Plymouth Woman Inspired To Help ‘Wobbly Cats’
A Plymouth woman’s affection for cats with disabilities is taking social media by storm.
There is nothing like a mother’s love. Kris Kaiser feels that love for her cats, times three.
“I met Rosie, Daisy and Calvin when I was volunteering for rescue,” Kaiser said. “I fell in love. They’ve been with me ever since. They’re 7 years old now.”
Her tuxedo cat triplets move differently from most felines. That’s because all three have cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), which affects kittens when mother cats catch a virus while pregnant. It typically occurs in stray mothers with no history of vaccination.
Calvin, one of Kris Kaiser’s “tippy tuxies,” eyes up the camera after eating a treat. Kaiser adopted Calvin and his sisters after fostering them seven years ago.
“Their cerebellums never fully develop and it causes balance and coordination issues,” Kaiser said.
Cats with CH are a little off-balance. It is very mild in some and severe in others. In more extreme cases, those cats are unable to walk without help.
Kaiser said that it does not affect those cats’ quality of life.
“Cerebellar hypoplasia does not cause pain. There’s no shorter life expectancy with it,” Kaiser said. “They seem to think they are normal, I think.”
Camp Wobbly Cat
Kaiser’s affection for what she calls wobbly cats extends beyond her own pets.
“There is just so much need for foster homes,” Kaiser said.
She fosters. Her tuxedo cats started out as fosters. One of her first CH fosters was another tuxedo kitten named Snapple.
“He was very severe, needed to use a cart to get around,” Kaiser said.
She won Arm and Hammer’s “Advocat of the Year” and a $15,000 grant for the rescue organization Bitty Kitty Brigade for her efforts with Snapple.
Snapple was adopted by a couple that lives part-time in Hawaii.
Since Snapple’s adoption, Kaiser became a foster mom to many. She said she’s fostered 20 wobbly cats so far.
She shares their stories on social media. Her own cats can be found on Instagram @tippytuxies, and her fosters on @campwobblycat.
People are responding.
“I even heard from people that they adopted their first CH cat because they were following my account and saw how fun my cats were,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser’s cats are not the only CH social media stars. Kaiser said the higher visibility of cats with CH benefits them greatly.
“Vets are euthanizing less because they realize they can have a good quality of life,” she said.
