This Page is full of Wibbly-Wobbly-Bibbly-Bobble-EE stuff
This Page isalso to raise awareness of feline cerebellar hypoplasia through the adventures (and Misadventures)of Bobble the Miracle Kitty We went to the shelter one morning to donate old blankets I was looking at a grown cat about the same age as my own cats and Sarah wanted to help walk dogs. While we were there a one of the workers came
in with a box full of kittens. Apparently a woman got tired of all the kittens around her house and grabbed who she could catch and put them in a box. As we watched the kittens being removed from the box we noticed one was significantly different from the others. He only had milk teeth, knowing most government owned shelters don’t bottle feed Sarah asked if we could until he was big enough to eat on his own. We took bobble home and notice right away that even as young as he was he ran into things a little too often. His whiskers were very brittle and broke easily. Other than being what we referred to as “Our little Bobble Head he behaved and ate like a normal 2 week old kitten should. Little did we know that about a week later the house would wake up to bobble almost lifeless. When Sarah picked him up he was like a rag doll he was still breathing and his heart was beating, but both were very shallow. We rushed him to the closest vet we could find. Although we were glad the vet was forthcoming and honest with his opinions, his suggestions for treatment however, were quite predictable for a very poor prognosis. The vet immediately came to the conclusion given his size and lack of vitals that bobble probably wouldn't make it so we should euthanize. We then asked if he was in any pain or suffering they said no. There was something about this little kitten We just couldn't give up on that quickly so we told the vet that we wanted to give him a few hours and if wasn't any better that we would consider the options. Before we left to wait the speculated hours Sarah asked to see him. The Veterinarian had just said ten minutes before that he wasn’t any better. When the tech brought him in he was more vocal and his tongue was no longer hanging out of his mouth he would jerk violently but was still pretty out of it . We held and petted him and wished him to get better . An hour and a half into the wait the vet called and said that bobble was up walking around and we could come get him an hour and that point I was so happy and we had already decided that if he did make it that we would adopt him. When we got back to the office we talked to the Vet about what could have caused this, and he came up with neuro-hyper-dysplasia or Cerebellar hypoplasia which are both brain disorders in which the cerebellum doesn't mature. We researched both and consulted with a trusted long-time Veterinarian friend. She was able to whittle down the symptoms and help us reach a Diagnosis and the complications and implications of it. Bobble DOES have Cerebellar hypoplasia but the one complication we hadn’t anticipated or known about was seizures. In comparison to other felines who suffer seizures, Bobble’s are very mild. We have discovered one of the triggers for Bobble’s Seizures is COLD. We bought him a special Bed with a heating pad in it and since have only had one small episode in three weeks. His whiskers break because of a natural vitamin deficiency which of course does not aid in his already lacking state of balance he has . Bobble is adapting well and although he doesn’t aim well when he jumps he has developed what I call the Velcro method he runs and jumps , sticks to something, and then shimmies the rest of the way up. We have discovered some relatively inexpensive treatments to restore some of the lost calories and vitamins. If you have or discover a cat like Bobble there is a vitamin supplement called NutriCal that you can get from your Vet or at any pet store for about ten dollars (NutriCal can be given to kittens as young as three weeks as long as they can lick well). After a kitten with this disorder is weaned you can also get a fish oil supplement to sprinkle on their food it boosts neurons and natural stimulants in the brain. In most of the cases the cats never grow out of it and will have issues with it for the rest of their lives. It does not cause them any pain and most can live almost normal lives. EUTHANAZIA IS NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER!!! We Hope you will SHARE HIS STORY with your Friends WE' WILL POST PICTURE UPDATES AS HE GROWS !!
