 |
| Total number of notes: | 28858 |
1014.0. "Shaky Kitten" by WRKSYS::MATTSON () Wed Jul 03 1996 11:12
I was wondering if anyone has any advice about this:
I have 3 kittens who are 6 weeks old today. When they were born, one
was MUCH smaller than the other two, but he seemed healthy otherwise.
He nursed with no problem and was gaining weight. I was weighing him
every day on a postage scale. I noticed--it seemed sudden, that he was
trembling, at about 2 1/2 weeks. It could be that it became noticeable
after his muscles developed more and he was more active. But he kept
eating, playing, gaining weight, and seemed healthy otherwise.
We took him to the vet and the diagnosis was inconclusive. The vet said
it could be one of several things:
-an underdeveloped nervous system, which he might outgrow or might not
-a vitamin deficiency. He got a B12 shot and was put on daily vitamins.
-A possible virus which had attacked his nervous system. They put him
on antibiotics to rule this out (although I'm not sure why.
Antibiotics only kill bacteria, not viruses. The vet said, if it were
the virus, he would probably get worse and we'd lose him because he
wouldn't be able to nurse.
Well, thank god the last one didn't happen. He's still gaining weight,
playing aggressively with the other two, even though they're twice his
size, he's starting to eat food---but he's still shaky. It's evident
pretty much all the time, but less so when he's running around or
playing. He's uncoordinated; the poor little guy shakes his head and
falls over. I want to make sure nothing's wrong with him. Some people
are interested in adopting all three, but they're concerned about
taking him if he will need ongoing medical care or get worse.
Has anyone ever seen this? Is there any way to tell what's going on?
Or what the long-term prognosis looks like? My guess is that,
considering how small he is, he's like a premature baby, and something
didn't develop all the way. But will whatever it is develop eventually?
Or will he just be klutzy his whole life? (That I can live with--it's
something we'll have in common!) But, will he be unable to defend
himself outside (not able to climb trees, etc.) so he'd have to be kept
in? Any experience or advice would be welcome.
thanks,
Anne
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1014.1 | | JULIET::CORDES_JA | Eight Tigers on My Couch | Wed Jul 03 1996 11:40 | 6 |
| Did they check his ears to be sure there was nothing causing problems
in there? My mom's cat (who was much, much older) developed polyps in
her ears that really threw her balance off. She was wobbly and seemed
to lose her balance if she shook her head.
Jan
|
| 1014.2 | | PADC::KOLLING | Karen | Wed Jul 03 1996 12:35 | 11 |
| It sounds to me like this kitty needs a really expert vet. I
point people at 1-800-KITTYDR, the Cornell Vet School hotline,
for hard to figure out problems. Without knowing what's causing
the problems, no one could say what the kitty's future is in terms
of outdoors vs. indoors, although he obviously should be an indoor-only
cat now. Perhaps the Cornell folk could also point you at a specialist
in your area. Tufts is good, as is U.C. Davis. Please let us know how
your kitty is doing,
Karen
|
| 1014.3 | | USCTR1::MERRITT_S | Kitty City | Wed Jul 03 1996 13:18 | 6 |
| I do know of a disease that causes wobbleyness....and I beleive
it has something to do with Mom kitty having distemper during
the pregnancy. The Wobbles is like a birth defect...but the
kitty can live a VERY happy and healthy life as an indoor kitty.
Sandy
|
| 1014.4 | The Colonel salutes the wobbly baby! | BIGQ::BITTICKS | | Mon Jul 08 1996 05:46 | 36 |
| Replying on behalf of the Hon. Col. Sebastian Moran, DROFFC. The
colonel was born to a mother who had distemper. As a result, the
Colonel was born with cerebral hypoplasia. It's alot like cerebral
palsey. He is a Wobbly Kitty. He walks a little crooked, he falls over
alot and he gets attention tremors (shakes all over) when he is
concentrating on something important like eating. Otherwise, he is
perfectly healthy and very happy (except for his extreme dislike of the
new 8 month old pup whom his sucker mom rescued after she was
abandoned. Margo wants to play, the Colonel wants to be dignified).
Dr. Moss at Central Animal Hospital in Leominster is very experienced
with Wobblies. She says they see a few every year.
I second Sandy's comment about being in indoor kitty. Because of the
falling, they can't get out of the way very well. The Colonel was
indoor only until I had the back yard fenced. Now he can go out thru
the large cat door and chase leaves and mice and moles (and
occasionally catch them!)
As I collect breakable things and am not (please don't hurt me) really
a cat person, the only cat I would consider would be a wobbly. The
Colonel is my second wobbly and they are terrific cats. I can heartily
recommend wobblies to anyone looking for a really nice pet.
In case the prospective parents are worried about the kitty interacting
with other pets, The Colonel joined my family when I had a 32 pound
mutt and a 167 pound St.Bernard. He got along great with them. Now I
have the mutt and a different St.Bernard who goes about 189. And a 42
pound Bulldog. The Colonel is still doing really well. He can jump
about 2.5 feet. He can get on the bed and on the sofa. But anything
higher is too much for him. A nice plus for people who can't stand cats
on the counter or the dining room table.
Feel free to contact me if you need any "references" or more
information.
Sari, attache to the Colonel.
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