CH Kitty Club
Worldwide Support for People Living with Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats
Home
|
Member Showcase
|
Pet Diaries
|
Tips from Members
|
Adoptions
|
Live Chat
|
Videos
Create Account
/
Sign In
Artistic Errata
|
External Links
|
Birthdays
|
Memorials
|
Donate/Fundraising
|
Join
|
Contact
20050101 Ali (Gem)
Gem came to me in June when he was three weeks old, he was just one kitten from fourteen and three adults that came in that day. Straight away I noticed he had problems, his nose was badly congested so he couldn't breathe or suckle properly. Because of this the mother cats rejected him and the stronger kittens bullied him...... I fell for the tiny ball of tabby fluff straight away, though I doubted he would survive. Over the next few days I tried hard to feed Gem formula but he was not at all interested, it was like he had had enough and wanted to be left in peace to die. When Gem reached four weeks of age I decided to offer him some kitten food in the hope that he would accept it and decide to live. I mashed a small amount of food and put it in my hand, then I held my hand near to Gem's tiny face. He dived straight in and ate almost all the food in my hand. It was such a relief to see the little man finally enjoying something. After this I gave Gem small amounts of food every couple of hours, he was very underweight after not being cared for the first three weeks of his life. Gem was eight weeks old, the other kittens were growing well, most of the older ones had gone to new homes...... but Gem hadn't grown at all. This wasn't the only cause for concern though, Gem's eyes did not focus, when he heard me enter the kitten room he would run and sit at my feet, crying to be picked up. He couldn't see that he was so close to me. I sent Gem to the vet to have his eyes checked. The vet agreed that his eyes weren't right, but nothing could be done until Gem was older. At this point I was willing to try anything to give the tiny kitten a chance at a happy life so I arranged for a Spiritualist Healer to visit. The Healer held the tiny Gem over a crystal, I wasn't convinced that it would work but there was nothing to lose. The Healing only took a few minutes and when it was done I carried Gem to the door to say goodbye to the Healer. Outside the sun was shining and as I stood on the doorstep I thought I saw Gem's pupils move as he glanced towards the sun, I carried Gem back inside and he slept until my husband came home from work. As soon as my husband walked into the room Gem's head lifted up and his eyes focused on him! It was amazing. I took Gem into the garden and moved him around, every time I held him in a different position his eyes adjusted to the light. Then I took him back inside and stood holding him as my husband waived a piece of white tissue from side to side, Gem's eyes followed every movement. Although this would be a good place to end this story it is far from the end. For the next couple of weeks things went well, Gem adjusted very quickly to his new found eyesight and started playing like a kitten should. It was so wonderful to see, but it didn't last. All of a sudden Gem became badly constipated. I waited to see if the problem would resolve itself but it didn't so the next day Gem returned to the vet. The vet squeezed Gem's bowel and bladder to empty the contents, he mentioned that it might be a neurological problem but I hoped it was just a result of Gem stealing some adult food from my big cats. Two days later Gem started having trouble again and was admitted to the surgery to have his bowel cleared out. The vet sent him home with some capsules which were supposed to help, but they did nothing so I did some research of my own. I logged onto the Internet and looked at several veterinary web sites. I found lots of information about constipation/megacolon in cats, including that US vets treat the problem with lactulose so I started giving Gem 2.5ml of lactulose daily. To my relief the lactulose worked perfectly and Gem did not have to see the vet again. I was still very concerned about him though. By this time he was four months old and still the same size as a seven week old kitten. I took Gem to a new vet for a second opinion and straight away he was diagnosed as having a defective pituitary gland. At the time I did not realise the implications, I was just so relieved that Gem finally had a definite diagnosis. When I got home I hit my cat books, only one has information about the pituitary gland but it was very helpful. The pituitary gland is the master gland, it controls every other gland and hormone in the body. Gem has no growth hormones, no sex hormones, he can't smell properly, or sense heat. He has no control over his heart rate or body temperature and his immune system is weak. His bowel problem is caused by the lack of growth hormones, but in a few months, when he has stopped growing, he can have surgery to correct it. After the surgery he will no longer need the lactulose, the slight swelling of his liver (caused by toxins being pushed back from the bowel) will go away and he will be a lot more comfortable. I should point out that Gem is the happiest, most affectionate little cat I've ever known. He will always be small but he will always be happy too. Liberated Alicat
