Tipsy kitty

Just wondering if I'm overreacting here or if I should be a little concerned. Liz is about three and a half years old, never goes outside, has been regularly vaccinated for rabies all her life and hasn't been into anything that I'm aware of that could potentially be toxic.

She's toppled over and/or lost her balance twice today. She lays on the floor front of the sliding glass doors every morning and this afternoon as I was rattling their cat treat container to call them to get a few pieces, she lept up and lost her balance on her feet. I'd never seen her do this before and, because I tend to worry too much with she and Gus anyway, decided that maybe cats' limbs fall asleep after laying down for too long, just like humans.

Now, granted, I have been keeping a hawk's eye on her this evening, trying to notice if she's still having balance issues, so I could be seeing things that were always there, but if seems like she's still leaning to her left side every now and then. When I opened the bathroom door after my shower both the cats had been waiting outside and the door opening startled them. Lizzie jumped up and kind of fell over again. She's normally a very agile and poised cat, so this doesn't seem like her. Do cats have neurological issues?

The thought of the possibility of rabies isn't worrying me since, as I said, she's been vaccinated for it all her life. I'm just wondering if less-than-graceful topply kitties happens sometimes or if I should start with the paranoid cat-mommy thing.

You say that she's had her rabies vaccination, but are her *other* vaccinations up to date? Are her gums swollen? What about her paws/legs? How about her pupils, are they *extremely* dilated?

Time for a vet visit.
There is a feline vestibular disease that may be the underlying issue. Some of the others have had recent experience with it. But a vet needs to make the call.

Good luck.

check the ears for ear mites also

No dialated pupils, gum swelling or visible ear troubles. Won't be able to take her to the vet until Saturday. That's surely not going to make a huge difference in the outcome, will it?

I've seen animals with ear problems lose their equilibrium and "fall about" the way that you're describing, so it could very well be something to do with the ears, or a possible ear infection.

I seriously doubt that OP's 3.5 year old indoor cat has Feline Leukemia.

I felt that I should remove this post, since I seem to have upset some people with it...

I'm not too thrilled about thinking about feline leukemia this early in the game. Thanks for the heads-up about all the possibilities, but I'm trying not to think of the possibilities as probabilities at this point.

My meeting was canceled for tomorrow, so that frees me up to take her to the vet tomorrow.

That last post of mine sounded a little snippy, ghost. I didn't mean for it to sound biting.

I'm just a huge worrier about my cats and I'm trying not to let myself jump the gun on it right now. This is the final semester of grad school and my lfie is insane right now. The less dire of think of Lizzie situation as, the better.

I have to say that the first thing that sprang to mind here is an ear infection or something. Maybe check her ears?

With no disrespect to you guys as I know you're all very knowledgable etc.. I think maybe throwing all these suggestions of terrible illnesses just from a couple of incidents of falling over is maybe a bit too much?

Maybe I should go back and edit my posts? I'm really sorry for mentioning anything at all now... It's just that having been through something like that with a cat that I cared deeply about, I'd hate to see somebody else go through the same experience

I'm really sorry I said anything

I was completely guessing; not trying to be derisive or anything. I'm sure that anyone who has been around FeLV knows more about it than I do, which is virtually nothing.

Our family cat caught FelV from a fight before.. thankfully he survived and made a full recovery, but to me, I don't think you could mistake anything else for it, the systems are so obvious that you'd get them to the vet before you can even wonder what it is the cat might have. He was pretty much on deaths door.

The vet took a look at her and has no idea what the problem is. Since she's so young and her eyes aren't moving up and down or left and right at a quick pace, she doesn't think it's feline vestibular disease, and an ear exam and smear didn't indicate an infection. She gave me ear drops and oral antibacterial meds and told me to keep an eye on her for a while.

I was really hoping for an ear infection --something definitive. I don't like not knowing. Worrying kills me.

At any rate, the only think I can do now is watch her, so that's what I'm doing. I'm (maybe naively) hoping it just clears up one way or another soon.

Rats, I was hoping for the FVD because it's self-limiting. This Fall has been so warm, I was hoping the season for it had extended. Not that I wanted your kitty to be ill, either.

Good luck and please keep us updated.