Serious question....Can cats be retarded?

Question

I rescued a kitten that was abandoned by her mother at 4 days old and actually I brought her in the house to die in comfort but I took to good of care of her and she lived. Her name is Birdie. She has been back and forth to the vet with URI's and is over that now. She is just over 18 mos old and is smaller than a 6 month old cat but now the vet is telling me that she is retarded ( along with having a twisted spine). She is very strange, but I love her to death. She can never go outside alone and I have outfitted the front porch so she can go out there and hang out. She does not walk anywhere, she hops at a high rate of speed. She is always falling off things and is not very graceful at all. But I know she loves me because everytime she see's me or I am near her she purrs....alot and loud. Can she live a normal and long life?

Answer 1

How sweet...sorry your kitten is not the brightest lightbulb in the bunch -- but she's all cat.

I've rescued 267 cats in the last three years -- hey - we decided we should start keeping count!! Of all of these kittens -- there was "Special Ed". He wasn't physically deformed -- but he was along the lines of a Down's Syndrome kitten. He'd walk three feet away and get "lost" and bellow his head off. He was slow. He didn't catch on to play games with the littermates, he was clumbsy when jumping, he would roll over and fall off of things, he sat around and enjoyed watching the other's play. At first we thought he was a girl and he cried so much we named him Wendy Whiner. When he blossomed into a boy? We changed Wendy into Wynn, from Wynn to Edwin and from Edwin to "Special Ed".

I worked that year for a non profit. We held onto Special Ed for a lot longer than we normally do in foster. We had him and his litter mates nearly six months - - because? We were so worried about Special Ed. He finally went up for Adoption at PetSmart and soon after his new family wrote me a letter thanking us for the wonderful job we had done raising Ed. As we'd warned in his adoption letter - - he cried a lot and got lost.

It all came full circle when the non profit I worked for did a slide show presentation of our clients for a Thank You dinner -- and there on the screen in front of me was Special Ed sitting in the lap of a little boy who was high functioning Down's himself. His mother had written to me in the first Email that finally her son had someone to be his best friend and that when Special Ed would be slow, or cry - - that her son would pick Ed up and say -- "That's Ok kitty, I'm slow sometimes too and I cry" and then tote Special Ed off to his room.

You have to figure there's a reason -- and this child recognized the special needs of our own Special Ed. (we didn't put Special Ed as his given name on his adoption papers but simply "Wynn") of all the cats' we've rescued and fostered on to adoption it broke my heart completely to send out our little Special Ed kitten into the world. Sometimes you wonder if it's the right thing -- and actually getting a glimpse of the full circle outcome and finding out that we went through all of the jumping practice with this slow kitten because he was going to end up in the hands of a very special little boy -- well? It was one of those moments when god lets you see how everything comes full circle.

So, love that cat. She may have a normal life and live for a long time, or maybe not. There's no telling -- but you are blessed to have her. What you described as 'giving her comfort and a safe place to die' and having it turn out to be you made the difference in her life completely is just reassuring that whenever we have a chance and can make a difference in a life - no matter how small -- there's always the chance the outcome will be wonderful. God Bless You!!

Answer 2

Cats absolutely can be retarded. It basically means that there's some physiological abnormality in her brain that impairs function. Any species that has enough noticable non-vital brain function (i.e. they are smart enough for them to be able to get less smart without forgetting to breath) can be retarded.

I once had a cat that was hit by a car when she was young and suffered brain damage as a result. She wasn't very bright, but she was the sweetest cat ever. My little sister once locked her in a suitcase (my sister was maybe 2 or 3 at the time), and my mom found her a few hours later just curled up in there purring. And she lived to be quite old; her only medical problems were the brain damage and also watery eyes until she got old.

An animal that was separated from its mother at a young age, and an animal that has any significant physiological abnormalities (ex. a twisted spine) will tend to be at higher risk for various health problems. I see no reason why your cat shouldn't be able to have a long and happy life. Perhaps not normal - I don't think any cat that hops everywhere she goes could quite be considered "normal," but who ever said that normal was a good thing, anyway? I've no idea how serious a twisted spine is (or even what it is), and, although the small size could simply be the result of poor nutrition early in life (no matter how well you cared for her, you can't replace her mother's milk), it could also be a sign of a more serious medical condition. She's probably going to be fine, but if not, just remember that you've done everything you can for her, and you've already given her 18 months that she never would have had without you, so no matter what happens in the future, she's better off for having known you.

