Foster kitten with some odd problems?

Question

I have a foster kitten who is 6 weeks old. I've had him since he was 2 days old. He's had myriad problems in his already short life, and now I'm trying to get some more leads on what's wrong with him currently. 

Parsnip has always seemed rather... slow. He's not a terribly inquisitive or playful kitten. He wobbles a little in the hind end when he walks, and trembles when he stands. He also has a reduced menace response, and his ability to track moving objects is poor. It usually takes him 2 to 3 seconds to register that something has passed through his field of vision.

He eats well. He is a large, well-proportioned kitten. He does not tremor more when focusing. He is not extra sleepy after he eats.  The vet is running a blood panel to check for signs of a liver shunt or congenital hypothyroidism, but he does not fit most of the signs of those conditions. 

When he was younger, he had low blood protein and edema because his original owner was feeding him strongly diluted formula. He had severe difficulties urinating even with stimulation for the first 10 days of life, then had a couple weeks of constipation and then a week of diarrhea, though we think the diarrhea was from the lactulose and enemas required to get any feces out of him.

http://imageshack.us/a/img35/3227/parsnip24days1.jpg

Mamma Cat · Accepted Answer

I foster kittens from birth to adoption.  I understand your concerns.  You are so fortunate that the kitten has vet access to lab tests.
I will just tell you about a foster kitten I had.  It was given to me with his brother at age 3 weeks.  They were infested with fleas.  I cleaned them up and they had severe flea anemia.  Jack died the next day.  I was instructed to euthanize Pepper.  I just couldn't.  He couldn't walk or eat.  I force fed him and kept him so warm and constantly cuddled him.  He survived the first few days.  Then he started gaining a little weight.  Long story short, he survived with lots of love and attention, but he was stunted for growth.  His legs were much shorter and he was thinner.  It took him 4 months to get up to 2 pounds.
So Parsnip may be slow, but they can be the best cats.  I gave Pepper so much attention he was the perfect cat up for adoption.
It sounds to me that he had a difficult start in life.  But , thanks to you, he now has his best shot.  I am sure you will shed tears in his fur when he goes out for adoption, but thank you.  You have really saved a life.

melissa · Answer

My brother took in a cat that had been mistreated and she was also slow like you describe.  She would sit in front of the front-loading dryer and watch it spin for hours on end.  She also was like permanently a kitten because she never did grow very big.  But she was a very loving cat and made a good pet even though she never became acclimated to a litter box.  We took her to the vet, who said that she had apparently suffered some brain damage from the abuse she had received before my brother took her in, and she always needed a lot of extra attention but she was the sweetest little cat that there ever was.

If you look down at the picture of the living room, the one immediately under the main picture on the right, you can see her sitting behind the sofa:

http://www.henryjekel.com/jekel4515missioninn2.html

? · Answer

I'm assuming the vet ran a blood test to make sure the kitten doesn't have FIV or FeLV?  Mother could have passed that to him.  Also, the fact he wobbles, has the vet thought of cerebellar hypoplasia (called "wobblers")?

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_cerebellar_hypoplasia.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLlL24shW7E - kitten with CH

If your kitten has it, it doesn't mean he can't have a great life.  They may be handicapped but they don't know they are, they think that's the way life is and while it takes them longer to get from point A to point B, they do get there!

He's a cute little dude!  Good luck with him and I hope everything turns out well!

Trending News

Foster kitten with some odd problems?

3 Answers