Finch

A few months ago, whilst searching the internet for information about brain damage in cats I came
across the Cerebellar Hypoplasia Kitty Club in the United States. Finch has many of the same symtoms
as cats with CH but thanks to a brave little cat called Xan we now know what is wrong with Finch.

Xan's owner, Paula, contacted the CH Kitty club describing Xan's symptoms and I was amazed to hear
that they were identical to Finch's. I e-mailed Paula straight away and told her how helpful our
Homeopathic treatments had been and maybe she should consider taking Xan to a Homeopathic Vet
too. Paula's Vet took one look at Xan's amazing copper coloured eyes and when Xan's history of
drooling, disorientation, falling over and generally being completely 'out of it' some days was disclosed,
a liver shunt was diagnosed.

That information led us to take Finch back to our Homeopathic Vet who after doing the neccessary
blood tests told me that Finch was indeed suffering from a liver shunt . This is a condition where an
abnormal blood vessel allows the blood from the gastro-intestinal tract to by-pass the liver and go into
the systemic circulation. High levels of toxin in the central nervous system cause disorientation, poor
growth, pacing, circling, tremors, seizures and drooling. In certain cases the shunt is operable.

Very sadly our little friend Xannie died during surgery in Colorado last month but we felt his story
should be told as the condition, although very rare, can be mistaken for Cerebellar Hypoplasia. Finch
will have a scan next month which will indicate whether he is a good candidate for surgery or not, then
we will have to make a very big decision.

Our thanks go to Paula for allowing us to share Xan's story with you. This page is dedicated to Xan
(pictured below) with our love. Finch's story continues below.

Finch had his ultrasound scan and further blood tests in mid July. The scan showed a single
shunt running outside the liver which would be operable. Unfortunately the blood tests showed a
very high level of ammonia in his blood which would have made a general anaesthetic very
dangerous. We were told to take him home and start him on a regime of low protein food,
antibiotics and large doses of lactulose to reduce the ammonia levels in his blood. The plan was to
get the levels of ammonia down and then return to Bristol University Veterinary hospital for the
surgery to ligate the shunt.

The first week at home went well, even though he was most put out at not being allowed all his
favourite foods of sausages, steak, chicken, salmon and doughnuts! All he was allowed to eat was
the special prescription tinned food we had been given at the hospital. After about two weeks on
this regime he started fitting very badly and vomiting continuously so he was rushed back to
Bristol where he was found to be in shock and extremely dehydrated. He was given intravenous
fluids and stabilised overnight but a scan the next day showed that his abdomen was full of fluid
and large amounts were drained off. We were told that if they didn't operate immediately he would
die so we gave our consent. Bloods taken the previous day had shown that his ammonia levels
were right down to almost normal so that was one thing in his favour. In surgery it was discovered
that Finch had developed a huge duodenal ulcer which had perforated, probably caused by the
high levels of ammonia and he had peritonitis. The ulcer was repaired and his liver shunt was
ligated at the same time. He came through the surgery well but was about to face the biggest fight
of his life.

On the 12th August 2002 Finch celebrated his

first birthday. Those friends and family lucky
enough to know this little chap will realise

what a huge acheivment this was, we celebrated
his birthday with a barbecue on the beach. Finch
thoroughly enjoyed his day out, he had a paddle,
a couple of sausages and some grilled chicken
followed by a long nap under a parasol. If you
haven't met Finch before please read his story

below.

Finch was born on the 12th

August 2001, at first we thought he was a

normal healthy kitten and as soon as his

picture appeared on the web site we had

countless enquiries from interested buyers

both in the UK and abroad. But by the time

he was 9 weeks old it became quite clear

that he had a few problems.

Investigations by our Vet revealed

that Finch had respiratory problems and

was brain damaged. We were advised to

have him put to sleep but having fallen

hopelessly in love with him by then, we

decided to wait a while and see how his

disabilities affected his life.

More than anything we wanted a good quality
of life for him, and, as he grew his respiratory
problems disappeared, thanks largely to
homeopathic treatment. We grew to love this
strange little black & white cat who wobbled,
dribbled, had his tongue poking out and fell over
from time to time, but at about four months of age
poor Finch started to have seizures, we were very
worried the first few times it happened but after
consulting our homeopathic Vet again and getting
Finch onto a new treatment the fits are now few
and far between. He also takes a daily supplement
of Taurine. He is a super little cat who takes
everything life throws at him.

He has a wonderful life, does exactly

what he likes and never gets told off. Our

other cats tolerate him because they can't

figure him out! He has no manners and if

some other cat is sitting where he wants to

sit he just sits on top of them. He gets a little
confused at times and can often be found fast
asleep in his dinner plate or the litter tray.

He hasn't quite mastered the art of
grooming himself so he has a weekly bath
which he really enjoys although he loves having
his tummy dried with the hairdryer more!

Following his surgery, Finch had huge problems
because the repaired ulcer was so fragile he was fed by
a tube going straight into his stomach but his
intestines just would not get working and he had to be
given motility stimulants to move the food through.
The first 48 hours after his surgery he was critical and
we thought on more than one occasion that we would
lose him. However he rallied and for a few days made
good progress. Then just a week after surgery he had
a bad seizure, a really bad one just like when he was a
kitten, the vets could not stop him fitting and
eventually he had to be heavily sedated. He was given
an infusion of phenobarbitone and was kept sedated
for a couple of days, then very slowly he was switched

over to oral phenobarbitone, although he got it through his tube, and again very slowly his
sedation was reduced. He celebrated his 2nd birthday on August 12th, this was a very crucial day as
further fitting could have caused more brain damage and he probably would not have enjoyed a
good quality of life, which has always been most important to us. BUT, like the tough little cookie
he is, he overcame that hurdle and for a few more days made good progress.

The next big scare came when he was re-introduced to 'real' food, poor little chap just vomited
non-stop and made himself quite ill again, but the team looking after him thought he may have
been feeling nauseous from the anti-biotics he was getting, these were changed and he began
enjoying frequent, small meals.

Finch has been at home for
two months now and apart from
having to go back to Langford for
a few days, he is doing really well.
He has gained weight and
continues to amaze everyone with
his zest for life.

Left: His 2nd birthday, spent
in Bristol University hospital,
surrounded by some of his many
birthday and get well cards, thanks
to all our friends who sent them.

Latest news is at the bottom of
this page.

After being at Bristol University
Veterinary hospital for 4 weeks Finch came
home on August 28th. He is doing really
well although he spent the first 24 hours
yowling for more food, he is on a restricted
diet which he isn't happy about. He is very
wobbly on his back legs but he is getting
stronger each day and had his first stroll
round the back garden today.

Our grateful thanks go to the wonderful
team of veterinary surgeons and students
who have got him this far, especially Sheila
and Rachel, pictured left with Finch on the
day he came home.