A Message From Charley
Aug 8th, 2007 by lisa
Not long ago, while watching cat videos on YouTube, I happened upon a video of a very wobbly kitty cat awkwardly running up some stairs. I shared it with Paul and his first reaction was that the poor thing should be put out of it’s misery. I think that’s a pretty normal reaction if you don’t understand what exactly is wrong with the cat.
Recently someone shared this video in an edition of the Carnival of the Cats.
This is Charley. He has a condition known as cerebellar hypoplasia. Charley would like you to know that kitties like him don’t need to be put out of their misery.
Not everyone can care for a ’special needs’ cat. And while these cats don’t require lots of special care, they do need a bit more consideration than a cat without this condition. Googling led me to this info about cats with cerebellar hypoplasia.
Thank you for posting this video, it literally brought me to tears. I love cats and my cat especially. What a special fellow and what special people for providing him with a home and a life filled with love… beautiful.
loved your comment on birdchick’s site regarding the test - made me laugh out loud - a perfect response - so i had to come check out your site
i have a “special needs” rabbit in that she has splayed front legs but doesn’t really have any “special care needs” and i just loved this video. i have always felt that animals are the greatest teachers of how to live with our limitations. we all have them, but they’re not always noticeable. but animals are not bogged down by “how they should be able to be…” they just accept themselves and make the most of life and every day given them.
would that we would do the same…
carri ann
aka archi’s mum
Wow what a beautiful video. I didn’t know anything about cerebellar hypoplasia and I could imagine how poor cats might be destroyed by their owners, thinking something is wrong with them, or thinking that they are in pain. Charley looks like a beautiful cat.
I am glad that I saw this post. I had never heard of this before. I think Charley is so unique with his special walk. He looks like such a wonderful cat!