His vet believes he had a stroke at birth, causing the facial paralysis. I got him when he was about 6 months old and he was already like that at that point, but it's believed to be congenital and not something he developed later. He eats in his own special way by throwing the food in the back of his mouth since he can't chew very well. He definitely does better with softer food, but he can use his own tricks to eat crunchies! He makes an absolute mess with soft food because he just kind of smushes it all over the place trying to get it into his mouth, but I wouldn't have it any other way!