Head Tremors in Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats
In addition to the wobbles, another common symptom of cerebellar hypoplasia is temporary head tremors, or the uncontrollable shaking of a cat’s head (like a bobble-head doll). Also called cerebellar or intention tremors, they are an additional result of damage to the cerebellum.
The tremors, which range in severity, usually occur when the cat is trying to focus on something. They may also be brought on by stress, fear or fatigue, but the tremor usually passes in a few moments. While experiencing a tremor, your kitty may miss her target or fall over, but it otherwise shouldn’t hurt her.
Another interesting fact: The tremors are usually perpendicular to the direction of movement — so if your kitty is focusing on something straight ahead, her head will most likely wobble from side to side.
Here’s an example of CG’s tremors when he was 2 months old:
Fortunately, as CG has grown up, his head tremors have improved. He’ll still get them on occassion, but I don’t feel like they’re as severe since he’s older and larger now.
Here’s a video of Ellie’s head tremors:
One thing to watch for is what happens after the head tremor. Sometimes CG will lose his balance after a head tremor, fall over and knock his chin on the floor. I don’t think it’s ever hurt him too badly, but I do suspect a head tremor-induced chin bump to have caused a chipped tooth.
How are your cat’s head tremors? Have they improved as your cat has improved?
Now that you have pointed this out and educated me about it I will watch more intentionally. My CH kitty, Percy went to the vet for the first time a few days ago and I noticed his tremors while we were waiting to see the vet. He had never been away from home except once on a camping trip with me. Thanks for the info. I am concerned about my little guy. He has pooping problems and I cannot seem to stop it. I love my little guy, Percy. I’ll do whatever I can to make his life good. He has severe symptoms. He flops. Hwe cannot walk at all.
Hi Jacquie,
Thanks for commenting! Percy sounds like a special cat! What sort of pooping problems does he have? Can he not make it to the litter box in time, or is it something else? Have you tried using diapers on him? That may be an option, granted a big commitment too!
Good luck, please keep in touch and thanks for reading!
Amanda
Thankfully, Percy’s pooping problems have improved greatly. The vet explained to me that worms can be a constant problem if the pet has fleas, and in our area fleas are TERRIBLE in the summer. Percy had a bad bout of worms when he was a kitten; his mom is feral. Our vet took care of the worms, gave me a great deal on Advantage, and suggested a better food for Percy, even though it is $$expensive$$ (he is doing well on the Blue Buffalo kibble). Percy is worth the extra expense. Consequently his BMs are well formed and he is able to keep himself clean as he struggles clumsily to get his ‘business’ covered up and get himself back out of the box. Now that he is a young adult he ALWAYS gets IN the litter box for his BMs. I am very proud of him! He still likes to use newspaper/peepee pads for his other duty. Anyway, I am glad to report Percy is doing very well, and he is a little superstar to us.
Natalia, it sounds like you use the same type of set-up that we use: a litter box with pads around it. I also cover the pads with newspaper because it allows us to use less pads overall, and saves money. Also, Percy MUST scratch up the papers to try and cover his business. Lord only knows what my friends and other visitors must think when they see a 5′ X 5′ kitty potty area in the corner of the family room! But my critters are #1 priority at my house! Good luck with Lulu!
My Lulu has head tremors! She also cannot make it to the litter box in time though. Why is this? I always keep a pee pad (like the ones dogs use) on the outside of her litter box and sometimes she misses it too. She is the sweetest kitty in the world and I would never give up on her! ~Natalia
We have an orphaned kitten that we’re hand-raising, and I stumbled across your blog trying to figure out what she’s doing. She’s now 3 weeks old, and when she focuses on something (movement, noise, lighting), her entire head trembles and shivers really bad. It’s sporadic, and only when something’s caught her attention. It’s more severe than your video, but I’m hoping maybe it’ll slow/calm down as she gets older?
Anyway, thanks for the video, it really helps to compare and see what’s most likely! ^_^
They very well may. In my experience all of my CH cats’ symptoms have slowly lessened in severity. Sometimes they’re so bad that they lose balance and hit their chins on the floor, but thats only occasionally. Thanks for reading, good luck and please let me know if you have any more questions, etc
Cute!!! My boy has them bad. Not so much his sister. When he gets overly excited, I just say in a calm voice ” focus” and he instantly stops. Pretty cool.
Kenny’s head tremors are pretty bad, and more or less constant when he’s concentrating on doing anything from eating, to tracking a toy, to pooping. I hope they improve with age! He’s only 3 1/2 months!
Our 12 year old cat, Bit, was rescued as a tiny kitten in our front yard. She almost died but survived. She shakes her head from time to time for a few seconds. Last week she did that and sneezed and blood came from her nose. She did not seem in pain. She only did it once. What caused the bleeding?
Hi Alice,
This sounds like a great question for your vet. Head tremors in cerebellar hypoplasia cats shouldn’t cause anything like that, so perhaps she simply had a bloody nose, or maybe it’s something else. Have you had a chance to consult your vet?
Best,
Amanda
I have been caring for some kittens I rescued, and I just recently noticed one of the kitten’s head tremors when he stops to focus on something. It sounds like this (CH) could be the problem, but it looks a little different than some of the videos I have seen…his head shakes slowly and he doesn’t seem to have any walking issues or anything like that… do you still think this could be the problem? I hope so because I’d hate for it to be anything worse…
Hi Mindi,
Thanks for caring for these little ones! Unfortunately, there’s no way to determine if it’s CH or something else until you can take him into a vet. If you have a smartphone or camera, perhaps you can take video of his head shaking to show the vet (just in case he doesn’t do it when you bring him in).
Good luck!
Hey, my cat bea is just over 2 years old, and in the past couple days I’ve noticed her balance is off and she prefers sleeping all the time. And just today i saw her head was shaking. Because she is just starting now could it be something else or what… I’ve never had a cat do this before and im worried.
Hi,
Since these symptoms came on rapidly, I suggest that you take your cat to the vet right away so he can take a look at him and figure out what’s going on. Try to take specific notes or videos – they may help your vet. Good luck!
I woke up first thing this morning and noticed my cat having one of these head tremmers for the first time I’ve seen was rather freaked out i don’t know if my cat has ch but she’s 3 years old and this is the first time I’ve noticed her do this
Hi Kathryn,
If you haven’t already, I’d suggest calling or visiting your vet to find out if there’s anything going on with your cat. Cats are born with cerebellar hypoplasia, so it’s likely your cat doesn’t have it, especially since you haven’t noticed the tremors before. It may be nothing, but then again, it may be something. It’s better to check it out just in case.
Good luck!
-Amanda
hi,
My cat is fifteen yrs old, and he has head tremors EXACTLY like the kittens in the videos a few times per week for about a year now. could he have cerebellar hypoplasia? He didn’t have the problem before. Also, he is overweight, and sprays A LOT (for the past few years). He’s fixed and an indoor cat with no other animals. In addition, he gets aggresive sometimes with me and my husband. He violently attacks our feet and sometimes our hands (not playful but violent and angry and we were just sitting there or standing up). I would like help find a diagnosis. The vet just said she didn’t know and that if it’s a tumor or something they can’t do anything.
Hi Shannon,
I’d suggest getting a second opinion about the head tremors if you’re concerned. If they were related to cerebellar hypoplasia, he would have had them since birth, so there may be something else going on. As for your other concerns, a trusted vet should be able to help you in those areas too. Good luck!
Thank you for the reply. I’ve been searching for answers online and by talking to others, but no one had seen a cat do that before. While he didn’t have the tremors until a year ago, it does bobble like the cats heads in some of the videos. I’m going to have him checked out by another vet soon.