Why can't my cat stand up

September 14, 2013 8:10 AM

Bridget [pics to follow] has been a little bit clumsy lately (missing jumps, etc) and she also went deaf fairly quickly over the course of several weeks. Still, she's been basically spry and happy - she's oldish at approximately 12 to 14 years old, but her weight is fine and she checks out fine. This morning I woke her up and she has been very unsteady on her rear feet. She fell from standing, and she's having trouble walking without falling over. We can see it's making her upset but when we pick her up she's happy and chases treats with her paws. But the falling is really scaring the crap out of me. Does anyone know what might be going on or if there's anything we can do for her? Really worried right now - thank you in advance for any advice.
posted by ftm to Pets & Animals (30 answers total)

Vet. Sooner rather than later, I think.
posted by jon1270 at 8:15 AM on September 14, 2013 [11 favorites]

Response by poster: I will try not to 'sit but she was at the vet last weekend (we were worried about the deafness). He couldn't find anything wrong with her ears. We told him about the balance problems and he didn't really have much for us.

She is purring but sluggish. If the vet can help we'll go but I have a dread that this might be her last day and I don't want her to spend it at the vet's office.

Bridget.
posted by ftm at 8:20 AM on September 14, 2013

Off the top of my head it could be:
A stroke, vestibular disease, pinched nerve, a sprain.... Really, only a veterinarian will be able to tell you why she's not steady on her feet and therefore how to help her.
posted by tllaya at 8:21 AM on September 14, 2013

Vet right now.

It could be something very simple and minor, like she hurt herself in a fall and needs time to heal, or could be larger (and very treatable!) issues like diabetic neuropathy or potassium deficiency. Get to the vet today so you can have peace of mind and get treatment if needed before anything progresses.
posted by dayintoday at 8:22 AM on September 14, 2013

Best answer: Sorry, just saw your reply and want to add that if they didn't do bloodwork last week, then you need to go back. Glucose, kidney, potassium... all those levels should be looked at unless an injury can be felt in an exam.
posted by dayintoday at 8:23 AM on September 14, 2013 [3 favorites]

Vet, definitely. Back leg problems could be a saddle thrombus, though the fact that she's not in pain is promising. She is super pretty. Will be thinking of you guys.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:28 AM on September 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: This balance thing happened to my cat after he had a stroke.

Balance is a function of the inner ear, I think.

Your vet sounds incompetent.

Ear infection? Tumor? Stroke?

Get a new vet and find out!
posted by jbenben at 8:34 AM on September 14, 2013 [4 favorites]

It could be a stroke. She could linger for a week -- my first cat did. It might be more humane to bring her to the vet, so you know what's wrong and if you need to decide if it might be better for her to either be put to sleep or be treated.
posted by spunweb at 8:47 AM on September 14, 2013

ftm, if your story sounds like what PhoBWanKenobi linked to about straddle thrombus, then the news may not be good and I'm sorry.

Just two days ago, I had to put my beloved 17-year old cat, Myrtle, to rest because we woke up with her in the condition to what sounds like thrombus. Please get her to the vet and keep us posted. X-rays one week ago showed us all sorts of major organ issues that Myrtle was having, unbeknownst to us - the only symptom was more labored breathing that started about one month ago. We thought we would had maybe a couple more months with her since she was still purring, eating (some), drinking...

Keep her calm and soothed and just keep softly saying her name to her. In my mind, I just wanted to help Myrtle from feeling fear and loneliness.

I do hope it's better news for you and Bridget - my thoughts are with you and your buddy.
posted by foxhat10 at 8:59 AM on September 14, 2013

Response by poster: We're in the car at the vet right now. The cat is happy as a clam. I'll make an update as soon as we find something out, thank you for advice and thoughts.
posted by ftm at 9:00 AM on September 14, 2013 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Also, they did a quick check when we came in. Back legs are warm and responsive.
posted by ftm at 9:02 AM on September 14, 2013 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Glucose, kidney, potassium... all those levels should be looked at unless an injury can be felt in an exam.

Also liver function test, but make sure they do it properly (needs to be done fasting and fed). My cat acted pretty much just like this when he had hepatic encephalitis, which can be treated successfully for a while at least so is worth knowing about.

The part where your vet didn't do blood panels straight away is pretty concerning given your cats age and symptoms. This is definitely something and could well be a treatable something, but with all these things diagnosis sooner rather than later is always important.
posted by shelleycat at 9:06 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Ask about the possibility that's she's been having mini-strokes.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 9:08 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I want to clarify that the balance symptoms were very mild last week. She missed a jump or two but still had no problem getting to the top of her cat tree, even until yesterday.
posted by ftm at 9:09 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Great news for you, ftm!
posted by foxhat10 at 9:22 AM on September 14, 2013

Best answer: Sending my best wishes to you and Bridget!

