I've heard of clumsy cats...but this??

We adopted "Bill Kitten" about 8 months ago from our local Humane Society. He is a 5-ish year old MC cross/DLH (we are just assuming MC cross, b/c he has lot of the behavioral/physical traits of a MC). After getting him home, we noticed how absurdly clumsy he is. If he stands on his hind legs to bat at a toy, he will fall over backwards. When jumping from furniture, he rarely lands on all fours, and when he does, it's completely ungraceful. If he walks across soft pillow-y furniture (ie: couch), he can barely walk straight. It's like having a drunk cat. Even when my son started walking and we needed to gate off the litter box room, we had to get one of those pet gates with a little door on the bottom, b/c he would NEVER be able to jump more than a foot high. Heck, he has to concentrate just to make it up on the couch.

We have had him checked by our vet, who has given him a clean bill of health. He just said some cats are clumsy. I have also read that MCs can be silly, clown-like and somewhat clumsy. We also asked about his sometimes wall-eyed, feral looking stares and the vet said that can also be a MC trait. So we went along our merry way.

Then yesterday, as I was playing with him and he was getting all excited, his head started wobbling (best description). We love him how he is, and he is the sweetest, most tolerant cat I have ever had. But should we worry that maybe he has something serious going on? Could it be just his personality? Did he possibly bump his head when he was a kitten?

Thanks!

Anyone here? lol

He's got a mild form of cerebellar hypoplasia, I'm 99.9% sure. The head wobble is the clue - and the extreme clumsiness. We have a CH kitty who can't go very far without falling over, she can't jump (but she can climb!), and when she gets excited, her head looks like it's going to wobble off. :lol3:

This condition is the result of being born to a mom kitty that was sick while pregnant, usually with panleukopenia (distemper). It can result in scarring of the brain of the developing babies, the part of the brain that controls motor skill.

Some consider it a handicap, but it doesn't affect anything about them other than their coordination. There is a great "spokescat" for CH, and his name is Charley. Obviously Charley's CH is more extreme than your kitty's, or your vet would "see" it. But I'm fairly confident you have a CH kitty with very mild scaring. :heart2:

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[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Oh! Yes - the "drunken" comment, and I didn't read close enough the first time ( :anon: ) - your kitty can't jump more than a foot or so... Yes, your kitty has cerebellar hypoplasia. :heart2: And it is SO endearing. Our little Ming Loy is so darn happy - and actually our smartest cat. :lol3:

Oh my gosh!! I just googled it and it sounds EXACTLY like him! And you are right, I think our vet didn't pick up on it, b/c it's not too extreme in his case. I'm just thrilled to find some answers. I am also thrilled, because I read that it is non-progressive (huge sigh if relief!). On the other hand, poor thing! I am glad he is in a loving home, here with us. Thanks for the help :-)

Glad to be of help! And yes, I'm so glad he's there with you, being so loved! :rub:

I'm reading this and I think my boy Dignan has the same thing. His case seems even more mild than your boy's. At 8 months old, Dignan can now run and walk normally. He is very fast and easily beats my other cats when they race around, though I've always noticed that  he seems to have more of a rolling 'panther' gait than my other cats. The strange thing is that  he can barely jump at all. He has to have a step ladder to get on the kitchen counters, a chair to get on the kitchen table and he spends a LOT of time on the floor. My other cats can easily jump three times as high/far as he can.  Also he can climb VERY VERY fast, but he almost falls off the cat trees, like he is a little tipsy and when he climbs down, he does it so strangely. I've never seen a cat move like him. He is a flame point and is a little cross eyed at times (barely noticeable) and I wondered if it was his vision, but when I first found him as a sickly 12 week old 1.9 lb stray kitten he walked EXACTLY like charley in the video, with his back legs. 

If your kitty got a clean bill of health from your vet (inner ears are clean, and upon gross inspection, look anatomically correct, eyes are clear, bright and anatomically correct, etc.), it could be just the way your kitty is.
He *could* have FCH (feline cerebellar hypoplasia), but I am a vet tech, not a vet, and I would be very hesitant to diagnose a kitty that could just have a simple case of "breed clumsies" with something like FCH, which, in severe cases, is a sad thing to see!
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you or anyone else is wrong, but no one can diagnose your kitty (not even you, unless you are trained in the diagnosis of disesases and disorders in animals) without examining him and ruling other issues out.
There are many undetectable/hard to diagnose issues out there that have similar/like symptoms. I'd hate for you to think your kitty just has a mild case of FCH, go about your life as usual, then BAM! One day, kitty seizes. Turns out what you thought was FCH was a seizure disorder that requires medical intervention (this is just an example!).
I have had two foster cats (that I went on to adopt) with verified-by-vet (MRI) FCH. One was a more severe case, left kitten significantly impaired, mobility-wise. She succumbed to FIP a year later.
The cat in my avatar is my current FCH kitty. Her name is Willow, and she has a mild case. Mostly head "wobbles" and inability to jump. She is my curtain shredder because of her lack of jumping skills, lol.
Again, please don't take my post the wrong way, but unless your kitty gets an MRI or CAT scan done by a vet who knows what malformations they are looking for, you can only make a guess as to what might be the issue!
Your cat has to be the most gorgeous ginger I have ever seen!