Phil P. wrote:
"Poe" wrote in message
...

I have a 6-week old foster kitten. He is from a litter of four, with two
dying at birth, and one dying about one day old. He is the sole survivor.

I've been increasingly worried about his motor skills. At 4-5 weeks I
expected to see him grow stronger, and by week 6, stable on his feet.
Instead, he seems to have plateaued at around week 4 - falls over all
the time, can't coordinate. Can't really use the litter box, because he
cannot hold himself up. He's started trembling, especially after eating.
At first I thought he was straining to make a bowel movement, but after
researching I think it is another symptom of Cerebellar Hyperplasia. I
viewed a few videos on youTube of cats with this disorder, and I am
pretty sure now it is what he has.

So - what do others here know about the disorder? I've googled around,
and see that cats can live a long, pain-free life with the disorder. I
am fostering him from our shelter, so IDK if they'll want to put him
down. I'm trying to get as much info I can right now to determine if I
should fight to keep him alive, get him adopted, or if I should let him
be put down (he belongs to the shelter, not to me).

Thanks in advance.

If your shelter even thinks about killing kittens with cerebellar
hyperplasia, you're with the wrong shelter. Almost all the kittens I've seen
with CH learn to compensate and live long and happy lives. They grow
stronger and learn to adapt more and more with each passing day. If your
shelter wants to kill him, I'd keep him and continue fostering him on my own
until he's 10-12 weeks. Then I'd bring him in on adoption days. You just
have to wait for the right person to see him- they're out there- you just
have to be patient.

Best of luck,

Phil



Thanks Phil. This is the sort of information or opinion I was looking
for - potential quality of life for the little guy, and people's
experiences (I am also doing a lot of googling).

I am not sure the shelter will suggest putting him down. It's generally
a "no kill" shelter, but I've never fostered a disabled kitten before. I
actually have no idea how they'll respond, but the foster coordinator
sounded alarmed when I described the situation yesterday, so I got to
thinking they may react negatively. I was worried in particular about
his inability to use the litter box - that would really hurt his chances
going forward. I am glad to hear he'll likely learn to compensate over time.

I do wonder now what happened to the mother during gestation. The
shelter said when she came in she was sickly and her fur was all patchy.
They thought she had ringworm, but she tested negative. I wonder if she
was poisoned or something. It was odd that 3 out of 4 kittens died, 2 of
them being stillborn.

Thanks again for your feedback!