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One of the most common questions I get asked about Sophie and cerebellar hypoplasia is if Sophie will get better, and if there is a treatment for cerebellar hypoplasia (CH). Thankfully, CH is not progressive (meaning it will not get worse over time). However, there is no treatment or cure for it either. Cats with cerebellar hypoplasia will have the disorder for their entire lives.
While there isn’t technically a cure or way to treat cerebellar hypoplasia, there are things you can do with your CH kitty to help them build up strength and confidence. The stronger and more confident a CH cat is, the more they will seemingly improve.
I have witnessed this first-hand with Sophie. When we first adopted her, she was very clumsy and couldn’t jump. Flash forward almost five years, and Sophie now jumps up onto the furniture and runs around the house like a marathon runner. Sure, she still tumbles and falls sometimes and doesn’t always stick her landings when she jumps, but when comparing her abilities from five years ago to today, it would appear that she has drastically improved. Other people have even commented that Sophie seems like she has gotten better.
So what’s the secret?
Encourage Play and Exercise
Just like with humans, play and exercise helps to build up muscle and strength in your CH cat. The stronger those little legs are, the more easily your cat will be able to get around and control her movements.
Sophie’s absolute favorite toy in the world is her wand toy, which we call STICK! (Yes, the capital letters and exclamation point are part of the toy’s name. You would understand if you saw the look on Sophie’s face whenever we pull STICK! out 😀 ) We spend time every day playing STICK! with Sophie. She chases it, she twists and turns after it, and she has even recently started jumping for it. All of this activity has undeniably helped her to build up muscle and strength in her legs, which she shows off through her play-time agility.
Being an adventure cat too, Sophie goes on lots of outdoor adventures where she loves to walk around and explore. We carry her some on these adventures, but 99% of the time she insists on being put down so she can walk on her own. Allowing her to walk on her own not only helps her to build up her leg muscles, but it also increases her confidence and sense of independence.
*While I don’t personally have experience with it, some cats with more severe cases of cerebellar hypoplasia have benefited from hydrotherapy. Custom walkers and support slings are also helpful to encourage walking and muscle building with more severe CH cats.
Don’t Baby Your CH Cat
When you have a disabled cat, or handicat, it is easy to baby them out of fear and the desire to protect them. Believe me, I totally get it. It’s not easy to watch Sophie fall, hit her head, completely miss her target when jumping, or tumble down the stairs. I can’t even count how many times I thought I was having a heart attack, thanks to Sophie.
For a little while after adopting her, we babied her. We would carry her around, help her off the couch, pick her up onto the bed, etc. She didn’t have to do anything on her own. This was because every time she tried to do something on her own, I was afraid she was going to hurt herself.
After watching her throw herself off the back of the couch enough times, I began to realize that, even though she wasn’t doing things in the most conventional cat way, she was accomplishing things on her own. I started to see the thrill and look of determination and excitement in her eyes every time she was able to do something she previously hadn’t been able to do. Believe me, there’s nothing like it. Being able to celebrate those victories with her is one of my greatest joys.
Since letting go and even pushing Sophie to do more things on her own, she has accomplished SO much. In fact, here is a list of Sophie’s victories:
- Jumping up onto our bed
- Learning to
scale the stairs like a mountain climber on steroidsclimb the stairs - Climbing the cat tree
- Climbing a 5-foot tall gate
- Becoming one of the coolest adventure cats around
I understand that in the beginning it’s hard not to baby your CH cat, but eventually you just have to let go. I’m not saying not to help her out when she really needs it or is seriously in danger of hurting herself. But learn to realize that she CAN do it. She’s got this. 🙂
Lola The Rescued Cat says
You’ve done such a great job woth Sophie. We love that she’s encouraged to be an independent girl. Go Sophie!
Kristen @ My 3 Little Kittens says
Sophie is SUCH a gorgeous girl. Very thankful that she has adapted so well and can rock the world around her!!!!! Love her photos!!!
Random Felines says
we love telling people about Sophie and all the things she can do!!
Lone Star Cats says
Good info!
