Today on behavior we spoke with a woman who wanted to get hints on how to get her cat with cerebellar hypoplasia to use the litter box. So we gave her some suggestions, hopefully they'll work. But why did I call today's blog "Why You Should Vaccinate"? Because cerebellar hypoplasia, or the severe underdevelopment of the cerebellum is caused by Feline Panleukopenia virus, a parvovirus. Cats can get it from contact with bodily fluids from infected cats, or in-utero. If infected in-utero, the kittens that actually survive lack normal cerebellar function and end up looking like this. So who cares about the cerebellum? Well, it's the part of the brain that allows us to coordinate motion. So without it you can move, but motions can be incredibly jerky and uncoordinated especially when you're initiating the motion. So affected cats can make great pets, they can just look a little "special" and they need people who are patient and attentive (but shouldn't all pet owners be?). But to avoid all this, we should all be vaccinating our pets for certain diseases. Speaking of brains, did you know that birds lack sulci or gyri (those "folds" and "grooves" most brains normally have?)on their cerebrums? Ya, don't ask why that person isn't wearing gloves.
No comments:
Post a Comment