Neurological symptoms (wobbly rear legs) in 4-old cat

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223rem - 13 Feb 2006 01:35 GMT

My girlfriends cats suddenly (today) began displaying weakness
and lack of coordination (wobbly walk) in the rear legs. Her
eyes were divergent, and the pupils were very narrow.
These symptoms are intermitent--it happened twice today.
Otherwise, she's fine, she eats and is in a good mood.
Of course, we'll take her to the vet, but does anyone have any
idea what could be wrong? The cat is spayed, and is indoor-outdoor.
Thanks.

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Joe Canuck - 13 Feb 2006 01:48 GMT

> My girlfriends cats suddenly (today) began displaying weakness
> and lack of coordination (wobbly walk) in the rear legs. Her
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> idea what could be wrong? The cat is spayed, and is indoor-outdoor.
> Thanks.

You need to go to the vet immediately. This is an emergency situation.

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PawsForThought - 14 Feb 2006 02:04 GMT

Sorry to hear about the cat. I would have the vet check for Feline
Thromboembolic Disease. Not saying that's what is, but sudden loss of
rear leg dysfunction is one of its symptoms. Is there any bluish color
in the paw pads or nail beds?

Good luck at the vet and please let us know what they say.

Lauren

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yngver - 14 Feb 2006 16:35 GMT

> > My girlfriends cats suddenly (today) began displaying weakness
> > and lack of coordination (wobbly walk) in the rear legs. Her
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Lauren

Another possibility, and generally more benign, is vestibular disease.
This would be characterized by stumbling or staggering to one side, and
often the head tilts to the same side. This happened to our cat and at
first the vet did suspect some kind of thrombosis, but all the tests
were negative. The head tilt was a classic sign of idiopathic
vestibular disease. It normally goes away on its own, but can take a
couple of weeks or more. For our cat, it took a couple of months to
regain her sense of balance and for the head tilt to completely
disappear. But in any case, since these symptoms may be something more
serious, I wouldn't wait to bring her to the vet.
-Yngver

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223rem - 14 Feb 2006 17:37 GMT

>>My girlfriends cats suddenly (today) began displaying weakness
>>and lack of coordination (wobbly walk) in the rear legs. Her
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> rear leg dysfunction is one of its symptoms. Is there any bluish color
> in the paw pads or nail beds?

Thanks.

No, no signs of thrombosis. The cat is now fine, and the vet didnt
find anything. He suggested a toxin of some sort was involved, but
the cat didnt vomit or anything like that. Very weird. Anyone here has
more immagination than my vet?

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cybercat - 14 Feb 2006 18:52 GMT

> >>My girlfriends cats suddenly (today) began displaying weakness
> >>and lack of coordination (wobbly walk) in the rear legs. Her
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> the cat didnt vomit or anything like that. Very weird. Anyone here has
> more immagination than my vet?

I imagine that if you stopped encouraging your cats to eat things
like moles that have probably been eating pesticide-laden grubs
you might not have problems like this. But of course I have already
suggested that. The mice are the same, people put out poison for
them all the time.

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Janna - 14 Feb 2006 19:32 GMT

>No, no signs of thrombosis. The cat is now fine, and the vet didnt
>find anything. He suggested a toxin of some sort was involved, but
>the cat didnt vomit or anything like that. Very weird. Anyone here has
>more immagination than my vet?

How old is the cat? Was a blood and urine test done? Back leg weakness can
be a sign of kidney disease or diabetes. Six explanations for back leg
weakness here:

http://felinecrf.org/symptoms_treatments_index.htm

Janna

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Karen - 15 Feb 2006 20:59 GMT

DId they test for diabetes?

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