He doesn't seem normal.

Our five month old kitten, Edward, seems odd.

Ever since we got him a few weeks ago, he's not seemed like other cats. He is not at all graceful, for one. If pushed off the kitchen table, he will seldom land on his feet. He falls off his cat tree condo. He kicks litter out of his litterbox upon exiting, never seeming to get the hang of a tidier exit. He doesn't seem to groom/clean himself, often needing his bottom wiped (he's a dsh, so it's not a fur issue) and litter cleaned from his feet. It has apparently not occurred to him that if he is always under your feet, he will occasionally be tripped over and stepped upon. He just seems mentally slow and physically inept.

On the flip side, he is very, very sweet.

Is it possible for a kitten to have some kind of brain damage? He is unlike any other cat I've ever met.

Well, that is definitely possible, but kittens are also noted for being (normally) totally spastic.

Daphne would always get litter stuck to her feet. I think she got tired of me washing them so figured out to do it on her own. It is a total cat thing to worm around your legs, either trying to kill themselves or you Sebastian is 12 years old and still kicks litter out of the box.

As for his bottom, I'm not sure. I haven't had that happen yet, but he could be just too busy, kinda like a 10 year old boy being too busy to wash his hands

He is still young, maybe he just needs some training, like mom kitty would show him. I would keep helping him out, and watch him for delayed response, he could be "slow" or other. Most importantly is has he had a full vet check?
Happy New Year!

He sounds very much like a kitten to me

However, if you feel something isn't right a vet can check for neurological damage. I doubt that brain damage has anything to do with kicking litter out of the box or neglect to groom himself. Mine do that too

my Pooka is the most un-graceful cat I have ever know! She is a total klutz!! I have seen her not land on her feet on many occasions! She also has very poor litter box manners. You may want to try a box with deeper sides. This seems to keep a little more litter in the box! I don't think that he sounds too odd. Just a little bit crazy--but that just makes them more lovable IMO. If you do think there is something wrong though, do take him to the vet.

Not to mention Maia is the least graceful kitty I have had the pleasure of knowing! She even seems to take extra care in jumping up on to anything, and will knock anything over if it is in her way of travel. I actually have steps set up to her window perch and she panics if they are blocked, not your typical limber cat! I have never seen her fall from any distance, but have herd her, and it hasn't sounded pretty, I run over making sure she is ok! She is very smart, picks up on my behaviors, but not kitty limber! I also use an enclosed litter box, she goes nuts in there!

Yes, if it can happen in people, it certainly happens in other mammals. But in the wild, those brain-damaged animals would die very quickly due to their slowness. Its the law of the fittest. You would not want a brain-damaged animal to be breeding.

Say for example, you have a brain-damaged zebra (it happens) born. The little zebra may be able to get up and run but it would not be able to run very well or fast and soon would be left in the back of the herd. The lions would spot this "damaged" zebra and quickly kill it and go on. The rest of the herd that is stronger, would escape.

If the kitten was in the wild, the mother would probably abandon it and it would not last very long as its skills would be impaired.

Your kitty may not live a long life or he might, but since you know his limitations, then you can adjust to his handicap. Just make sure he's not really bullied by the other cats too often.

The litter kicking sounds completely normal --- just be thankful he doesn't kick anything else out like my RB cat did on occasion!

Being constantly underfoot is actually more common than not in cats, at least in my experience, so no issue there. Just watch your step.

I highly doubt that Edward is brain-damaged, just based on percentages. That being said, do you happen to know how long he was with his mother? The lack of thorough grooming/cleaning could happen if his mother wasn't around to show him how. And I suppose that if the mother wasn't around for him, one reason might be because she deemed him to be "slow," and instinctually abandoned him, as GoldenKitty mentioned. Again, I want to emphasize that this scenario of cause and effect is highly, highly unlikely, but I thought I'd raise the possibility. As kluchetta noted, all kittens can be a bit uncoordinated at times, and that's the more likely explanation for Edward's mannerisms. It's also part of their charm!

I had one cornish rex kitten that I would have deemed "brain damaged" or a little slow. I raised enough kittens to know what is normal behavior at certain ages. This little girl was also slower - she would never run from normal "danger". She was a little uncoordinated and never tried to do normal kitten things. She was sweet, friendly but would have walked right into "danger"!

The owner that adopted her was so sweet. She had an older cat who became the little kitten's (Tinkerbelle) guide. The kitten would follow the cat around like a shadow, even sitting in front of the litter pan waiting.

So some kittens can be slower and brain damaged.

Originally Posted by RobertM

I highly doubt that Edward is brain-damaged, just based on percentages. That being said, do you happen to know how long he was with his mother? The lack of thorough grooming/cleaning could happen if his mother wasn't around to show him how. And I suppose that if the mother wasn't around for him, one reason might be because she deemed him to be "slow," and instinctually abandoned him, as GoldenKitty mentioned.

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I don't know. I got him from a rescue, who got him from an overflowing pound. I asked his foster mom, but she had no idea. I got him from her when he was 15 weeks, and she'd only had him for a couple of weeks then.

I just saw him cleaning his own bottom for the first time today, so maybe he's finally noticing that his younger kitty buddy, Malcolm, does it. Positive peer influence! Gotta love it!

My girls learned everything from each other, and they are only 5 1/2 months old. But what one did the other copied and vice versa. And thankfully they both brought different skills to the table. Sounds like that is what is happening at your house now. Good luck!

I just wanted to say my kitten is 3 months old and does NOT keep his bum clean! He just gets so excited after a good poop that he tears around the house, then he finally exhausts himself and plops down, and sometimes leaves a little "calling card" on the carpet, couch, or wherever! Gross! I still can not believe that I am wiping a cat's butt sometimes.....

I chalk it up to being a psycho-kitten....BTW, he also misjudges jumps, falls off the bed, and rolls off the couch on a regular basis.