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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / August 2003problems with jumping
My cat doesn't have problems with jumping a couple of feet, but I've noticed that she has never jumped higher than a couple of feet. I often read about people who suffer with their cats jumping on counters, but I have never had that problem. She has been to the vet and the vet does not see any problems with her legs or otherwise. I'm just wondering, is it common for cats not to want to jump high (or jump from high places, for that matter. She is very cautious when she jumps down from anywhere--even my bed.)? Could she have had a bad experience in her former life-as-a-stray to cause her to be afraid of jumping to/from high places? Just wondering... rona  Signature"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and they will piss upon your computer." --Bruce Graham > My cat doesn't have problems with jumping a couple of feet, but I've noticed > that she has never jumped higher than a couple of feet. I often read about [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > rona My theory is that there are "up" cats and "down" cats. I have one of each. Otis prowls the countertops and lounges on the top of the refrigerator. Hektor seldom chooses to jump on the counter (though he *can*, and also likes to jump into the windowsill at the same height) but prefers to lounge under the bed or table or desk. Hektor is also a bit overweight while Otis is trim. I think this is partly a cause of Hekky's reluctance to jump (16 lbs. is a lot of weight to move around!) and partly an effect (he's a laidback slow easy going cat who's not very active). Is your cat heavy at all? Can you feel her ribs easily? -Alison in OH >My cat doesn't have problems with jumping a couple of feet, but I've noticed >that she has never jumped higher than a couple of feet. I often read about [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >have had a bad experience in her former life-as-a-stray to cause her to be >afraid of jumping to/from high places? Just wondering... Could be. I used to have a cat that while young, tried to jump up on the coffee table (not much of a jump) and missed. It was as though after that, she figured she was clumsy and she would never try to make a jump that was more than a foot or two. Even then, she would spend many minutes positioning herself for that little jump. She just wasn't much of a jumper. Some cats don't like to jump very high, some cats can't (if they are pudgy, for example). Other cats seem to love to spend time figuring out how to reach the highest spot in the room. One of our current cats actually managed to jump from the floor to the top of the refrigerator once. I don't think she could do it now that she's middle aged, but maybe her only reason for trying in the first place was to prove that she could. > Could be. I used to have a cat that while young, tried to jump up on the coffee > table (not much of a jump) and missed. It was as though after that, she figured > she was clumsy and she would never try to make a jump that was more than a foot > or two. Even then, she would spend many minutes positioning herself for that > little jump. She just wasn't much of a jumper. Poor kitty! That sounds just like my cat, though. Even when she just jumps onto or off of my bed (which isn't very high), she checks out everything around her, then positions herself, then jumps. It's never a quick event for her. > Some cats don't like to jump very high, some cats can't (if they are pudgy, for > example). Other cats seem to love to spend time figuring out how to reach the > highest spot in the room. One of our current cats actually managed to jump from > the floor to the top of the refrigerator once. I don't think she could do it > now that she's middle aged, but maybe her only reason for trying in the first > place was to prove that she could. She's pudgy (almost back down to full-figured, though), but she wasn't pudgy when we got her. She didn't like jumping then, either. But maybe her increased pudginess has discouraged her from trying to jump again. I'll see if she starts jumping more when she has lost a couple of more pounds (she's down to 11--just 2 more pounds to go!) rona |> My cat doesn't have problems with jumping a couple of feet, but I've |> noticed that she has never jumped higher than a couple of feet. [...] |> is it common for cats not to want to jump high (or jump from high |> places, for that matter. She is very cautious when she jumps down |> from anywhere--even my bed.)? | Could be. I used to have a cat that while young, tried to jump up on | the coffee table (not much of a jump) and missed. It was as though | after that, she figured she was clumsy [...] She just wasn't much of | a jumper. My Marie is like that. For a cat, she's rather clumsy and not at all sure-footed. I've seen her miss jumps, but not consistently. On narrow ledges, she may stumble and struggle for balance. (It's a minor problem for me too, because she'll fidget a lot in my lap, and the claws inadvertently come out when she loses her footing.) Also, there's a distinct waddle in her gait, her butt swinging from side to side. It's kind of cute: you might think she sashays! :-) AFAICT, her rear legs splay outward quite a bit, so she may have trouble keeping the toes on her hindlegs close together when needed. The vet found nothing wrong with her, but at some point I may have her checked thoroughly for possible inner ear problems. Right now, I'm not too concerned as her loss of balance and misjump episodes are occasional only. | Other cats seem to love to spend time figuring out how to reach the | highest spot in the room. A floor-to-ceiling cat tree can usually satisfy that urge. :-) If a cat has a hard time jumping up I would consider something wrong with muscle, bones, tendons, nerves, backbone, whatever. But if that cat is hesitant to jump down from low places like the bed, I think eyesight problem is more likely. Perhaps she is nearsighted so she has a tough time judging depths. ? > If a cat has a hard time jumping up I would consider something wrong > with muscle, bones, tendons, nerves, backbone, whatever. But if that > cat is hesitant to jump down from low places like the bed, I think > eyesight problem is more likely. Perhaps she is nearsighted so she has > a tough time judging depths. ? I think a lack of jumping may also be due to a vestibular problem - whether current, or residual from an earlier illness. Lots of possibilities. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > If a cat has a hard time jumping up I would consider something wrong > with muscle, bones, tendons, nerves, backbone, whatever. But if that > cat is hesitant to jump down from low places like the bed, I think > eyesight problem is more likely. Perhaps she is nearsighted so she has > a tough time judging depths. ? Is there anyway to test for nearsightedness in cats? She seems to find bugs on floors OK, but they're usually pretty close to her face as she follows them with her eyes. I don't know what would happen with small things at a farther distance. Think an eye chart would work ;-)? rona |
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