The Swiss Cats says
That’s such important information ! It must have been so hard for you indeed, but Sophie is amazing. She’s able to do so many things by herself thanks to your encouragements. Purrs
Fur Everywhere says
Good advice, Emily! There’s definitely a fine line in helping your kitty and babying her. I think it takes a bit of time to find that balance, and I’m glad you have with Sophie. 🙂 She is lucky to have such a loving and caring human mom!
da tabbies o trout towne says
sophie……we iz buzzed happee for ewe N give 984 paws UP two ewe yur dad and mom; itza teem effort N sum wayz N in sum wayz a solo act ~~~~~~~~~ next month ewe will be scalin mountinz …yea ~~~~~ 🙂 ♥♥
The Dash Kitten Crew says
This is such a psotive post, thank you for guding people towards a great way of encouraging their CH cat. Sophie is a great role model for ALL CH cats. We will share!!!
Summer says
You’ve done a great job with Sophie! Honestly, I think kitties in general get babied too much and not challenged enough, but it’s especially important for Cerebellar Hypoplasia kitties to learn to do things.
Kitties Blue says
Excellent post and advice. We are pretty sure there are humans who are too fearful to let their handicat do things on her own. Maybe this will convince them to let their cat give things a try. Astrid sends Sampy bazillions of kisses and oodles of love. And Mom and Dad send love to all. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy
Eastside Cats says
Love the word bubbles on your photo! LOL! Go, Sophie…go!
The Island Cats says
What Sophie can accomplish despite her handicap totally amazes us. And we’re sure that’s due to all the love and care she gets from you.
Kamira Gayle says
I love this. On one of your recent videos I noticed Sophie was walking pretty well, so much so I almost forgot she has CH. I thought my memory was just bad but to now read how her CH is improving I get it. This is so encouraging. It’s amazing what lots of love, confidence and determination can do for handicats. So encouraging. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie says
These are great tips! It’s so important to help your pet be the best version of themselves. I bet helping Sophie build her muscles and coordination and just letting her do her thing and challenge herself has gone a long way.
Cathy Armato says
What a beautiful post! I love the incredible life you’ve given Sophie as well as your other cats. I agree it’s important not to baby or feel sorry for pets that have challenges. Focus on what they CAN achieve! You do exactly that for Sophie.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Cathy Keisha says
TW and Plush CK love Sophie! It’s so good that you let her do things on her own. TW would baby a cat sor sure after how she babies me when she even thinks I’m gonna get an asthma attack She’ll stay up all night listening to my breathing. Sophie is such a happy and loved cat.
Ellen Pilch says
Excellent post. Sophie is a super hero.
Robin says
Sophie is such an inspiration! She never lets life get her down. It seems like most CH cats do pretty well as pets as long as they are well cared for. Not babying anyone with a disability is a challenge. As a compassionate person, your first instinct is to help. However, we all have to learn to overcome the challenges that stand in our way. You build strength through adversity.
MrJackFreckles/Pipo/Angel-Minko/ says
Bravo and bravo to the most spirited kitty evfur!
Nothing will stop her, and love helps her get to all the goals she wants to!
Tamago says
Sophie is an inspiration and definitely one of the coolest adventure cats! It must be really hard not to baby handicat, but glad you got the strength not to. What she has accomplished is truly remarkable!
Timmy says
Sophie is our wonder kitty and we love to visit and see what adventure she is having out and about or at home. Thanks for sharing this dear little handi-able kitty with us all
Sweet Purrfections says
I admire what you’ve done with Sophie and with educating people about cerebellar hypoplasia. I remember meeting Sophie the first time almost 3 years ago and I love her to death. She seems so confident in who she is.
Sweet Purrfections says
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KaylaAnn says
Just happened to come across this article, I wish I had read it when we first took in our CH cat. We definitely babied her too much at first. Anyway, I’ll be sure to send the link to this article to some other CH mums I know. Thank you!
Angela Burgess says
I have had my cat for about 5 months now and he is a little hell raiser. His name is Thud (my partner thinks you should name animals by the noise it makes)
the on problem we have is when he goes for a number 2 he falls often in his own poop and then we try and clean him up which has made him nervous. he has a high walled tray but im not sure if there is a way to help him. any advise?
Emily says
Our Sophie girl used to fall in her poop and make messes all the time too. We’d have to give her baths almost daily. I know you mentioned you have a high sided litter box, but that’s what worked for us. Now we make litter boxes out of big plastic storage bins and just cut out a whole in the side with a box cutter. We don’t keep the lid on, so it’s open. Sophie has learned to lean against the sides or in the corners to keep herself upright when she goes to the bathroom.
