My family and I share our home with three cats, as well as our dog, Harry. Anyone who works at a veterinary hospital will tell you employees of vet hospitals rarely choose their own pets. In most cases, the animals choose us, either by chance or default. Our three cats are proof of this. Each one had a sad tale before they came to live with us.

Woodrow, the oldest, was a stray who was brought into the hospital where I worked in St. Louis 14 years ago. He had a broken leg, which we repaired, and no one claimed him, so he came to live at our house. He is the patriarch of our cat family and takes good care of his handicapped housemate.

Our handicapped cat is named Barney. He is a 13-year-old long-haired cat who was found by the side of the road and brought into Horton Animal Hospital as a kitten. Completely encrusted in mud, the poor little guy had numerous problems. Several fly larvae were embedded in his neck, he developed aspiration pneumonia, and he was loaded with intestinal parasites. He is also affected by cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological defect.

Cerebellar hypoplasia is a congenital defect that generally occurs when the pregnant mother cat is exposed to the feline infectious enteritis FIE, also called panleukopenia virus. This virus is a parvovirus that will often cause fever, vomiting and diarrhea in the mother cat.

If she is infected during the first two trimesters of her pregnancy, the kittens will usually die and be stillborn or resorbed.

If infection occurs toward the end of the pregnancy, some or all of the kittens can have a variety of neurological defects.

Cerebellar hypoplasia occurs when the virus attacks the rapidly dividing cells of the cerebellum, a part of the brain that helps control balance and coordination. The cerebellum does not develop fully, so affected kittens have poor balance, uncoordinated and clumsy movements, intention tremors head bobbing while trying to eat, for example and a wide stance.

Many times the symptoms of cerebellar hypoplasia are not noted until the kittens begin trying to walk, around 2 weeks of age. The symptoms do not worsen over time, and most kittens will learn to compensate for their clumsiness.

When people meet Barney for the first time, they are often taken aback by his handicap. However, they soon learn that it bothers them more than it does him. He is a sweet, loving cat who craves attention and loves his food. He is also makes life interesting.

You have not truly been entertained until you have watched a border collie try to herd three cats, one of whom is unable to walk straight. Barney does require special accommodations for his litter box a cookie sheet with lots of padding around and underneath and feeding flat pans only. He is certainly messier than our other cats and needs baths on a regular basis. But he is worth the extra effort.

Animals have amazing abilities to compensate and wonderful, optimistic attitudes when faced with disabilities that might seem overwhelming to humans.

While researching this article, I found several Web sites that deal with handicapped pets. The site www.messybeast.com has a section that discusses living with cats with cerebellar hypoplasia, as well as stories and tips on living with cats who are blind, deaf, paralyzed or have had a limb or even two amputated. Other sites with helpful tips on handicapped pets are www.handicappedpets.com and www.special-needspets.org .

Next time: the story of Cosmo, our youngest - and orneriest - cat.

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