Choose a Member's Story
20190603 doutman (Bella)
20151122 Tippers (Tippers)
20150208 BiffsMomma330 (Biff)
20140511 kookiekween99 (Figaro)
20131217 BMajorPain1 (Moxie)
20131211 FigTree (Miss Wiggles)
20131103 heatherb (Dr. Hunter S. Thompson)
20130908 sjthomas (Avery)
20130725 MelissaH (Mr Moon and Sir Stars)
20130705 estever (Oreo)
20130117 AmyleaEliana (Eli)
20121216 debivc78 (Captain Morgan)
20121212 Miergon (Shaky)
20121114 heatherb (Dr. Hunter Thompson)
20121001 tgaleana2292 (Triton Boy)
20120716 BethAnne (Tipsy)
20120709 jleigh (Jasper)
20120619 3trips (So-lu )
20120521 lizziebarrett (Luna & Spike)
20111205 marciab (Pepe Le Pew)
20111119 NicoleB (Piper)
20111117 Jillriley1989 (Weeble)
20111106 vivienneOR (Pippa)
20110913 sandrag (Rani )
20110912 SarahCrowey90 (Stevie Pancakes)
20110901 MandiLovesCJ (Cassius Jibbilonious (CJ))
20110731 Debbie W (Simba)
20110709 sicleggett (Tipsy)
20110704 philippajane (Lizzie Lu)
20110430 JennyT (Slate)
20110221 rebeccasmart (Sir Wiggleton)
20110211 yeesey85 (Hippa)
20110211 yeesey85 (Nanako)
20110105 JanetK (Poppie)
20101210 AmandaMaurer (CG)
20101121 AmyWCH (Moses (Momo))
20101121 AmyWCH (Tatijana (Tata))
20101107 Salsa's Mom (Salsa)
20101101 OliviaM (Minga)
20101011 weeble (Weeble Wobble)
20101008 cdickson (Toddie)
20100930 lizziebarrett (Ziggy)
20100911 KarenS (Weeble (of Baltimore))
20100906 Silverminx (Romeo)
20100830 Wibbles (Wibbles)
20100829 susan36 (Baby)
20100821 sullis1234 (Buster)
20100819 Darkdazeys (Twitch) Deceased
20100809 DaniBonner (Cha-Cha)
20100807 Kalika611 (Riley Dean)
20100724 teresap (Emma)
20100724 teresap (Gabriel)
20100724 teresap (Phoenix)
20100724 teresap (Trooper)
20100718 ericap (Monkey & Mckenzie)
20100717 tan (Martha)
20100711 ericap (Serenity)
20100708 ~leslee (Kewpie)
20100629 cat crazy roe (Hope & Munchkin)
20100623 "beta"flippersmom (Princess)
20100622 DeannaK (Dempsy)
20100621 ericap (Matthew and McKayla)
20050101 Alexandra (Jillian)
20050101 Allison (Skittles)
20050101 Amy (Benny)
20050101 Anjelica (Deirdrie)
20050101 Anne Stillion (Frog) Deceased
20050101 Annette (Wiggy)
20050101 Annette Gavit (Shakey)
20050101 Barabara Wills (Tim & Turvy)
20050101 Becky (Napoleon)
20050101 Beth Chase & Heather (Buddy) Deceased
20050101 Bob & Diane (Wobbles)
20050101 Bree (Maja)
20050101 Brian & Kathleen (Sally)
20050101 Carol (Topsy)
20050101 Carole (Gretel)
20050101 Catherine Costas (Shredder)
20050101 Charlene (Princess) Deceased
20050101 Christine (Otis)
20050101 Cindy (Andy)
20050101 Coleen (Amber)
20050101 Crissy (Weebles)
20050101 Dan & Cheryl (Tumbles)
20050101 Darren & Amy (Ande)
20050101 Dawn (Max)
20050101 Debbie Ridgley (Thumbelina)
20050101 Deedra Watson (Shorty)
20050101 Deidre (Pickles)
20050101 Donna & Dave (Oscar) Deceased
20050101 Elizabeth (Janis)
20050101 Elizabeth Christie (Sophie)
20050101 Elizabeth Grant (Lucy)
20050101 Ellie (Blackie & Tabby)
20050101 Elvia (Jip)
20050101 Erin (Tryumph)
20050101 Heide (Olivia & Lucie)
20050101 Jackie & Ken Mathias (Floppy)
20050101 Jan (Eli)
20050101 Jan (Misty)
20050101 Jan (Zeke) Deceased
20050101 Janette (Thor)
20050101 Jennifer (Jello)
20050101 Jenny Wilson (Emmet)
20050101 Jerald (Hillary)
20050101 Jessica Ault (Booger)
20050101 Joan (Tootsie)
20050101 Judy (Sammie)
20050101 Julia (Twitch)
20050101 Karen (Bitsy) Deceased
20050101 Karen (Mikey)
20050101 Kate (Kayden)
20050101 Kathy (Bambi)
20050101 Kathy (Blazer, Scout, & Ranger)
20050101 Kathy (Cherokee)
20050101 Kathy (Pebbles)
20050101 Kathy (Sweet Girl) Deceased
20050101 Kathy (Trey)
20050101 Kerry (Muffin)
20050101 Kim (Tony & Mina)
20050101 Kitty (Izzy Bella)
20050101 Kris (Lydia)
20050101 Kristen (Bobby)
20050101 Kristina (Loki)
20050101 Laura (Monster)
20050101 Lisa (Jilly Bean)
20050101 LizzieBarrett (Shiloh) Deceased
20050101 LizzieBarrett (Tardy)
20050101 Lynn (Lefty & Precious)
20050101 Margaret (Samantha)
20050101 Mary (Tinkerbell)
20050101 Melissa (Storm)
20050101 Michael (Whoopsy Daisy)
20050101 Michelle (Ray Charles)
20050101 Mimmi (Gretta & Paddy Pooh)
20050101 Missy (Tipsy)
20050101 Montana (Zero)
20050101 Nikki (Billy)
20050101 Pam (Cooper)
20050101 Pat Reneris (Weeble)
20050101 Pricilla (Whippet)
20050101 Richard (Mazel)
20050101 Sarah (Mr. Peabody)
20050101 Sharon Talbert (Tipsy)
20050101 Sheray (Forest)
20050101 Sherry (Buddy)
20050101 Steve (Mr. Meatball) Deceased
20050101 Tammy & Marty (Bob)
20050101 Therese Ball (Sarabella)
20050101 Tina (Doodle)
20050101 Yiannis & Marta (Piperita)
Click here to
see stories of our members' kitties that have handicaps other than CH