What is Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia?
Feline cerebellar hypoplasia is a non-progressive, non-contagious neurological condition that results in walking and balance problems. A kitten is born with “CH” when her cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls fine motor skills and coordination, is underdeveloped at birth.
An cerebellum’s growth can be stunted by a number of factors, most commonly if the mother contracted the feline distemper virus while pregnant or if there was some sort of trauma to the kittens while they were in the womb.
Consequently, an underdeveloped cerebellum can result in complicated mobility. CH cats are known for their “drunken sailor” walk, which is why they’re known endearingly as “wobbly cats.” The severity of a kitten’s CH can vary greatly — even among litter mates. While some cats may only have a slightly impacted gait, others may have significant trouble getting around, if they’re able to walk at all. It’s important to remember that the cat isn’t sick, weak or hurt; she’s simply uncoordinated.
CH cats may also experience head tremors, the uncontrollable shaking of the cat’s head when she’s trying to focus. Again, some cats may experience mild cases, others may be more severe. Consequently, some think CH cats may have vision issues, but this varies from cat to cat.
Unless a CH cat has other health issues, her life expectancy is the same as a cat’s without CH. Since the condition is non-progressive, it will never get worse — and in some cases, owners say that their cat became more capable over time.
One of the great things about CH cats is that they don’t seem to know that they’re any different from other cats. Even though they may think they’re normal, depending on the severity of their CH, they may be somewhat limited in ability and learn how to do things differently. For example, some CH cats don’t have the coordination to jump — so instead they become great climbers. Consequently, CH cat owners may find ways to help their cat become more capable. You can find more topic-specific help here.
There isn’t a treatment for this condition; however, many owners will tell you that there doesn’t need to be one. They’ll say their CH kitties are some of the sweetest cats you’ll ever meet, and what they lack in coordination they make up in personality. You can read their stories here.
Since many people are still learning about this condition — and because some shelters don’t adopt out special needs animals, many kitties with CH are needlessly put down every year. While it’s not an extraordinarily common condition, cats with this condition do require a special owner who’s devoted to providing the best care possible for the cat.
If you’re interested to find a cat with CH in your area, please check out this list of adoptable cats with cerebellar hypoplasia.
I have a CH Cat named Bella I found her 9 years ago and I am blessed that she in my live I love her so much please adopt a CH Cat they will put joy in your life
Two and a half years ago, we went on vacation and came across a pet shelter outside a pet store that had several pets for adoption. We saw a little kitten shaking in one of the cages. I was immediately drawn to her and her beautiful gold eyes. She was so sweet and looked so scared. Everytime a car drove by she would shake and jump, which I commented that she must be scared. That was when the workers said that the kitten had CH. We didn’t know anything about CH, but as we walked into the nearby store, I couldn’t stop looking at this sweet little kitten, and the kitten couldn’t stop watching us. It was then I started crying, my poor husband thought I lost it! I told him, I felt that no one woud adopt her because she wasn’t perfect. My heart broke for her. We were on vacation, certainly not a good time to adopt an animal, so my husband dismissed the idea for the day. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about that kitten. After several days, and more discussion, my husband agreed we should adopt her. The only problem was we didn’t know what agency it was. I called the store, who gave me the number to the agency, which gave me the number to the owner’s home (who took all special needs animals home to care for them). We made arrangments that very next weekend, and went out to pick her up. We had no clue how much CH affected her, but were willing to accept her and take care of her the way she needed. It’s been 2.5 years, and we have loved every moment of caring for this sweet cat. She was adopted as Missy, but wouldn’t answer to that name, only Kitty, which shortened to Kiki. She is a playful, sweet, attentive cat. She does very well day-to-day, but has her moments every now and again. She is certainly perfect in my eyes.
Renee,
What a heartwarming story! I’m so glad Kiki touched your heart and you were able to give her a wonderful, loving home! How does she do with her CH now? Would love to hear more about her
Question, i just adopted a kitty who’s almost 3. Thrice my kitty, seems to walk fine, only with a lean at times almost like walking diagonal and on top of that leans into walls lots and instead of sitting alot of times he’ll just flop over, just drop on his side. Do you think he might have mild ch?
Hi Meghan,
Thanks for checking out my blog! Of course I have no way of really knowing if Thrice has CH, but it sounds like something is going on. If anything, it may be another kind of ataxia (you can read more about it here, I’m also posting another piece on different types of ataxia on the 29th.)
Have you discussed his behaviors with your vet? What does he think?
Hope you and Thrice are doing well!
we live in the UK and have a cat who may have this .. we got her and her sister from a rescue when they were about 6 weeks old .. they came from someone who bred the mother cat every time and let the kittens just go to anyone that wouls hand over the cash .. someone rescued the whole litter at 4 weeks old .. they wouldnt let them have the mother cat .. and handed them into the rescue .. as Smarty grew it became apparent that she wasnt moving about like her sister was so we took her to our vet and they suspected she had a slipping knee cap and when she was old enough pinned it in place .. it soon became apparent tho that it hadnt cured the problem and we went back to the vets who said they thought she had brain damage from the mother cat being over bred …… they said they could refer her or scans etc to one of the vetinary universities but they thought all that would do is find out what the damage was to her brain and doubted that anythoing could be done about it .. so we decided that it wasnt worth the hassel and expense just to be told its this bit thats affected .. so cant be exactly sure this is her problem .. but shes definately very similar .. cant run or jump or climb .. but is quite happy to potter about in the garden which is well fenced ..she often kind of collapses for a few seconds and cant get to her feet straight away but then gets up and walks off like noithings happened .. we made her a little stair case that she can use if she needs to for getting onto the work top where shes fed.. more often tho she sits and shouts at ypou to lift her on lol .. shes now about 10 years old and one of the sweetest most laid back cats weve evewr had .. and is like a cuddly sleepy doormouse a lot of the time … sadly her sister got hit by a car outside where we live when she was about 9 months old .. since then ive always thought smartys condition is a blessing because it means we can keep her in and safe and would be wary of having another cat maybe unless it was another with similart problems to smarty who we could keep safe ….. smarty has her own facebook page too … https://www.facebook.com/pages/smarty-a-very-special-little-cat/130052137034746?ref=ts shes a very special happy littl;e cat indeed
Hi Jill, Thanks for commenting! I’m so happy to hear that Smarty, no matter what condition she has, is doing so well! Give her a hug for us!
Hi Amand, I have 4 cats out of a 7 kitten litter 2 years + old now with CH one is more in need of my help the other guys are just wobbly .Still in all i have 6 cats rescued a kitten tied up in placstic bags he turned out fine.However 6 cats and one broke dude over 3 years and never enough time to play with them all.I need forever homes for the special ones , I made i promise to them all not to abadone them . Any resources or direction would be helpful
Greg Dolphin
Hi Greg, Thanks for reaching out! I’ll email you soon and put you in touch with our CH cat adoption specialist. I’m sure she’ll be able to help!