Besides her daddy, Sophie’s most favoritest thing in the world is STICK (the all caps signify her enthusiasm). STICK is what we call all of her wand toys. Sophie has quite a collection: feathery sticks, sticks with little toys on the end, ribbon sticks, retractable sticks, you name it. But hands down, her favorite sticks are the broken ones…. you know, the ones that used to have toys on the end or used to have feathers, but are now just a plastic stick and a chewed up string hanging off the end.
Sophie knows that STICK usually happens shortly after meal time, so as soon as she’s done eating, she runs over and waits in front of the desk that has her sticks inside. And when I say “waits,” I don’t mean patiently. She sits and chirps at us, and if we don’t play STICK on her timeline, that chirp eventually evolves into a full out yell.
While Sophie can get a bit manic about STICK, it has actually been a wonderful tool to build up her muscle strength and control. One of the best ways to “treat” cerebellar hypoplasia is to encourage play and exercise, because the stronger a CH cat is, the better they will be able to get around. Thanks to STICK, Sophie’s mobility has improved tremendously over the years.
In fact, she has a a couple of moves she’s been working on that she wants to show off for you guys today. We are calling them the “STICK SPIN” and the “Wiggle & Pounce.” See if you can spot which is which in the video:
Luved seeing da video of her playing!
How fun that Sophie has games to play that also help her! She is so cute with her stick! Oops, STICK!
Way to go cutie girl!
STICK SPIN was easy, but the ‘Wiggle and Bounce’ is more toy wiggle, and then Sophie POUNCE! Great stuff, thanks for sharing!
Sophie you have really gotten to be a great little huntress! Well done indeed.
We wanted to thank you all for the support you gave us when Mr Buttons had to go over the Bridge. It was very sudden and we feel his loss terribly. He was the official greeter and made friends with anyone who came to our house. His is missed by many and what better testament can there be to a life well lived.
Purrs to you all
Timmy, Dad Pete and Family
good job Sophie!!! it is so fun to watch her play – and love the “hurry up Dad” dance at the desk 🙂
She’s so adorable! Such good moves too!
Wow 1 If you saw this video and did not know she has CH, you would not detect it from the video ! (Even slipping when she’s on the wood floor is not a sign of anything but her eagerness !)
Nothing stops Sophie! We love seeing her play.
Great video. You really showed that toy who the boss is 🙂
Wow – I agree If you didn’t know about the CH you would never know it and how great it is that play is helping make her muscles strong.. Good on all of you.
Terrific moves, Sophie ! Well done ! Purrs
Love the picture of her in anticipation of play! I would imaginethe action of playing helps strengthen her muscles, which could help a little with the wobblies. What do you think?
Yes, regular play and exercise definitely helps improve her coordination! She has gotten so much stronger and more abled over the past few years thanks to play time. She’s always amazes me!