My little kitten has a twitch. She rolls her head from side to side like she has an ear infection or maybe her ears itch but she doesn't scratch at them. She also crawls backwards sometimes. Is this normal? I was thinking maybe it's a neurological problem but I'm not sure.
She's six weeks old and still with her mother. I won't be taking her home for another 2 weeks. She hasn't had much human contact because the owner didn't want to get attached to the kittens. I don't want to bring her home if she's not going to have a quality life.... I would hate to get attached to her and then have to put her down.
Hello,
I am sorry that this kitty is having trouble. I am very concerned about several things. First, the head shaking and crawling backwards could be normal kitten behavior, especially if she has ear mites. But there is a good possibility that there is something much more serious going on. If the mama kitty and other babies shun this kitten or pick on her they may be sensing an illness (this is very common as cats are sensitive about these things). Neurological illness is a possibility and lends a poor prognosis for this kitten.
I would not take on this kitten for several reasons. First being the potential for very serious health problems indicated in the worrisome symptoms above. Second is the fact that this kitten has not received adequate human contact. It is not reasonable to with hold human contact with a kitten to keep oneself from becoming too attached. This kind of contact is very important to the development of a healthy and well balanced kitten.
If you are really attached to this little girl, you can talk to the owner about having her examined by a vet, or allowing you to do so before commitiing to adoption. If they are not amenable, then consider looking elsewhere for a kitten. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. If this has been helpful, please hit the green accept button. Good luck!
Emergency Critical Care Nurse
16+ years of veterinary experience