Their foster mom refused to give up on them.
When Macy Lyle signed up to foster a stray cat and her five kittens through A Cat’s Life Rescue in Maryland, she braced herself for the usual kitten chaos — sharp little claws, endless meows, and those infamous midnight zoomies.
What she didn’t expect was a heartbreaking mystery unfolding before her eyes.
“At first, they seemed like any other wobbly kittens,” Lyle told The Dodo. But within days, three of the kittens — Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto — went from shaky walking to complete loss of mobility, flopping around unable to walk at all.
What followed was a whirlwind of emergency vet visits, endless tests, and treatments — antibiotics for toxoplasmosis, meds for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), tests for parvovirus — but nothing worked. The kittens kept deteriorating, struggling to eat, drink, or even use the litter box.
Then came the hardest call: while Lyle was away for a family emergency, the vet asked if she wanted to be present for euthanasia. “I said yes, of course,” she said. “But I also told them I wanted answers. I wasn’t ready to give up.”
After exhausting every possible diagnosis, the vets pinpointed cerebellar hypoplasia — a brain condition caused by exposure to feline panleukopenia virus in the womb. It affects balance and coordination, but isn’t painful or contagious.
Faced with no cure but a hopeful prognosis, Lyle made a bold choice: “I took on this burden. I told them if euthanasia was the only option, we’d revisit it in a few months — I wanted to see if they could improve.”
She and the rescue dug into physical therapy options for cats. Their first attempt? Water therapy in Lyle’s bathtub. “I hated it. I felt like I was traumatizing them,” she laughed. So, she switched gears to play therapy. “We just played, all day long.”
Slowly, those little fighters showed signs of strength and spirit. Sasuke and Naruto blossomed into relaxed lap cats, while Sakura took to climbing her cat tree and exploring like a fearless adventurer.
“They can now sit up, stand to drink water, and use the litter box by themselves,” Lyle shared. “They don’t know any different — this is their world, and they’re perfectly happy in it. They’re so much more than their mobility issues or cerebellar hypoplasia.”
By late June, Lyle posted a bittersweet update: “I’ve been ignoring the reality that my Wobbles have been adopted. The best part? They were adopted by a close group of friends, so they’ll have plenty of playdates! I couldn’t imagine a better outcome. They’re clearly loved — although they could definitely act like they’ll miss me… Happy ever afters all around!”