From 2 to 6 Months: An Update on Ellie’s Progress
One of the many incredible aspects of living with a CH cat (in addition to these!), is to watch them progress. In fact, CG’s progress is what originally inspired me to begin my first blog.
This time around I’m lucky enough to be able to document all of Ellie’s milestones from the very beginning, and now that she’s 6 months old, I wanted to share some with you. (Again, proof that your cat’s CH may improve over time!)
Mobility
Ellie’s mobility has increased tremendously throughout the past few months. When she first came to our hardwood-floor apartment, she was as graceful as Bambi on ice. We bought a few area rugs and hoped for the best, but she would still flip, flop, tumble and slide all over the place!
From her first day at our place:
To learning how to manage hardwood:
To the other day:
As you can see, if she takes her time, she does quite well! She still has some high-stepping, and if she gets excited she’ll flop over immediately, but her general mobility has improved greatly!
Around the House
She continues to figure things out, in part, thanks to big brother CG. He taught her how to get onto their cat condo, how to jump onto the couch (although she usually lunges at it, then climbs up) and how to climb on to — and jump off of our bed.
She’s a little smarty pants, and it’s so funny to see what she’s figured out and what intrigues her. We’ve noticed that she’s a very visual and observant cat too. She’ll watch TV, drips on the shower door and is intrigued by anything we change in the apartment.
Litter Box
This was one area that we struggled with for a while. While she could easily get into an aluminum pan, she would just as easily flop out of it. We tried several types of pans, but eventually decided to stay with the one we started with (lower entry and higher sides), and to wait for her to grow up. Well, wouldn’t you know it, one day we saw that little goof in CG’s big cat pan! She thought it was the best thing ever; although we could tell CG thought differently!
Playtime
This little girl is ALWAYS “helping” us or playing, which I absolutely love. She’ll even play on her own, which can be a relief after a long day! We’ve definitely noticed that playtime on our large living room rug has helped her considerably.
Injuries
I’m happy to say that nothing major has happened, which is a huge shock considering all of the tumbles she took as a kitten!
However, we did discover while at the vet the other day that she has chipped both canines. Fortunately they’re not bad chips, but it’s quite a way for her to start her life — especially right after those adult teeth came in!
Family
This little one is a piece to our family’s puzzle that I didn’t realize how much we needed! She’s such a joy, and she and CG have become good friends. They’re not best buddies, but they do play and nap together — and that’s more than what I could have asked for!
How have you seen your CH cat progress throughout time? Please share in the comments!
Life with Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats 
I’ve also seen Tardy teaching Ziggy new things, which is soo cool! Although I can’t say they are buddies either, they do tolerate each other well. They’ve come to some kind of understanding. Except when one of them topples on the other, then the hissing starts!! But even with that, I’ve never seen them hurt each other, just a lot of hissing, flopping and flailing.
Faith will be one year old in Januray and has come a long way. Watching her tumble and bounce around as a kitten, I never thought she’d get better. But now she walks on the carpet without EVER falling down and only occasionally stumbles on the hardwood floor. She had even learned to jump off the bed in her own graceful sort of way, always lands on all fours and is extremely proud of herself. Her brother Boo Boo is another story. He is seven months old and seems to be getting worse instead of better. He is very playful so he does stumble and tumble quite a bit. I am hoping that he will progress as he gets older like his sister did. My vet is also very interested in their progress because these are his first CH kitties also.
How fantastic! It is interesting how Faith has continued to improve, but Boo Boo hasn’t as much. Was his CH more severe as a kitten? Perhaps he just needs more time 🙂
They were both considered mild to moderate. I think maybe as kittens they have a hard time adjusting because their body weight keeps changing. Faith seemed to get better when she reached the one year mark and her weight stabilized. Boo is only 7 months so I’m hoping as he reaches maturity, he will adjust also.
Tammy, how are your kittens now? Is Boo getting better?