And that's just what she'll do....
My little Bootie is braindamaged. It is a result of a virus her mother had while she was pregnant. Unfortunately, Bootie lost her other 5 siblings very early on in life, and as the smallest and weakest of the kittens, we didn't think she would make it. But, against all the odds, she did! We didn't think that she would walk.... but she did. It was discussed that perhaps she sould be euthanised. But she was fighting, and we fought in her corner too...
Now that she is living with me, she is walking and running and even jumping! (albeit badly) Oh yes and living the high life.
But I've noticed why it is that she wobbles so much when she walks and runs. It isn't that her balance is that bad... because that's what we thought it was... no. She walks differently to your average "normal" cat. Because she has had no input from mum and siblings on how to do these simple things, she has developed her own styles.
A normal cat walks with it's front-right and back-left at the same time, and vice-versa. Not my Bootie. She uses both left and both right legs at the same time, like a camel!
A normal cat runs relatively smoothly again the same paw pattern - my Bootie will use the correct paw pattern, but with stiff legs, so her little butt wobbles from side to side like a woman in stillettos!
And when a cat jumps, they usually land their front legs first. Bootie-boot will land her back paws first. To jump into the windowsill, we have a chair placed so that she can jump onto that and then up to the sill (because she can't jump from floor to sill, it's too high - but she loves to look out the window). She jumps to the chair, landing her back feet first - and without putting her front feet down - she HOPS to the sill!!
She is simply the most adorable little thing - I'm so proud of her for making progress that no-one ever believed in
She has her own way of doing things, and it's working for her!
My little Bootie is braindamaged. It is a result of a virus her mother had while she was pregnant. Unfortunately, Bootie lost her other 5 siblings very early on in life, and as the smallest and weakest of the kittens, we didn't think she would make it. But, against all the odds, she did! We didn't think that she would walk.... but she did. It was discussed that perhaps she sould be euthanised. But she was fighting, and we fought in her corner too...
Now that she is living with me, she is walking and running and even jumping! (albeit badly) Oh yes and living the high life.
But I've noticed why it is that she wobbles so much when she walks and runs. It isn't that her balance is that bad... because that's what we thought it was... no. She walks differently to your average "normal" cat. Because she has had no input from mum and siblings on how to do these simple things, she has developed her own styles.
A normal cat walks with it's front-right and back-left at the same time, and vice-versa. Not my Bootie. She uses both left and both right legs at the same time, like a camel!
A normal cat runs relatively smoothly again the same paw pattern - my Bootie will use the correct paw pattern, but with stiff legs, so her little butt wobbles from side to side like a woman in stillettos!
And when a cat jumps, they usually land their front legs first. Bootie-boot will land her back paws first. To jump into the windowsill, we have a chair placed so that she can jump onto that and then up to the sill (because she can't jump from floor to sill, it's too high - but she loves to look out the window). She jumps to the chair, landing her back feet first - and without putting her front feet down - she HOPS to the sill!!
She is simply the most adorable little thing - I'm so proud of her for making progress that no-one ever believed in
She has her own way of doing things, and it's working for her!
