Lucy the 'bat cat' nude kitten with hydrocephalus

Lucy is described by her owner as "the bat cat". Not a particularly flattering title I have to say. You might know me and that I dislike these sorts of Instagram accounts because you get owners of strange cats vicariously achieving some fame for themselves through their cat. 

Often these cats are misshapen through a genetic defect or in this instance this hairless cat suffers from hydrocephalus which is a buildup of fluid on the brain which puts pressure on the brain and which can damage it. It is treatable and for humans and the survival rate for treated hydrocephalus is high. 

Lucy the bat cat. Photo: Instagram

Sorry if I upset some people in disliking these sorts of social media accounts. The pics are from Lucy's Instagram page. They were taken by her owners.

Lucy is called 'the bat cat' because of the obvious reason: she looks a little bit like one of those strange bats. And the stranger the cat looks the better for the celebrity cats.

My research indicates that a cat suffering from hydrocephalus may be asymptomatic. Alternatively, the symptoms might include, wetting or soiling in the house, sleeplessness, blindness, seizures, excess globalisation, hyper-excitability, a large dome-shaped head which is due to intracranial swelling, walking abnormalities, cross-eyes, abnormal breathing, arching their head back and extending all four legs and coma.

Lucy the bat cat. Photo: Instagram.

There are various causes including, inherited (congenital), genetics, prenatal infection, vitamin A deficiency, intracranial inflammatory diseases, masses in the cranium, brain haemorrhage in newborn after a difficult labour, exposure to teratogens (these are drugs which interfere with the development), coronavirus. We don't know which cause is applicable for Lucy. My guess is that it was inherited.

Credits as per above.

Lucy is a Sphynx cat by the way. She has 35,400 followers on her Instagram page. Her birthday is on March 15. She was born on March 15, 2019.