Young cat suddenly hesitant to jump.
April 13, 2019 7:22 AM Subscribe
The red herring: a new kitten has arrived. Attention seeking behavior or vet time?
Our cat, Mush, is an approx 4-5 year old tuxedo girl. Previously she's never had an issue with jumping. She is a pretty "low to the ground" cat - not much of a climber/scaler, but she can get on the bed or couch no problem. Within the past couple days, instead of jumping she stands on her hind legs, puts her forepaws on the bed/couch, and just kind of hesitates there before ultimately aborting the jump. She is pooping, peeing, eating, drinking and playing appropriately at this point and we are closely monitoring these behaviors. She seems to be her normal self - isn't hiding, peeing outside litterbox, etc. She has also gotten a litttttlee chunkier in the past week as well(eating the kitten kibble) but she is not overweight.
Now, we got a 6 month old tabby girl on 4/4. We did proper introductory rites, kept them away from each other, and did slow introductions. We think they're okay with each other! There was some hissing at first but no fighting, they can be around each other with no problem. Mush is still hesitant and investigative regarding tabby baby but it's still early. I'm thinking that the hesitance to jump could be attention seeking?The internet says she may have arthritis but she's not an elderly cat. We checked her paws and legs and all seems well. Vet time or shall we wait and see?
Our cat, Mush, is an approx 4-5 year old tuxedo girl. Previously she's never had an issue with jumping. She is a pretty "low to the ground" cat - not much of a climber/scaler, but she can get on the bed or couch no problem. Within the past couple days, instead of jumping she stands on her hind legs, puts her forepaws on the bed/couch, and just kind of hesitates there before ultimately aborting the jump. She is pooping, peeing, eating, drinking and playing appropriately at this point and we are closely monitoring these behaviors. She seems to be her normal self - isn't hiding, peeing outside litterbox, etc. She has also gotten a litttttlee chunkier in the past week as well(eating the kitten kibble) but she is not overweight.
Now, we got a 6 month old tabby girl on 4/4. We did proper introductory rites, kept them away from each other, and did slow introductions. We think they're okay with each other! There was some hissing at first but no fighting, they can be around each other with no problem. Mush is still hesitant and investigative regarding tabby baby but it's still early. I'm thinking that the hesitance to jump could be attention seeking?The internet says she may have arthritis but she's not an elderly cat. We checked her paws and legs and all seems well. Vet time or shall we wait and see?
It sounds to me like she's checking to see if the other cat is in the jumping location. I had this with a cat after they accidentally landed on each other.
posted by Gneisskate at 8:44 AM on April 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Gneisskate at 8:44 AM on April 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
I don't know that it sounds like attention seeking - cats are super effective at that and not at all subtle, you know? But it also sounds like nothing to be very worried about, especially since she wasn't a spring-loaded cat to begin with. Obviously keep a close eye on her but it hasn't been two weeks since the new kitten and her behavior will continue to adjust.
It's maybe that she feels vulnerable when she jumps? To wild kittens coming out of nowhere, to other strange environmental changes she can't control, just whatever. Try making some ramps up to the places she likes to be so she doesn't actually need to jump, with some boxes and books and such, and see if she climbs up on her own that way. Make some extra hiding spots for her where she's near you but very protected and has soft things that smell like her so she can rebuild confidence in case that's a problem.
The only other physical thing I can think it might be would be something like an illness that's throwing her balance off, like a sinus infection or something giving her vertigo. But typically there are other things that you'd notice if you're paying close attention, and if the new kitten brought that in you'd have a sneezy kitten. She could also maybe have an abscess from a tiny puncture wound you missed when you checked out her paws and legs? But that would also effect her walking. Anyway if I were you I'd give it more time unless another rapid change occurs like litter box issues or diet change.
posted by Mizu at 9:28 AM on April 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's maybe that she feels vulnerable when she jumps? To wild kittens coming out of nowhere, to other strange environmental changes she can't control, just whatever. Try making some ramps up to the places she likes to be so she doesn't actually need to jump, with some boxes and books and such, and see if she climbs up on her own that way. Make some extra hiding spots for her where she's near you but very protected and has soft things that smell like her so she can rebuild confidence in case that's a problem.
