Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia

Please meet Charlie!



This is Charlie
He's not like other cats
He has Cerebellar Hypoplasia
In other words his motor skills aren't so "hot"..
But he loves to play!
Hang out with his friends
And watch the world go by....
He's in no pain
Requires no special care
And has a normal life expectancy.

Since most people don't know
About Cerebellar Hypoplasia,
Cats like Charlie are
Needlessly destroyed.

If you have a kitten that
Shows symptoms like
Charlie's, ask your vet for
More information.

If they're anything like
Charlie, they just might be
One of the best cats
You've ever had.


Check the next link to find out more about Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia: The CH Kitty Club



What is 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.



How do cats cope with it?


In humans, the problems would be significant disabilities. CH cats don't worry over their inability to do things in the same way or at the same speed as other cats. Spastic cats can do everything other cats do and are equally independent - they climb fences, play and performs daredevil feats, though they can be alarming to watch, especially as they teeter along a fence. Occasionally they slip, catch hold with their claws and haul themselves back up again; make sure there are soft plants to cushion any fall! Like disabled humans most won't want to be overprotected, but in the same way that disabled facilities are made available to humans, some thought needs to be given to toilet facilities, access to favorite spots etc to ensure their well-being.

It is not advisable to give a spastic cat free access to outdoors as their mobility problems, perception problems and possible sight problems makes traffic doubly hazardous to them. If you have an enclosed garden or a cat harness and leash they can have access outdoors. Many people are unaware of the condition and people who see these cats twitching on the path outdoors sometimes try to help the 'injured cat', but the cat's crazy zigzag run confuses most pursuers - they simply don't end up in the place they appeared to be heading for (one more reason roads pose such a threat, a driver who tries to avoid the cat cannot compensate for the cat ending up in the wrong place). Even birds are caught unawares by this zigzag approach and I know of spastic cats who are reasonable hunters, exploiting this element of surprise. CH cats are extremely independent and owners report that affected cats usually have "sunny personalities", but some allowances still have to be made.

A caring owner can think of other ways in which to help a disabled feline companion, but beware of being overprotective. A disabled cat still requires some semblance of independence to allow it to fulfill that inner 'catness' that we love in our feline friends. Most seem unaware of their disabilities and they do not expect life to make allowances, but a helping hand and some adjustments to their lifestyle and perhaps your own lifestyle will ensure a disabled cat has a healthy, happy and safe life.

(full text available at ---> "Cerebellar Hypoplasia")

Puppy Mills & Pet Stores

What is a Puppy Mill?


By the formal definition, a puppy mill is a large-scale breeding operation that produces large numbers of puppies for profit.
What the formal definition overlooks is that most puppy mills are inhumane in their treatment of breeding dogs and puppies.
Many are filthy, and are run by people who have no idea about or concern for the genetic implications of breeding or about what dogs require in terms of basic health care and socialization. Many are simply hellholes in which the breeding dogs are kept in the most deplorable conditions - dogs confined to small wire cages for their entire lives, fed inadequately, kept in unheated buildings, denied basic veterinary care. The breeding dogs are sick, wounded, and malnourished. And their lives are miserable.
When their breeding usefulness is over, they may be killed or dumped.
Large-scale mills do not take their older dogs to shelters, as a rule, because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.

from: http://www.almosthomerescue.org/puppymill/puppymill.htm



When you buy a puppy from a pet store or puppy mill you support a cruel industry, subjecting the mommy to more torture, as they will just breed her more.
Every time a puppy is bought from a puppy mill or pet store a shelter puppy dies.
Please consider these facts On Puppy Mills:

1- Dogs are bred & rebred every time they come into heat.
Female dogs are bred as soon as they can bred and twice a year thereafter until their bodies wear out and they die at about four or five years old or are destroyed.
2- They live outside most of the time in cages with wire bottoms where they get caught and tear they legs or worse.
3- Sometimes these are stacked where the feces & urine goes down into the cages below.
4- Outside in hot or cold temperatures. Rain, snow, burning sun... it doesn't matter.
They are not protected.
5- Many times there are several in one cage crowded and crapped The filth is enough to make them sick and there is no vetinerary care for those who are or are injured.
6- They are never left out of their cages - never loved or handled. They never know love or human companionship. The conditions in the mills are horrible and terrifying.
Many dogs eventually lose their minds. Their eyes glaze over and they withdraw.
Frequently they develop repetitive behaviors like licking, biting their fur and going round and round in circles. The dogs never get out of the their cages. . They never run in the grass.
Dogs are often trapped in cages with aggressive dogs and have no way to escape.
7- Babies are born with defects from the abuse and emotional problems.
8- They are inter bred which can lead to more defects.
9- They are feed only enough to keep them alive. Most of the time the food bowls are empty and no water. Dogs suffer malnutrition so severe that their hair falls out.
10- Some places ram pipes down their throats to keep them from barking, causing the rupture of their vocal cords.
11- Puppies are taken from the mothers long before it is time. They are shipped in trucks sometimes across states overcrowded and not taken care of.
12- Brokers take them to pet stores to sell. They have not been checked for defects or any diseases.
13- When a puppymill puppy is bought - the owner can end up paying thousands of dollars because of the conditions they were bred and transported in.
14- A lot don't even make it. They die before they ever get to the pet stores.
15- If they are deformed and not good for more breeding they are killed in inhumane ways.
16- They are never socialized. They never get out of they cages.
17- Many of these puppies are born with genetic conditions of the heart and lungs, seizures which sometimes don't show up for years.
18- Many of them have parvo, worms, mange, and various other disorders. The combination of poor food, poor conditions and no veterinary care causes their teeth to rot at early ages. Often the dogs have gum disease and their jaws rot.
19- Even if they come with registration papers - it does not mean they came from good breeding conditions.
20- The AKC receives revenue from the millers for these registrations. When the parents are no longer useful to the millers they are disposed of- (shot- beat or what ever methods they want to use.)

Remember this for every puppy sold at a pet shop - A shelter puppy dies.


What You Can Do

If you have any compassion at all for the animals bred and raised under these miserable conditions, stay out of pet stores. Each puppy purchased from a pet store,
a back yard breeder, via the Internet, in newspaper ads, or at the mill itself, serves an industry with no conscience. Thousands of unwanted animals of all ages and breeds are euthanized at shelters every day. Adopt and spay or neuter a shelter animal or rescued companion animal to help break the cycle of suffering, misery, and death.
In this way, you will do your part to help end the plight of unseen thousands housed in puppy mills throughout the world.

from: http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/puppy/puppymills.html


- 10 Ways You Can Help Fight Puppy Mills

- Sign the 'Stop Puppy Mills Pledge'


Find out more on Puppy Mills & How to Stop it:

- Stop Puppy Mills
- Prisoners of Greed
- HSUS - Get the Facts on Puppy Mills
- Last Chance for Animals
- CAPS - Companion Animal Protection Society
- Puppy Mill Rescue
- ASPCA on Puppy Mills
- Learn about Puppy Mills
- PETA - Puppy Mills facts
- Puppy Mill Awareness Day
- United Against Puppy Mills
- IDA USA - The Horror of Puppy Mills
- IDA USA - Puppy Mills Facts
- Geocities on Puppy Mills
- Puppy Mill Protest
- MySpace - Don't Shop, Adopt!
- MySpace - Ban Puppy Mills
- MySpace - No Puppy Mills