kathie
09-26-2003, 04:08 PM
We have a year old cat with cerebellar hypoplaysia. CH is a disease kittens are born with. Mostly it is seen in feral and barn cats that haven't been vaccinated. Our Zoe was born to a feral barn cat that belonged to my parents neighbor. Our vet told me that her mother contracted distemper during her pregnancy. While the mother cats system is strong enough to fight the disease without any effects, the kittens in utero are not so lucky. The cerebellum does not develop and their sense of balance never develops and some of the signals to the brain get messed up . They are able to live as long as a normal cat and their mental capacities are not effected. So, in essence, I have a really clumsy cat. She is hilarious and the sweetest thing. I saw her and fell in love...she was the only plain all black kitten in the litter of four. While the others all got new homes she was left.... I knew she wouldn't stand a chance being an outside cat so I decided to take her and haven't regreted it. We have to be really careful and remember she will never land on her feet like most cats..so swooshing her off the table could really hurt her. When she walks she has this high stepping uneven gait and when she runs it sounds like a herd of twenty cats running across the floor. OK now that I am getting a little long winded I will get to my question. My only problem with her is her claws- she has to use them to balance and when she jumps on the furniture she really digs in and snags it all up. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Do you think filling her claws down to be not so sharp would work?