The only other physical thing I can think it might be would be something like an illness that's throwing her balance off, like a sinus infection or something giving her vertigo. But typically there are other things that you'd notice if you're paying close attention, and if the new kitten brought that in you'd have a sneezy kitten. She could also maybe have an abscess from a tiny puncture wound you missed when you checked out her paws and legs? But that would also effect her walking. Anyway if I were you I'd give it more time unless another rapid change occurs like litter box issues or diet change.
posted by Mizu at 9:28 AM on April 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Our cat started doing this and it turned out he had arthritis. He was 9 years at the time. But there were other signs as well, he was walking oddly and definitely reacted when we examined his legs.
posted by riddley at 11:04 AM on April 13, 2019
posted by riddley at 11:04 AM on April 13, 2019
Response by poster: Oops sorry just to clarify - her aborting the jump is resulting in us picking her up and putting her on the surface, and generally fussing over her. That's where i felt like it may be an attention thing. She's doing it regardless if other kitty is in the area or not. But it does make sense to think she's checking to see if kitty is already up there.
posted by marvelousmellitus at 2:26 PM on April 13, 2019
posted by marvelousmellitus at 2:26 PM on April 13, 2019
Our older cat had arthritis from a very young age--but I got her when she was a year old and we only discovered the source of the arthritis (she had been shot with a BB gun at some point before I got her and a BB is still embedded in her tail) years later, after she had X-rays for another issue. So I wouldn't rule arthritis out entirely, but it's something I'd wait to mention to the vet at her next checkup.
posted by telophase at 9:25 AM on April 15, 2019
posted by telophase at 9:25 AM on April 15, 2019
I'd get this checked out at the vet right away.
Not to needlessly scare you, but my beloved soulmate cat, Shadow, died of what turned out to be an inoperable fibrosarcoma in January, and one of the first signs something was wrong was that he started hesitating to jump. It turned out the tumor had infiltrated his spine (he lost all movement in his back legs a couple days before he died). He was a bit older than your cat - 9 years old - but this type of tumor, though rare, can strike at any age.
It's really probably NOT cancer, statistically speaking, but if I could go back in time and change any one thing in my entire life, it would be to get Shadow to the vet sooner than we did. (And it's not like we waited very long either - it was more that the jumping issue seemed so inconsequential since everything else seemed normal...and by the time we took him in for other symptoms that appeared a few weeks later, e.g., low appetite and weight loss...it was too late to try anything other than radiation, which we did, and it was sadly not enough to save him.) I know it can be stressful and expensive to get kitties to the vet, but it's well worth the peace of mind, IMO, to find out that something is nothing.
posted by aecorwin at 2:43 PM on April 15, 2019
Not to needlessly scare you, but my beloved soulmate cat, Shadow, died of what turned out to be an inoperable fibrosarcoma in January, and one of the first signs something was wrong was that he started hesitating to jump. It turned out the tumor had infiltrated his spine (he lost all movement in his back legs a couple days before he died). He was a bit older than your cat - 9 years old - but this type of tumor, though rare, can strike at any age.
It's really probably NOT cancer, statistically speaking, but if I could go back in time and change any one thing in my entire life, it would be to get Shadow to the vet sooner than we did. (And it's not like we waited very long either - it was more that the jumping issue seemed so inconsequential since everything else seemed normal...and by the time we took him in for other symptoms that appeared a few weeks later, e.g., low appetite and weight loss...it was too late to try anything other than radiation, which we did, and it was sadly not enough to save him.) I know it can be stressful and expensive to get kitties to the vet, but it's well worth the peace of mind, IMO, to find out that something is nothing.
posted by aecorwin at 2:43 PM on April 15, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
When she hesitates to jump up onto something, is the new kitten already on that thing?
Have you tried playing in a way that usually gets her to jump?
You could also put the food away for a while, then see if she'll jump for treats (don't make her too hungry! Just check for normal eagerness -- apparently she likes food).
If she's not deferring to the kitten, or if she's not jumping at all, or if she's only jumping one time and then stopping, then she might have luxating patellas or arthritis or another condition.
posted by amtho at 8:07 AM on April 13, 2019