Answer 3

Retarded Cat

Answer 4

She is lucky you found her-others probably would have just left her to die. To answer your question, cats can have brain damage. This can show up in different ways depending on how severe & what part of the brain has the damage. Just because there is brain damage doesn't mean your cat can't live a normal,long life. Only God can say for sure how long she will live. I rescued a cat that was very sick. When I got her to the vet, her temp was very high & she had a massive infection. She stayed at the clinic for 8 days before she was well enough to bring home. Her temp had gone so high it had caused seizures & brain damage. Her hearing & eyesight was also damaged. Since she was "unadoptable", I kept her. Missy lived a long,healthy life. She was grown when I rescued her & I had her for another 12 years. Once she was over the initial infection,etc. she was only sick 1 more time in her life & it was just a mild case of rhinitis. So just love your precious baby & let her know you love her. Whatever amount of time you have with her is special & precious.

Answer 5

I rescued a 2 day old kitten, tube fed her, then bottle fed her, weaned and kept her. she is probably the freakiest cat I have ever seen or had. she is and never will be what I would consider a normal cat, she has a funny walk, we xrayed her hips when we spayed her, nothing wrong with them, she still looks like a 6 month old kitten, she is 7 years old. she is the only cat that I have ever had that will actually come when you call her, funny cat! Her nickname is "squirrel cat", she acts like a squirrel, she stands on her back legs and looks at the counter, she hardly ever just walks on the floor, its more so over things. she is the only cat of the house that will launch herself on top of the entertainment center or jump 3 steps from the top of a flight to get into the basement. I love her, because she is Munch, the squirrel cat, will she be normal-no-but what is normal anyway?, do I love her, absolutely, she is what she is. We are not all graceful and beautiful. Just remember, if she is healthy that is all that should matter. Sorry for the essay answer.

Answer 6

Your kitty was rejected by its mother because the mother cat sensed the kitten was "defective". This is nature at work.

Your kitty is shortchanged in many important areas necessary for survival. You should keep her inside at all times. She may have internal shortcomings that at eighteen months may not be apparent.

Her scoliosis may end up hurting her the way scoliosis can hurt humans by interfeering with breathing. The scoliosis may have contributed to her resperitory problems.

Now, for some good news. My brother and his wife have a kitty, now about six years old with a congenital heart problem. They were told Cali would not live very long, but with lots of love and daily medication she's doing just fine. She's smaller than most female cats, but otherwise okay.

If your "developmentally disabled" kitty is otherwise healthy don't worry. But take her for regular check ups, perhaps twice a year to keep up on her health.

You might want to have your vet run kidney and liver function tests, since some cats are born with weak kidneys, especially if they are white coated.

Good luck with your special kitty!

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Serious question....Can cats be retarded?
I rescued a kitten that was abandoned by her mother at 4 days old and actually I brought her in the house to die in comfort but I took to good of care of her and she lived. Her name is Birdie. She has been back and forth to the vet with URI's and is over that now. She is just over 18 mos old...

Answer 8

We have a cat who was brain damaged by the animal shelter putting too strong a flea dip on him as a kitten -- he had horrible seizures for about a week and was never quite "right" afterwards. Not as serious as your kitty's problems, and I'm not making light of it, but this cat of ours is as goofy as the day is long and would probably survive about a half hour outdoors.

But we have had him for seven years, and he's as loyal and loving as they come, so there's a place for every creature in this world.

It's a beautiful thing you're doing, and your cat may not be "smart" but she understands the language of love -- and so do you.

Good for you. Keep doing what you're doing; you're a kind person.

Answer 9

My mom had a cat that may have been borderline retarded. This cat was immune to spray bottles. It would just sit there and take the abuse instead of running like normal cats would. Also, this cat would be sitting on the sofa, and if someone accidentally sat on the cat, it wouldn't move. After a few minutes, the person would wonder why the sofa cushion was squirming, but it was the cat, just lying there getting suffocated by their butt. Yes. True story. Hope this helps. I'm sure your cat will be fine. I have seen a lot of ungraceful cats. BTW I think my mom's cat got hit by a car. I'm not sure about that though.

Answer 10

she can live a relatively long life. .

It doesn't matter if she has suffered brain damage (or is "retarded"), if you're there to help her and take care of her and love her.

I think it's a blessing to have something like that (even having a child that's brain damaged (or, as some would call it, "retarded"). .

often they can love you a lot more than "normal" children do. .

They are very special and worth the time and love you put into them.

good luck and God bless you.

Answer 11

well, dogs can have diabetes so anything's possible. I don't know if she can ever live what is considered 'normal' or a long life, but that doesn't mean she'll drop dead any day soon. Expect her to live 10-15 years probably. She won't live as long as other cats because of her condition, i'm sorry for Birdie, its a shame that had to happen to such a loving and kind creature.