BIG DIED! RIP BIG BOY: October 2005 - November 13, 2012

BIG DIED! 
RIP BIG BOY October 2005 - November 13, 2012
 
Big Boy "Big," the largest of the crippled kittens born with cerebellar hypoplasia.  Solid black, short furred, gold eyes.  Very affectionate and loving, but always with issues. 
(CH cats) are born to female cats who have suffered Feline Infectious Enteritis (FIE, Feline Panleukopaenia, Feline Distemper) during pregnancy or been innoculated for FIE by an unknowing owner or feeder while pregnant.  
big was born by a house on the ocean that a travelling rock band uses when performing in north florida.  they called a shelter requesting help and the shelter had them call me.  It was a  stray torti (very young and small) mom cat and her 4 kittens (just born - their eyes were still closed) in one of the band mate's grandmother's garden.  the woman was away at the time and the band members didn't feel it was safe for the mother and babies to be living outside as it would be getting cold soon.  So the mom and babies moved into a large dog cage in our living room at a time when we were rescuing, dogs, cats, rabbits and birds.  a full house.  
we noticed there was something wrong when the kittens were about 3 weeks of age and all could sit up but still weren't walking, especially the smallest of the four.  at four months they could manage unusual walks, one of them could even use a litter pan properly and that one was adopted.  they named it ziggy because of the zig zag way it walks.  their development was slower paced than an ordinary kitty. 
big was supposed to be adopted by a potential veternarian student who was working as a vet tech locally.  she wanted to chart its progress as there is very little written about cats like this, as vets always advise killing them when they are born like this.  but the vet tech had large dogs and i didn't feel comfortable sending him there, so he stayed with us. 
big was always able to climb, walk and run (raccoon-style), but could never master the graceful gait of an ordinary cat.  he was an excellent climber, could lie and pose nicely and you wouldn't guess there was anything amiss when he sat like that.  CH cats cannot jump successfully (though they try) and its more like a rabbit jump when they attempt it.  CH cats are ground dwellers, though they do enjoy SHORT heights like climbing onto chairs and beds etc.            
i could pick up both big and his sister michele and walk around holding both of them at once, and neither animal would try to get away at all.  they were more like infants than cats.  when they walked, even if not doing well with it (which is generally michele) i let her keep going - the more done on their own the better for them, as it strengthens their muscles - stronger muscles help the animal walk and balance better.    
big preferred being outside.  both he and his sister michele lived mostly in our oversized 2 1/4 car garage that also had a couch and tv in it and hung out in both the garage and our 1/4 acre garden at our house on the mainland.  when we moved by the ocean almost five years ago, big insisted on walking through the yards and hanging out one to two blocks away under another person's deck.  he preferred being outdoors and if i insisted he stay in he would soil, so sometimes he was crated at night for this, and only allowed out on the deck during the day.  recently he started staying by the car port or downstairs.  
Big was VERY INDEPENDENT.  When he was under the age of one, he would challenge a tiger kitty that used to come onto the property to eat, Big was always trying to attack it.  the tiger kitty was male and about the same age as Big.  Big would fly at him through the air attacking and it made me wonder, had Big not been crippled how aggressive would he have been?   Having Big as well as the visiting tiger kitty fixed stopped all of Big's aggression.  (I had been nervous about fixing him and his sister because their falling might open their stitches after surgery, but they got through it).  
We moved to the house by the ocean in 2008.   At the new house Big was attacked two times by 3 raccoons very late at night (around 4 a.m.).   i got rid the attacking raccoons by throwing deck furniture at them the first time, and kitchen chairs at them the second time.  The first time Big was attacked by the garabage cans downstairs and the second time, right in the corner of our second story deck (which is a huge 500 square feet, so it wasn't because the space was tight or any confusion on the raccoons part and NO there wasn't any food on the deck at all and never is at night).  the racoons CORNERED big as he slept right next to the kitchen door!  since the last incident i learned to despise raccoons. 
last year i tried getting Big to live indoors downstairs and he stopped eating.  he became so thin he could fit under the space of the door which is a couple of inches!  he gained some of the weight back as we compromised with Big in at night and outside in the garden or on the deck during the day, but he never gained all the muscle or weight he had had before that.  i also blamed parasites and fleas as that is a problem in florida even with de-fleaer  and de-wormer and its hard to notice in black cats if meds are working or not.      
two months ago, my neighbor heard screaming and thought it was the raccoons again even though one raccoon had been captured since then.  but i couldn't find any marks on big.  for some reason the raccoons go after big but not michele.  putting out dry dog food for the raccoons abated things for a while.
i think being indoors all day, made big depressed.  and i wonder had we stayed living on the mainland if he'd have been okay, or would he have gotten in more troubles there, as when healthy and safe, he roams.    
recently, big, i noticed was staying downstairs, which would be a relief except i know the raccoons were breaking in downstairs for a while.  since i was insisting big stay indoors more, he wasn't travelling two blocks away much anymore.  he's also older - he just turned seven in october - which is also the age to watch for urinary tract infection in male cats.
he seemed to be missing a meal from the raccoons stealing food, so i had started feeding the second round of food earlier and then another round of food inside the house that he didn't always want.  he preferred the water outdoors, and higher up - a larger deeper bowl - easier to balance i guess, but leaned against a wall or similar to drink or eat indoors.  he and michele would also eat on top of a leather loveseat, while leaning against the side and back cushions. 
if big tried to sleep with us, which i know he liked to do, for the passed year he would often soil the bed, instead of jumping down and using something else, so he had to be crated or find a different spot to sleep.  
about a week ago i noticed 7 ring-neck pigeons showing up each morning stealing the cats morning meal unless i stood there with the cats as they ate, so was his weight loss caused by the pigeons stealing big's food lately?   
because he'd become thin again, i had upped his moist food intake daily, instead of moist food only as a treat once per week and there was dry food out at all times.  
when i flea bathed him two nights ago, i noticed his weight was way down and he was acting odd again.  went through the same thing with him last year.  he was still eating.  but i noticed he wasn't warm to the touch, even though its warm in the house.    
i just can't figure it out.  i always blame parasites when i can't find a reason for illness or weight loss.  but if it doesn't show up in tests then what?  it didn't even go on long enough to really act on it.