Wheelchairs for Cerebellar Hypoplasia Kittens

What started as a post shared to me by a friend whose heart strings were tugged at became an incredibly fulfilling assignment with two very special kittens. Ping and Pong were my first kitten wheelchairs, and first cerebellar hypoplasia cases. They are rescues with the Cat Therapy and Rescue Society, currently in foster care and awaiting their forever home.  

Design Details

Following my usual procedures, these carts were fabricated with PVC pipes and joints, neoprene, and PLA filament for the 3D printed parts. To keep costs down as much as possible, I opted not to paint this build. Some special considerations for these two are their size and weight, as well as how their medical condition affects their mobility.

Unfortunately due to the distance, I was not able to meet them before production and fully analyze their gait in person. I could tell they walked with a wider stance in the back based on a few videos, but I wasn’t able to take into consideration how splayed their back legs were, and how much time they spent in certain positions throughout their gait cycle.

It was important to keep the carts as light as possible, as these little guys weighed less than 10lbs! I sent a diagram to the foster and asked that they provide me with the measurements I needed. These were the shortest standing carts I have made to date and I worried it would not provide enough support to keeping their bodies upright and standing. As well, there is a bit less muscling in their limbs and I worried they would have a hard time pushing the extra weight of a bigger cart around.

The sides of the cart needed to be closely fitted to their body to keep them from swaying side to side, but the base needed to be wide enough to keep them from toppling over from the force of their swaying.

As usual, I made sure all attachments were fully detachable from the cart for ease of cleaning. The harness was pre-made, primarily mesh and a soft, breathable fabric and I sewed on Velcro straps to the sides to attach to the cart. The sling for the hind end was custom – I used a thick neoprene and a double fold bias as binding to finish the edges. There are two buckles on either side that attach to the cart with adjustable straps.

There was only one attachment that needed to be 3D printed for this build – all the wheel attachments. I constructed it so the nut fits snugly inside the bottom fitting for the screw of the wheel to attach to. This can then be connected to the remainder of the cart.

Modifications

For future consideration – due to the amount of splaying when walking, their back legs do run into the back wheels, despite having those turned outwards. I would extend them outwards even further, or consider how I can position them farther back on the frame so as not to get in the way. Something I was not able to see from the videos is that they have different walking styles – Ping likes to push off with his back legs, whereas Pong utilizes his front legs more.

As an aside, the height of the cart for Ping needed to be a bit taller to accommodate his lengthy limbs. For both, their slings could be raised even further to bring up their hind ends to line up their hips for a more neutral spine position. This is again more prominent for Ping due to his longer limbs. This detail was caused by inaccuracies when taking measurements – which I completely understand to be difficult for the foster to do.

Closing Notes

Overall, I am very pleased with the results of these carts and I look forward to seeing updates from the foster and rescue on their progress in acclimating to their new wheels! Thank you again to the Cat Therapy and Rescue Society for all of the work that you do – the lives of so many cats have been positively changed because of your team.