Meet Shinju

After my announcement the other day, I thought the most appropriate reader’s CH cat profile I would share first on this blog would be the first I shared on my last blog.

Meet Shinju. 

Shinju holds a special place in my heart because she was the first cat I “met” with severe cerebellar hypoplasia. Although we’ve never met in real life, her mother, Selena (who happened to be one of my first readers), has documented her girls’ abilities and progress on her YouTube channel.

I remember when I first learned about Shinju, I had to completely recalibrate my cerebellar hypoplasia scale and understanding. It suddenly changed from: Cats who wobble a bit to Cats who wobble a lot to: Cats who wobble a bit to Cats who can’t walk or wobble at all. It completely turned the little I knew about CH on its head. It magnified my appreciation and respect for these kitties and, obviously, their owners.

Selena was kind enough to not only share Shinju’s story, but her two other CH siblings (Roxy and Kiro), too. Their profiles will be posted soon, as well.

Walking: Shinju has figured out her own unique way of getting around since she can’t pull herself up. I describe her as flapping around like a fish out of the water, but using that momentum to propel herself forward. She may get there late, but she’ll surely get there! Shinju can’t get up at all and has actually gotten less mobile as she got older unlike the other two.

Eating and drinking: Not much of a problem, although she needs to be set up in front of her bowl.  

Using the litter box: She was using the box all on her own when she was barely 4 weeks, but several months ago she started having difficulty and started having more accidents. I attribute this to her increased weight and inability to use her limbs at all so they couldn’t develop to support her new weight. So now she wears a diaper and gets changed twice a day. I do have my own theory on why Shinju’s mobility got worse while the other two girls got better getting around as they got older. The main difference between Shinju and the other girls are that Shinju was never able to get herself up and take even a single step, while even Roxy can walk a bit. Despite the increased weights on both of my mobile girls, they were also exercising their muscles and gaining strength in their legs as well. While Shinju simply gained the weight without the same muscle development. But then again, her body form has always been very different so it’s probably that she’s affected very differently from the others to begin with.

Climbing: Not mobile enough to climb.  

Head tremors: Selena describes them more like body tremors — the more excited they get, the more dramatic the tremors get.

Any CH-related accidents: Shinju has lost both bottom canines; she also once pulled out a nail.

Read more about her CH sisters Kiro and Roxy.

Click here to read about other readers’ CH cats or tell us about your CH cat!