Expert: Ali - 5/19/2009

Question
We had 2 different litters born.In each litter the striped kittens can not walk without falling.One was to the point he could not even walk with out falling over onto his back....he also could not nurse without having his head shake.Is this a birthdefect? I have never seen this in a kittenbefore.
Thank you for any help.
Anita Correll

Answer
Anita,

I wanted to ask a few questions about these moms and their kittens to give me a better idea of what's happening. I've provided some possible guesses based on my experiences with cats, but there may be other, more concrete pieces of the puzzle missing.

- How old are your queens?

- Are they strictly indoor cats?

- How many litters of kittens has each mom had to date?

- How old are the kittens?

- Are the affected kittens substantially smaller than their healthy siblings or is everyone in the litter about the same size?

- Were your queens vaccinated properly as kittens?

- What kind of diet did you feed the girls during their pregnancies?

- Did either mom show signs of feeling unwell, even slightly during their pregnancies, perhaps before you realized that they were expecting?


I'd like to start off by being completely honest with you - I'm not a veterinarian so I can't diagnose any medical problems. In my experience I would say that the head bobbing and difficulty with balance probably suggests a neurological issue of some sort and sometimes these kittens can improve substantially as they get older, provided of course that someone is willing to take the time to provide special care for these special needs kittens. Sometimes the fact that the kittens are so young and their bodies and brains are developing works as an advantage when it comes to helping them improve to a point where they're able to eat and function almost normally. I'm almost wondering if your queens were exposed to distemper while they were pregnant, the viral infection may have caused minimal symptoms because the moms are adults and kittens are hit hardest. In some cases pregnant queens are exposed to distemper and it affects the development of the unborn kittens' brains, this is a condition called distemper neuropathy and the symptoms you describe sound an awful lot like this might be what's going on. It's a good idea to have the moms and their babies assessed by a veterinarian to help determine what's going on. It's possible that these kittens will need to be adopted by forever families willing and able to provide care tailored to meet their special needs if the kittens are suffering from a neurological condition or have somehow suffered brain damage before, during or after the birth process.  

My youngest resident cat was a rescued stray, we found her late one cool autumn night outside a large church, we often joke that she was praying for a good home and decided we would be okay to take a chance on. Anyway, Kizmit showed some disturbing neurological signs similar to your kittens, she was unable to walk and had uncontrollable head bobbing. We immediately consulted the closest veterinarian who felt that one of two things was happening - Kizmit had either been severely abused by someone and was suffering from a bad concussion or she had distemper neuropathy. Although we were told that Kizmit might never be "normal" we took her home and worked with her providing some occupational and physical therapy of sorts. Over time this kitten's neurological symptoms lessened and eventually disappeared for the most part and I'm happy to report that Kizmit's now a completely normal, healthy, happy and spoiled rotten 4 year old cat.

There is an incredibly serious pet overpopulation issue that affect shelters and rescue organizations, although in your situation it's probably best to spay the moms once the kittens are weaned to avoid taking a chance that whatever is causing the symptoms you're seeing in these kittens could be genetic. Unfortunately many animal loving staff working for animal welfare organizations are forced to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals simply because they don't have the time, space or resources to devote to each animal until their forever family comes along to adopt them. The euthanasia rates for shelter cats tends to be much higher than that of dogs, possibly because cats are seen as disposable or simply because pet parents aren't taking the simply step of controlling pet overpopulation by spaying/neutering their cats.

There are many good behavioral and medical reasons to spay/neuter our cats. Cats that have been spayed/neutered are prevented from getting uterine, ovarian or prostate cancers. The earlier in life that a cat is spayed/neutered the less likely s/he will be to develop prostate or breast cancers later in life. Unspayed female cats are at risk of developing a potentially life threatening uterine infection called pyometra which causes the womb to fill with pus, if the uterus ruptures and spreads infection throughout the abdomen the cat's chances of survival are pretty low. The only treatment for pyometra is to perform an emergency spay, this procedure is much riskier than a routine spay because the cat is already quite sick which is associated with higher risks of anesthetic death and post surgical complications. The emergency spay is more complicated and time consuming so it tends to be quite a bit more expensive than a routine spay.

Many parents believe that the best way for their children to learn about the miracle of birth is to watch the family pet give birth, I strongly advise against that since so many unwanted pets are destroyed every year in shelters. If you do want your children to see a cat (or other domestic pet) give birth there are videos on youtube that will serve the purpose without having the additional burden of finding permanent, responsible homes for unwanted kittens.

The leading cause of death in cats living in North America is euthanasia secondary to behavioral issues. This statistic is heart breaking because many behavioral issues can be prevented through appropriate training or minimized by spaying/neutering our cats. Common behavioral problems including inappropriate elimination (urinating or defecating outside of the litter box), fighting with other cats (the resulting injuries from cat fights often require medical care because bite wounds tend to get badly infected forming abscesses which must be drained under anesthetic, flushed with sterile saline and treated with antibiotics), queens howling to advertise their availability to mate, tom cats caterwauling and fighting to win the right to mate with receptive queens and wandering over a large area are all issues which can be prevented by having the cat spayed/neutered before they reach sexual maturity. Behaviors like house soiling or fighting can sometimes occur with cats that have been spayed/neutered but these behaviors are often related to things like improper introductions to new cats in the household, poor litter box hygiene, scented litter, and other issues which can be easily solved.

Ultimately spaying and neutering our cats is a responsible and ethical choice which saves countless lives worldwide each year. For pet parents that are having difficulty getting the money together for routine vet care I may be able to help find a solution. I keep an ever growing list of resources that may cover part or all of the cost of a routine spay/neuter surgery and routine preventative care such as kitten vaccines, deworming and medications to kill external parasites like fleas and ticks. The only information that I ask for in these cases is that the pet parent provide the general area they are writing from - in Canada or the US the province or state is fine, for international areas a city or town will usually work. Spaying and neutering helps cats to live longer, healthier lives and as kitty caregivers that love our pets we all want to have as much quality time as possible with our furry friends.  If you need any further information about kitty nutrition, kitten socialization or other issues I'm more than willing to offer opinions based on my experience.