disease of cats

Question
Please do send me a link to this website.  I will ask her tomorrow if the kitten can hear.  im not sure actually because it will follow people around with its eyes.  Maybe you can find out how to handle the matter of the litter box.  since it has no coordination...it has a hard time making it to the litterbox.  any info would be most helpful.  thank you much for all your help.
Melissa
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I gave my friend this information and she said the vet checked her blood levels and they are fine.  It has been this way since birth.  Even its facial features do not resemble that of a normal kitten.  It almost appears as if it has Down's Syndrome.  Can you advise to a web site we could go find information on special needs cats?  Thank You so much
Melissa
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
my friend has a 12 week old kitten that her vet says has weeble wobbles.  It cant walk without falling over and when it tries to stand, it falls over.  Can you tell me where I can find some information about this disease? I'm not sure of the true name of it.  Thank You
Melissa
Answer -
Hi Melissa.  I would highly recommend taking this kitten to another veterinarian asap.  What is more than likely happening to this kitten is that her blood sugar level has dropped, which is highly common in kittens.  A glucose test needs to be done ASAP.  Kittens get stressed after weaning from their mother's milk and their bodies have a hard time handling kitten food.  Usually 12 weeks is the age in which the insulin in the body will not work properly.  There will be no long term effects. This kitten just needs an injection to boost her glucose level and she should be fine then.  Please, make sure your friend gets her to another veterinarian ASAP.  If this condition is left untreated, the results WILL lead to death.  The kitten is falling over, which means that she is begining to crash.  She needs veterinary care now.  Please keep me posted as to how she does.
Hilary
Answer -
Melissa,
Since you mentioned that she has a "down syndrome look" about her, something came to mind.  Can she hear?  If you crinkle paper, is there a response?  
Here is why I ask.  Have you ever heard of Waardenburg Syndrome?  It is a genetic disease that effects not only humans, but any mammal.  I actually have a ferret with this disease that falls over and looks like she has down syndrome.  I didn't even think of this until you mentioned how the kitty looks.  Waardenburg syndrom is not at all deadly.  It's simply a genetic problem that compromises the nervous system, leaving the motor skills damaged and the animal behaving a bit neurological.  Often times you will find the effected animal with no balance, deaf, two different color eyes, and/or the "down syndrome" look.  This is not something that will show up in blood work but there are some tests out there that may be able to be done.  If there was blood work taken by the veterinarian and nothing significant showed, I would definately suspect Waardenburg syndrome.  I will talk to the veterinarian that I work with about this tomorrow and see what his opinion on this matter is.  If you would like me to send you a website on Waardenburg syndrome, just let me know!
I will let you know what I find,
Hilary

Answer
Hi Melissa!  The litter box is going to be a difficult task, at least until the kitten gets bigger.  Getting a litter box that is very small and very, very shallow, may be a good idea, as the kitten may find it easier to get in and out.  It is common for Waardenburg Syndrome Cats to have some sort of white coloring in their coats.  Did you ever see an all white cat with two different colored eyes?  Cats that look like this always have waardenburg syndrome. I had talked to the vet that I work with and he agrees that these are some prominent symptoms of Waardenburg Syndrome in a kitty.  Here is what he told me: In the kitten stage, their will be structural problems, off-balance, off motor skills, but because of this syndrome, it makes it more difficult for these cats to develop as quickly as the average cat.  In time, this kitten may grow to not be as wobbly or even wobbly at all, and to be a bit more graceful.  They are just a bit slower getting down the motor skills.
Here is a general website on Waardenburg Syndrome, explaining it and how it was found:
http://www.boystownhospital.org/parents/info/genetics/waardenburg.asp
I hope this helps,
Hilary