Special Needs: Encyclopedia of Feline Veterinary Medical Information Cerebellar Hypoplasia The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for the control of motion. When a puppy or kitten is born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, the condition is known as congenital cerebellar hypoplasia. There are infectious causes of this condition in both cats (panleukopenia infection prior to birth) and dogs (herpes virus infection prior to birth). Improper development of the cerebellum may occur due to injury, poisoning or just from an accident in development in the uterus. It is generally possible to see signs of this condition almost as soon as the puppy or kitten is born. Affected animals have tremors and unusual jerky movements or may fall down when they try to move. The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten or puppy grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all dogs and cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities. This condition can be confused with cerebellar abiotrophy, a different disorder in dogs in which the puppy has a normal cerebellum at birth but it gradually dies. Signs of disease identical to cerebellar hypoplasia occur but the timing is different. Puppies with this condition seem normal at birth but usually start to show signs of problems after they are 2 months or more of age.

Description:
Olivia is 5 months old. At 10 weeks old, she was turned in with her 3 sisters to a shelter, facing euthanasia because of “possible neurological problems.”



She is a mild CH kitty. When sitting still or walking, her head bobs. She makes me think of the dashboard Chihuahua figurines that have the bobbing head. However, she can run and jump and use the litter box just the same as her non-CH housemates.



Olivia is named for Olivia Benson from Law & Order SVU. She likes to keep an eye on some of the baby kittens. She will wrestle with her sister Apricot, and sometimes with her sister Elli. She protects Cricket when she thinks he is going to get into trouble. Olivia is not a lap cat, but she will sleep at my feet when I am at the computer. She gets along with the other cats just fine, and she likes to stalk the bird cage when the lovebirds come out to eat. I have caught her on top of the cage — she figured out how to climb it.
She is spayed, vaccinated and batch tested negative for felv/fiv. Please fill an application out at www.nar.rescuegroups.org