Adorable 'Wobbly Kitten' Finds a Forever Home
Olive the kitten has a neurological disorder known as Wobbly Kitten Syndrome.
-- An adorable kitten who wobbles when she walks has found a forever home in North Carolina.
Olive, a four-month-old black and white feline, was adopted from the Watauga Humane Society in Boone, North Carolina, yesterday after a video of her received 1.4 million views on the shelter's Facebook page.
"She is a spitfire," said Christy Watson, manager of the Watauga Humane Society. "She's got the biggest personality. It's like her disorder doesn't affect her. She plays with other cats and she loves to be held. As soon as she sees a person her motor starts running and she purrs. She's just the sweetest cat ever."
"When Olive came in we tried to figure out what was wrong with her," she added. "We figured out it was the C.H. [cerebella hypoplasia] and the vet confirmed it."
Watson told ABC News that Olive came to the shelter as a stray on Nov. 15. Shelter staff quickly realized that her distinct stagger was the result of cerebella hypoplasia--a neurological disorder also known as Wobbly Kitten Syndrome.
"What happened was her mom was probably positive for feline distemper while she was pregnant with Olive. What happens is the brain stem doesn't actually form correctly," Watson said. "It affects the way her head [wobbles] kind of like a palsy in a human and her back legs don't have that full muscle tone to them, so she has a hard time walking."
With her unique movements and sweet demeanor, the shelter decided to share a video of Olive, announcing that she was up for adoption.
Watson said the applications came pouring in from as far as Australia, but ultimately, she and the rest of the staff chose a local, North Carolina animal lover to take Olive home.
"She and her husband have other animals that she's nursed back to heath that are special needs," Watson said of Olive's adoptive family.
Watson said that with all the attention Olive has received, her new owners have decided that they will create an Instagram account to share her new adventures.