Is Your Cat Brain Damaged or Just Being the Eternal Kitten?
Posted by JaneAs you know, one of my cats is called Charm. It’s a silly name but one that she came with from the rescue centre. I was overruled by my husband and daughter, when I suggested changing it.
(I wanted Flossie….)
However, four years later, I can see that it suits her beautifully, as she is one of the most ‘charming’ and good-natured cats I have ever known.
And why?
Well, she is the eternal kitten and very endearing in her wide-eyed innocence.
But there is a downside to all this kitten-like lovliness. The reason that she has never grown up is that we strongly suspect that she was brain-damaged at birth - probably due to oxygen starvation.
Our vet has confirmed that she is ‘not quite right’ - she has an odd, barrel shape to her body and her legs and tail are definitely shorter and stubbier than you would normally expect to see in a cat. However, she has a beautifully symmetrical face and big, trusting eyes to compensate.
We very quickly learned that poor Charm has double vision, as she will consistently try to catch any toy or ball by pouncing two inches to its left and simply cannot following a moving object with any accuracy at all. It is quite obvious that Charm needs minutes (yes, minutes, not seconds…) to process data as it enters her not-frightfully-efficient brain and if something hasn’t ‘clicked’ in the first 60 seconds or so, she simply forgets what she was trying to do and wanders off to find somewhere soft to settle down and sleep.
Another side effect of poor Charm’s brain damage is that she doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of smell.
Now, smell is vitally important to a cat and their sense is much more highly developed than ours, but Charm seems to have missed out there too.
As a consequence, Minnie will eat all her own food and then pinch Charms as Charms simply hasn’t ‘computed’ the information that her meal is in front of her and needs eating. Poor cat!
Life with an intellectually challenged cat is both a frustration and a joy - just like having a kitten to care for but without ever getting to the time when, as an adult cat, independence and aloofness set in.
Is anyone else blessed with a brain damaged cat? Leave a comment letting me know what the best and worst things are about dealing with this particular affliction - I’d love to know that Charm isn’t alone in her less-than-perfect world.
I have a kitten named Godiva who will be 2 in March. I call her a kitten because she has always seemed like a kitten and has not grown much more than about 4 pounds. When she was three weeks old her owner picked her up and threw her at the wall because he got mad at her. This caused SEVERE brain damage. She was temporarily paralyzed and her mother rejected her. I found out about this neglected kitten from a friend and while her owner was at work we convinced his roommates to give me the kitten so i could care for her, this was on a Friday. the vets offices were closed for the day and I did not realize the severity of my new kitten injuries. ( it was thought that she couldn’t move due to hunger because she had not eaten in three days or maybe a bone was broken) I began bottle feeding her as soon as I got her home and bathed her since she was covered head to toe in feces and it seemed as though she had been having diarreah. she was STARVING! and ate much more than she ever did again. I fed her every hour or so that day and saw that she was improving slightly. She could not walk and when she would stand up she would get dizzy and fall back over, when she eventually did try walking she could only go in circles. I took a lot of work to get her functional. I eventually taught her to walked straight and to eat but it took over a month to walk and two months to eat semi solid food and not milk. She can now walk and eat pretty well but there is it obvious that she has some trouble. She is also completely blind now and gets a little lost sometimes but has memorized my house and gets around by following walls. She is a very happy sweet and loving little girl, she enjoys playing with the dog and sounds that she hears. The vet was stunned that she not only lived but improved so much. She never grew much, the damaged stunted her growth and she is VERY cuddley. She is a very different cat but I lover her very much.
Hi Lia
You are obviously a very dedicated and loving owner and Godiva is so very lucky to be cared for by you. Most people would have had her put to sleep but you know the immense rewards of sharing your life with a brain damaged cat. It is certainly true that she will be an eternal kitten (just like Charm) and will repay your love over and over again.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful story!
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