(Possible) Mentally Challenged kitten...?

[MiniKinsMama]

I am a veterinary technician in Northern California & one day, a few months ago, one of our staff members at the clinic noticed a box sitting on the front porch. It had been cold & rainy all night. We're not sure how long the box had been sitting out there, but inside of it, was a teeny tiny kitten with a note written with crayon on construction paper that read "I just a baby, please help me!"... Little kitty's temperature was so low that it wasn't even registering on our thermometer. She was severely dehydrated, hypothermic & hadn't eaten in who knows how long. We have no idea what her history was, unfortunately. We got her full of SubQ fluids, warmed up & syringe-fed right away but she was unable to maintain a normal body temperature for several days. After the first few days of being hospitalized, and once she was a little stronger, she started coming home with me. I live closest to the clinic & we're only open 8am-5pm so it seemed like a good idea for her to have some overnight supervision, and she was still having to be manually warmed up since she wasn't holding her body heat. As with a newborn child, I was up every couple of hours during the night to check on her, see if she needed food & make sure she was warm enough. (And I would do it all over again!) Her pupils were drastically different in size when she was first found by us but they've seemed to get closer in size although it doesn't appear they are equal in size yet. Which leads me to believe that maybe there is some brain damage or neurological problem. She weighs about 2.5# and has only gained about 1# since I got her 2 months ago... So anyway, this little baby is probably semi-feral, from what I can guess. I've had her for 2 months now & just sent home a pair of kittens that were hanging out for the week. I'm trying to do all I can to help her grow properly, so I thought some kitten friends of the same age would be helpful in solializing her. They were with us for a week & sometimes, the Mini would chase them, but most of the time she just laid in bed. See that's what she does; she will lay in bed ALL DAY long except to potty or eat. And she uses the litter box perfectly, thank goodness! She doesn't seem like a "normal" kitten in my mind. I was not planning on keeping her but now I'm just so in love with her! Also, I worry that someone else might not understand her needs & she won't get the love & attention she deserves. She's very skiddish. If you come at her from behind or too quickly, she'll hiss & swat at you. I've picked her up too quickly to where she got startled & attacked my face (twice) biting my lip and scratching my cheeks. THIS is the kind of thing I'd worry about with other people. I'm a vet tech so I don't have much fear of cats & I hand-raised a kitten, and she is kind of a nut also. (I've always heard bottle-babies can tend to be a little crazy.) But I love this little Mini all the same. I know that she isn't truly afraid of me, or she wouldn't greet me at the door or follow me to the kitchen at meal times. I just think she gets startled or maybe doesn't remember or recognize all of the time... So anyway, I'm just looking for some advice or words of wisdom... Has anyone dealt with this situation or similar? Should I be doing something different? I just want her to have the best chance possible of a normal life. She doesn't seem very depressed to me. She seems quite content being posted up in her bed & guarding her food bowl. Oh, also, she is very interested in my adult cats. My adult females aren't that excited about her but my adult male tolerates her. He will eat his meal right next to her, but from separate bowls. He is now climbing up on the couch & sleeping with me while she is nearby. She is also not afraid of my dog, who is trained very well with cats & behaves herself around them. So I believe there is hope for her yet! But I'm just looking for some further insight... Please let me know if there's any advice you can offer me. Thank you!

[critters]

I'd quite agree that she's probably a little wonky. If she's walking, etc. reasonably well, she probably has only a light dose, or none, of cerebellar damage. My Meez was shot, and he has mild cerebellar hypoplasia and distinct mental retardation. It turns out that he CAN learn sometimes, but only "bad stuff" sticks. I guess it's more fun to be bad!

Sometimes they can be blind or deaf (or both) early on, then regain most or all of it.

My baby boy was eaten by a big cat outside when he was a week or so old, and he has significant motor problems from his brush with death. He's basically a moderate CHer/tripod. He also has some weird behavior stuff that look and sound like seizures, but I don't think they are because he doesn't poop or pee. I know he has had flashbacks to being eaten, so I'm thinking maybe they're panic attacks or the like.

Anyway, all you can really do is to support her and let her find her way, if you ask me. Her sibs will probably help her; I always have some who will step up to the plate. Others will let the wonkers snuggle; some will even help with bathing them. Sibs are terrific!

[MiniKinsMama]

Thank you for your quick reply!
So she doesn't actually have siblings. We're not sure what her litter situation was like - Was she found alone & someone dropped her off? Was she taken from a litter & dropped off because she we sick? We just have no way of knowing.
Those kittens I had last week were actually borrowed from a local organization. They were placed with me as a foster situation, as well as to keep the Mini company. But there was an adoption event over the weekend, so it's possible they found new homes.
I am going to call & ask the outcome & if they didn't get homes yet, I'll be asking for them back.
It was very comforting to see her chase after them, but it seemed like once they turned around to play with her, she got scared, confused & a little defensive & will go into that defensive body language state...
I think that, with enough time, she'll come around & come more out of her shell & begin to play & behave like a kitten.
I love all animals, I just don't know for how long I can have SIX cats in the household (with the 2 foster kitten friends) because I don't want to upset the balance of the exisiting residents... (My adult cats.)
Although they did seem to "get over it" pretty quickly & resumed about their daily activity & just avoided the kittens.
My male cat is friendly & I can guarantee that with a few more days, he'd be snuggling & playing with the brother kittens!
Anyway, I'm not gonna give up on her & if she never gets "more normal", I have no problem keeping her and staring at her adorable face while she lays on the couch all day long

[critters]

I don't necessarily mean birth siblings. I've always had some of mine, both boys and girls, who just naturally take on the caregiving roles. Some take on more sibling roles, playing with the newbie (the players are usually my boys).