four or five falls in a row

Shes tried jumping up to her highest perch on her tree the usual front legs /paws gripping perch back legs pushing up via post now each time shes went tumbling down onto the coffee table or floor. I clipped her claws last night could it be ive cut them to short

StephieDoodle said:

Shes tried jumping up to her highest perch on her tree the usual front legs /paws gripping perch back legs pushing up via post now each time shes went tumbling down onto the coffee table or floor. I clipped her claws last night could it be ive cut them to short

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that would not cause these symptoms

how old is she?

keep her in another room where she can't attempt to climb up until you know whats wrong

Shes 13 months no real change in her diet or behaviour except she has been a lot more active and seeking out play sessions shes managed to jump into the next bed down about half a foot difference in height from the couch but going from the coffee table to the higher bed probably a 3 ft leap surface to surface vertically she cant make she doesnt seem ill or in pain she recntly had a check up at vet and was pronounced fit and healthy

Is her back end (hind leg area and hip) looking a little skinny compared to the rest of her? Is she losing muscle mass in this area? Thinking peripheral neuropathy and diabetes.

Nno like I say she had a check up a week ago and all was fine physically I dont like how this is her only symptom and you are all kist jimping to seriois illness

From what I've read, if you just clipped her nails short, then perhaps she's just not getting a good grip like she's used to.   Seems to be too coincidental for this to start happening right after you clip her nails.

If u clipped them TOO short and she's in pain and favoring certain parts that would make sense, but a cat doesn't need claws to jump...period

Hi @mycatwasthebest....I was just wondering why you thought that a cat does not need its nails, while climbing?   I would think that my cat when younger, used his nails to climb the curtains, and also to pull himself up to higher pieces of furniture, and shelves.  Also when outside, I watched him climb a small apricot tree, and he seemed to be using his nails for gripping.

If you cut a cat's nails, you would be making them blunt, and therefore the pointed grip would be altered.   (Same way as a guitarist playing a guitar, and not having long fingernails on the plucking hand....it would alter the way she or he plays)

@StephieDoodle    I definitely think its because you cut the nails, and no, it does not have to be short, either.  Any change is going to affect your cat.  Give it some time, and observation, and maybe help her out with some ramps or easier distances to jump to.  Even using some sort of sisal material should help with the "pull ups"

What is her name? and does she always land on her feet?  At 13 months, I bet she still is having fun and running around like a kitten would.  I really don't remember when they slow down?

my cat was spayed and declawed by an ignorant owner (me) when she was 6 weeks old and climbed and jumped more than perfectly for over 14 years

mycatwasthebest said:

 
my cat was spayed and declawed by an ignorant owner (me) when she was 6 weeks old and climbed and jumped more than perfectly for over 14 years

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Okay, thanks for the reply...@mycatwasthebest.  Its something I never thought of.  And even though I may think that a cat with claws is far better at climbing then a cat without, I suppose a cat has the ability to overcome many obstacles, if it wants to be somewhere.  (I do think you may have made a mistake back then, but I have made so many others when it concerns feeding my cat, not brushing his teeth and a lot more....in his early kitten training or "lack of" methods)  We all do the best, with what we know at the time, and only change our views when more logical ones are presented.

I would be curious in how your cat would have pulled herself up if she miscalculated a distance? In vertical height?  Or did she just fall to the floor as well? 

StephieDoodle said:

Nno like I say she had a check up a week ago and all was fine physically I dont like how this is her only symptom and you are all kist jimping to seriois illness

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It is just that this could be a symptom of something serious. Just because the nails were trimmed, unless you drew blood, it doesn't make sense for the cat to loose their balance and not be able to jump and to fall down. When the cat falls are they falling and landing on their feet or side? True it is only one symptom but for a symptom it is a big one. Just because she was fine at the vet a week ago doesn't mean that things couldn't have changed by now. Falling and missing their mark when jumping are all worth investigating since cats rely so much on their sense of balance etc. You wrote in to get opinions and I think people are just trying to give you their opinion.

Hope it is just that the nails are to short and she can't grip the surface with them. But I have also seen cats with no claws climb and grip stuff with their little nub toes.

obviously she didn't climb curtains, but if she EVER miscalculated she twisted her body and made it anyway. that's why I said a cat can JUMP w/out claws.

not climb curtains...but a coffee table is not an obstacle to an otherwise normal, healthy cat

watching tara again on the news

g'nite

Shes not missing her mark; shes hitting it and gripping on then loosing that grip with the front claws before she can push up using her hind paws/claws. She normally lands feet first then slips on the slick surface of the coffee table. She did at one point hit the side but she flailed about trying to grab onto something.

For those of you postulating the worst; these illnesses you are claiming it could be would not show so suddenly or vastly in one week. But to assuage you all it is her claws; a few were cut shorter than normal upon further inspection and shes since adjusted. Thank you for your scaring me into pestering our vet who assured me Lilly showed no sign of either illnesses.

Hey, @StephieDoodle....I think what happens is sometimes members come from other threads, still with thoughts of awful illnesses in their heads, or they may have seen or had experiences with these illnesses in the past.  I don't think anyone meant to scare a person concerning their cat....at least I would hope not.  In a way, its good you asked your vet about Lilly, since if anything were wrong, he or she,  would be able to explain it.....plus you could always just tell them that the members on this site are all passionate, as are you, about our cats, so I am sure he/she would understand.

(okay, not to go too far off topic, but to give you some light-hearted humour after yesterday's stressful answers:

Do you all remember the movie "Kindergarten Cop" with Arnold Schwarzenegger, where Arnold's character is saying he has "a headache" and the cute little boy says "it might be a tumour" and Arnold replies.."its not a tumour"....(It kind of feels the same thing happened here, since people offered serious illnesses...very quickly)      

Yes I see what you mean at least I know its not serious