Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Wheelchair for peaches?

Last night I was looking at wheelchairs for Peaches, the CH (cerebellar hypoplasia) cat, on the internet.  For those unfamiliar with CH, it can occur when a mother cat contracts panleukepenia (feline distemper) while pregnant which can in rare cases attack the cerebellum of the kittens resulting in balance problems, jerky movements, tremors and walking difficulties.  There are several videos on YouTube which show these loveable cats in action.

Peaches came in last year at 3 days old with her mother and siblings, it took a few weeks to realise she had CH.  Her litter mates were all fine. She is a complete sweetheart and the love of my life.  She will of course live out her life here however long or short that may be.

Peaches is 8 months old now, a little small for her age and is quite severe in that she can manage a few slow steps before falling over. But in every other respect, she is a cat.  Sure it takes her longer to eat or get to where she wants to go, but she gets there in the end. She has her own way of doing things and that's fine. She has a good quality of life, good nutritious food, a heat pad in her bed at night to keep her cosy, plenty of toys to keep her occupied, her own way of playing and trips outside to "climb" trees (I hold her while she climbs with her front legs).

But I often wonder if a quad wheelchair would benefit her.  There's a website in the US with some amazing machines for animals with special needs. 
They have a branch in the UK which I checked.  Might give them a call in the next few days. Prices begin at £400 stg!


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