Saturday, March 15, 2008

Caring For A Special Needs Cat

Many of you have probably seen the video of Charlie, the "amazing cat with Cerebellar Hypoplasia." For those of you who have not, we have added Charlie's video clip from You Tube. The disease that Charlie has, Cerebellar Hypoplasia, is most often caused by a mother cat having distemper during pregancy. While Charlie may not suffer from distemper himself, his Cerebellar Hypoplasia, was more than likely a result of his mother carrying the virus during his birth. Watching this video of Charlie hopefully confirms why every cat should be vaccinated agaisnt this nasty virus. Cerebellar Hypoplasia, is not pretty. It causes neurological damage that can vary slightly like Charlie's to the extreme, leaving some kitties with a complete inability walk, or even move their legs. We are mentioning Charlie today, and Cerebellar Hypoplasia because it was one of the diseases that the vets originally suspected Moki had. While we have since ruled out Cerebellar Hypoplasia as the cause of Moki's neurological condition, we wanted to focus a little on Charlie, and the publicity this video gave to special needs cats and kittens. Many people after seeing Charlie's video wanted to adopt CH (Cerebellar Hypoplasia) kittens. Few however where fully prepared for taking care of these animals. Charlie drew alot of attention to CH and for that we are thankful, but unfortunately, Charlie only told one side of the story, the side which feature a cat who had no "special needs..."


This got us thinking...where we also guilty of presenting just one side of the story? Day in and day out, Moki requires special care. My boyfriend and I are so accustomed to providing this care, that it often escapes us, and has just become part of our daily activities/life. Since many people have never owned a special needs kitty like Moki, we are sure that many of you probably have lots of questions about what all goes into caring for Moki. In fact we have even received some emails to that effect...

It is with this in mind, that we want to open up Moki's blog, and get your feedback. What would you like to know about caring for a special needs kitty like Moki? What types of videos would you like to see about the care we provide him? Leave us your feedback and suggestions in the comments section, and we will shoot the videos next week. We will then feature a new blog posting everyday of the week, answering all your questions and showing you first hand, everything that goes into caring for a cat like Moki...

10 comments:

Karen Jo said...

I haven't been reading Moki's blog for long, so you may have already answered this question. Do you have to help Moki with his grooming? It looks like he may have trouble keeping his hindquarters groomed.

Tara said...

I like learning about Moki's every day life. And I tagged him for a meme!

Tara

Poppy Q said...

Me and my mum was wondering is do the other cats look out for Moki or pick on him?

Oh and Moki, I is going to send you lots of kisses and warm late summer hugs.

Purrs to you too buddy.

Jan Price said...

We just love the determination of Charley and Moki. They are special cats and they have special humans.

Jan's Funny Farm

Artsy Catsy said...

Hi Moki, how are you doing today? We think this is a wonderful idea, posting about your care. One thing we were wondering is if you have problems using your litter box - do you need a special setup?

Rocky

MaoMao said...

Awwww, Charlie looks like such a purreshus kitty, just like you are, Moki! We would love to know more about you and the speshul care you receive.

Kittyhugs and purrs from MaoMao!

Anonymous said...

Moki, I am honored to meet you, and I hope we can become very good friends! I admire your courage, and I, too, would like to know more about the special care you get. Welcome to the Cat Blogosphere! And please know that I will purr for you.

Purrs and snuggles from Marilyn.

Rosemary B❤️ said...

Charlie is a very sweet kitty.
We are very proud of you two for caring for Moki and dedicating your time to assist him. He loves both of you very much, and this will be something that you two can share with love.
Mommie had to take care of Caesar for a whole year he needed subq fluids every day. It really brings you super close, and makes your love bond even stronger.
Now that Caesar is gone, mommie misses him very much. I am here to help her and thankfully she still has a part of Caesar... me, his littermate. That gives her comfort.

Can Moki climb up things?
Does he want to scratch things?
Does he need help in the litter box?
What is his favorite food.

I love you Moki. You are such a great friend. Every day I purr for you.

<3 Princess

michico*Adan*Lego-小芥*阿丹*樂高 said...

Moki is a very very sweet dear~~
He is very brave, may be the bravest cat I have every seen!!! Everytime I saw his video try to reach something, My eyes are leaking.
He is so so great and brave!!!!
I hope everything could slowly going better on Moki~!!!! And as Moki's mom bean, you are also great!!!!!

admin said...

My brother once said that Moki probably got this disease when he was in the shelter, he thought it looked like distemper virus has attacked Moki, since Bunyu & Bunjie were attacked by this nasty virus in 2004 & 2006, they both the only survivors among my other cats & kitties who had this distemper....Bunyu & Bunjie were walking like the way Moki did when they were gravely-ill, thank God now they both fully recovered. Though Bunyu seem more sluggish after this illness, or perhaps she is getting old and I assume that Bunyu since she was kitten, she was very calm, not being a very playful kitty like others.

There's been a debate in the catlover group I joined, whether distemper shots is necessary or not. I emphasize it is needed, based on myexperience with Bunyu & Bunjie.....