Please crack the whip with the vet and try to get him to make at least a tentative diagnosis (she likely needs blood work and X-rays, if not more). It's inhumane for him to just send a cat home to suffer, with no insight into how to ease or stop that suffering.
posted by rue72 at 10:00 AM on September 14, 2013

Like several above, in our case it was a spinal stroke. Good luck!
posted by Obscure Reference at 10:10 AM on September 14, 2013

Response by poster: Our guy honestly wasn't much help, even with prodding. We're off to a different vet. I want to reassure y'all that she isn't suffering; she's been purring the whole damn time. She's just a little bit bewildered about what her back legs are doing.
posted by ftm at 11:03 AM on September 14, 2013 [6 favorites]

Thinking good thoughts for you.
posted by samthemander at 11:40 AM on September 14, 2013

Purring is not necessarily a sign that the cat is fine and happy. Cats also purr when they are in pain. Cats do NOT like to show pain. What reads as happy to you might actually be the cat in pain, scared, hurt, etc.,

Cat could be having heart issues, liver issues, back issues. Or just arthritis. Definitely get a new vet who takes your concerns seriously. You spend many hours with this cat and a decent vet will take your concerns seriously, do bloodwork, and try to figure out what is going on without immediately dismissing you and the cat.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:15 PM on September 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best of luck on the second opinion. I know that I would be worried sick if this were my kitty, so I hope that everything is ok with Bridget (who is beautiful!).
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:16 PM on September 14, 2013

Given your cat's age, I think the most likely cause is arthritis in her back legs.
The symptom with her legs you describe was exactly what I saw in my 17 year old cat almost a year ao. The bouts of ataxia (technical name for "legs don't work right") were occurring when she got up after napping and the second one lasted about half an hour. She seemed like she was drunk/ice skating for the first time. Other than the ataxia, and yeah, perplexed about what her hind quarters were doing, she was fine. I took her to her (NZ) vet and we agreed that based on the absence of other symptoms, and given her age, arthritis was most likely.
We are treating her with Meloxicam Oral for Cats, which she takes in her food. She can now jump up and down off the bed and occasionally breaks into a run. She is sometimes slightly stiff when she first gets up after a long time in the same position, but she's obviously a lot more comfortable and mobile.
So I agree with taking her to another vet, but I am quite hopeful that your cat just has arthritis.
posted by Pigpen at 12:24 PM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Our 20 year old cat Puppy has diabetes. We give her insulin injections 2x/day but her sugars are very difficult to keep in one place and when her blood sugar drops to precariously low numbers she staggers around like she's drunk, falls down, loses her balance, loses her rear leg coordination, etc. [I forgot about this fact last Monday when I found her on the floor in a hallway, unable to raise herself up. A short time later she was able to stagger/stand. Then, as I held her, she started seizing - I ran her immediately to the vet. She's home and mostly okay now, but last night we had to rub Karo syrup on her gums because the staggering thing started up again. This morning we ordered a cat glucometer which should help us more capably monitor and help her. Also, she is a purry cat but her purrs are not all the same. She's got a 'oooh scratch my cheek again' purr and a subtly different scared/pain purr. ]

Did your vet happen to take a blood sample to check her sugars?
posted by mcbeth at 12:48 PM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Okay - the new vet did a lot more and made us feel much better. She scoped Bridget's ears and found a lot of fluid in one. This might all just be a bad ear infection. So she's got some steroids and some antibiotics in her, and the is being run right now.

Exceedingly helpful thread in that y'all prodded me to go to a better vet and get a real exam and real answer. Feeling a million times better. Here's one more of Bridget in her tree, which she won't be climbing today but hopefully soon!
posted by ftm at 1:05 PM on September 14, 2013 [35 favorites]

What a cutie! Glad she's getting better treatment.
posted by Superplin at 2:55 PM on September 14, 2013

Bridget is deliciously adorable! I'm so happy that you went to a different doctor.
posted by crw at 5:02 PM on September 14, 2013

I'm so glad that it sounds like you got the right answer. She's beautiful, and I love the name Bridget. We'll be getting two cats in the next few months and that's on my list of names. :)
posted by Wet Hen at 6:32 PM on September 14, 2013

She is SO pretty and soft looking. Very glad you took her to a second vet. Please keep us updated on Bridget's condition, okay?
posted by aryma at 9:54 PM on September 14, 2013

She's adorable! Such soft fur and such a thoughtful face. I've been thinking about this thread all day and hoping Bridget's OK. Seconding the request to update us if/when she feels better!
posted by rue72 at 10:30 PM on September 14, 2013

Response by poster: I wish I had a super solid answer for y'all, but in any case, it's all good news. Bridget is getting markedly better; she never falls while walking now, and she's back to jumping on the couch, although sometimes she has a bit of trouble with that landing! She's not quite confident enough to get back on her tree but she's 95% herself again. We think it was the ear infection, and that the antibiotic is what is helping, but it might be the steroids too - the return visit will hopefully tell us.

I won't update again unless I learn something that will be specifically useful to searchers but thank you all for your help and thoughts! Again, if not for the advice, Bridget might either not be here or not be a very happy camper at all.
posted by ftm at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2013 [2 favorites]