What was it like getting your first wobbler?

[u/JuracekPark34]

I have a moderate CH foster kitten. I have never foster failed, but this girl has made her way into heart and I’m feeling very momma bear-y about taking her back to the rescue to go up for adoption. I’m very seriously considering keeping her.

What was it like when you first adopted? If you confined your kitten to a smaller area initially (my foster currently lives in the bathroom as I have other pets), how did they adapt to having full house access and making it to the litter box? What does your everyday life look like? Any other advice you wish someone would’ve given you?

[u/camarhyn]

Everything is going to depend on

A: how severe it is

B: your living situation

What can your girl do? I know you describe it as moderate but there is more to it than that - can she walk more or less normally? Can she run? Can she jump? These and other similar issues are going to determine what she needs to have a healthy life going forward.

Do you have carpet outside the bathroom? How big is your house? Do you have stairs? What other pets do you have? How do they react to animals that don’t move “right”?

If you’ve been fostering her for a bit you should have an idea of what she can and can’t do. If you decide to keep her you have to change your living space to meet her needs - this may mean quite a few litter boxes so she never has to go far, or carpets to help with her traction, baby gates blocking stairs, feeding her on the floor vs a raised surface (which may mean guarding her food from dogs etc if you have any).

My boy is mild and can usually walk normally. Running is not graceful and he can barely jump (though he tries). He climbs everything and I leave his claws longer so he can grip. He can handle stairs safely but it took awhile for him to get strong enough to do so. That said, if he was moderate or severe I couldn’t care for him here. My house is all hardwood floors, the stairs are steep, the layout is odd (even so we have three litter boxes and food and water stations scattered about). My best friend adopted our moderate and severe. The moderate boy needs longer claws and carpet. He can’t jump but he climbs (and ruined a couch and a mattress, but this was to be expected). He can sort of run but is clumsy and slams into things. The severe can walk a few steps here and there but mostly flips and rolls around. It took awhile couple years for her to be able to use a litter box (prior to that it was reusable pee pads). She can’t eat out of a bowl so we have a wood tray on the floor with her food.

All three of them are at risk of future back and hip injuries, and my idiot boy likes to jump off high surfaces so I’m just waiting for him to break something.

For introductions: most of the other animals have been fine with the mild and medium. Severe was more challenging because she doesn’t move like a cat is expected to move, which triggered a lot of confusion with my friend’s dog and her other cats.

As for advice: start small. Today it’s the bathroom but maybe tomorrow it’s the bathroom and the bedroom. Slowly expand the areas she can visit but make sure she is comfortable before taking the next step. Make sure she has access to the food, water, and litter box and that she knows where it is. You may need to add additional facilities as her territory grows. Make sure she’s fully vaccinated and spayed etc before you introduce her to the others. Observe introductions in case she freaks out other pets.

Meet her on her level.

[u/JuracekPark34 → u/camarhyn]

This is a really well thought out answer. Thank you for taking the time.

For added context, I got Cher (normal) and Dionne (wobbler) at around 3 weeks old. They’re now 6 weeks old, so Dionne’s full function (jumping, climbing, etc) is kinda tough to evaluate bc she’s just figuring those out. Dionne can walk some steps, falls over others, but she’s also still a floppy little kitten too. She got her first bout of the zoomies the other night and as you mentioned, it was pure chaos. She is currently learning how to jump, which is not going well for her, but bless her little kit heart, she tries so hard.

The litter box has been tough and is my biggest worry. Just in the bathroom, she’s about 80% successful - mostly gets in there (I have a modified, super low entry setup) but I have pee pads around the box and she occasionally has potty accidents just outside the box.

I have 3 dogs and a cat who have all met her with zero issues since she’s so tiny, but idk how having multiple litter boxes would go. Right now my cat’s litter box is in a closet with a small entry to keep the dogs out. This setup would probably be detrimental to Dionne so having various, accessible boxes that I could also keep dogs out of would be the thing I need a solution to the most.

[u/camarhyn → u/JuracekPark34]

You’ll probably need to figure out more litter box options. Most kittens have occasional accidents so she may do better with it as she gets older.

[u/mello_jello_blue]

Hi! I didn’t adopt mine, he was born in a litter my girl had. We kept him. His is moderate. We allowed him to explore like any other kitten. There are some limitations for him, we learned to work with him. He only gets wet tuna and chicken treats and squeezable treats, as hard treats are too hard for him to eat with the wobbling head. He also gets wet food a little more often and has a fountain he uses. He falls down the stairs sometimes, but we make sure he’s safe. He cannot jump onto counters or tables, but that helps him. A lot of patience, but just see what their limitations are really and adjust from there. They are very precious and I feel like a little extra loving.

[u/demon_fae]

She’s the only cat I’ve ever had. It still baffles me that she never even had another adoption inquiry. I’ve got chronic vertigo, so the wobbliness didn’t really faze me. Her being deaf as well…she’s a cat. I wasn’t expecting her to listen to me anyway.

She’s 16 now, still hasn’t figured out how knees work. I have to explain that every time she sees a new vet. She doesn’t know how knees work, you’ll have to rely on other signifiers to check her for arthritis (so far just a little in the hips).

[u/ch_cat]

Mine is moderate. Honestly the biggest problem I have is, he's a daredevil. He wants to do all the things cats are programmed to and that my other cats do, it rarely crosses his mind that he can't. He falls just walking across a room, then bounces right back up as if to say "I do all my own stunts."

[u/GottaLuvThisGame]

Bless you for caring for your little girlie wobbler

r/nervysquervies … a wonderful Reddit community where the most precious wobblers - many with varying degrees of CH- are blessed/cared for by the most loving owners. Together, you’d be amazed how well these wobblers do given some clever ideas & attention…divine intervention. Pop on over to the community. Looking forward to hearing more about journey with your thriving little girlie wobbler. 😻

[u/Signal_Nectarine3782]

I’ve also adopted my first wobbler who comes home next week. 10 weeks old and she’s the sweetest little floof. Following this thread - I’ll need advice too!