If that’s not working for your cat, maybe hold him up to support him when he goes to the bathroom? We used to do that with Sophie. She would meow a lot whenever she’d have to poop, which signaled us that we needed to go help her. It’s not ideal obviously and doesn’t work if you’re not home, but it could cut down on some of the messes. You could start by holding him up and showing him that he can lean against the walls of the box – in a sense, training him to use the high walls.
Virginia 🗣 Campbell says
I fostered 6 infant kittens whose mother was apparently very sick. Multiple vet trips, antibiotics, and tube feedings, and fading kitten syndrome took all but one. She has now survived for 4 weeks, but it is looking like she has cerebral hypoplasia. She is going to be a fighter and has shown her strength throughout this ordeal so her name is Katniss. She enjoys walking and yes it is the hardest thing to watch but I can tell she is getting stronger by being allowed to do this on her own. We have designed our own little sling and practice everyday. 💕
Emily says
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of the kittens, but it sounds like Katniss is indeed a fighter! Thanks for rescuing her and giving her the best life possible!
Michele says
I have a CH kitten. He is about 10 weeks old now. We have had him for about 2 weeks now. We’ve noticed a bit of improvement since he’s been here mainly due to our other cats. One especially, Yoyo. He’s the only one that treats Rolly like there’s nothing wrong. Yoyo plays with him and forces him to use his back paws to fight back. We’ve noticed our other cat Tater tends to sit up above him and swishes his tail getting Rolly to play. The other cats tend to just watch him. Yes, we have 11 cats now (and 3 dogs). One of our dogs Rocky, when Yoyo and Rolly play, he watches them and if he thinks Yoyo is getting too rough, he jumps in. Is there anything you can recommend to help him more? His main problems seem to be trying to eat, he tends to flop over and flip around trying to eat and he knows where the litter box is but he has a lot of trouble getting there. Any help would be awesome.
Kristiina Koo says
Thank you so much for sharing. I just ran into a little kitten in a local shelter that has this condition, and you have really succeeded in making it very understandable as to what is the best approach here. I think Sophie is very lucky to have you – and vice versa! All the best to you all!
Cheryl Bradbury says
G’day, I live in Australia and I love your site, reading about your experiences with Sophie has helped me understand the CH cat better.
I was given a kitten about 8 weeks old, he was found in a paddock in shocking weather. He was all curled up and frozen in that position as well as his eyes and nose were totally blocked from cat flu. He was barely breathing. Vets weren’t open so I cleaned his face up , put him straight on antibiotics. ( I always have medicines for cats as I rescue. )bathed him he was full of fleas and worms. Then spent the next 3 days feeding him thru a eyedropper and syringe plus massaging and slowly stretching his legs. I kept him in a dark area as his eyes were sensative to light. It was when he tried to walk I noticed how wobbly he was, I just put it down to him not being able to move for so long. God only knows how long he was like that. It’s been just over 2 weeks now and I used to keep him in a crate and baby him, now he is off like a wobbly top. I used the keep him in an area next to my bed, he was very determined and kept climbing out so now he has the run of the bedrooms and bathroom and God love him he makes it back to his litter every time, yes he falls sometimes, in the beginning I held him cause he would fall and lay in poops, now if he falls he rolls the the other way and off he goes again. He climbs on the bed and falls off. I took him to my vet, he was healthy in every way, she wasn’t sure what was wrong with him to do with his wobbles. So I did lots of research and came across a site on CH cats, I’m pretty sure that’s his problem. I don’t care Lucky, ( yep that’s his name and very, very lucky to be alive.) fits in very well with the misfit s that live with me, they are all rescues and have their own problems that no-one wants, they are fantastic with him, always gentle.
I have read where swimming is a good exercise for them, so we mite try that, he’s not worried about water.
Thank you for your wonderful insight into the CH cat. May you have a very long life with Sophie. 🐱🐱
Cheryl says
Hi, this is an update on Lucky who in now around 8 months and going great. He has spent the last 4 months being treated by a chiropractor, his back was out from everything that happened to him when he was younger. He finished his treatments today and his improvements on his movements have been outstanding. He still wobbles when he runs but he is more steady on his feet. He jumps on and off the bed and now sticks his landings without collapsing on impact. He would have been classified as moderate before treatment but now his is mild.
To anyone else who has a CH cat I would advise getting a chiropractor to look at their spine, cause when you think about it all the wobbling, twisting and falling over doesn’t do their wee bodies much good.