My 5 month old kitten fell out of a tree today. She seemed fine at first, but then started acting a bit strange. Although she didn't do it consistently, she dragged her back legs, tilted her head to one side, walked in circles, and began falling asleep sitting up, all while purring. I already took her to the vet, and they say she's fine. She has no broken bones, her pupils are fine, her blood sugar is normal, and she doesn't have a fever. She is doing much better, and I expect she will be back to normal soon. For now she's still sleeping quite a bit, had some trouble jumping onto the couch, and although she hates the car, never made a sound on the way to or from the vet. I'm curious to know what might have been going on. Any ideas?
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Cat Behavior After Falling from a Tree
- Thread starter fehl27
- Start Date
may i ask -- what did your vet do to check your kitten over? were any x-rays taken?
dragging the back legs, tilting her head to one side, and even purring may be signs that kitty has been injured. cats purr when they're happy/content, but also to comfort themselves when they're injured/in pain.
@catwoman707, @Red Top Rescue -- may i ask for your advice for the OP (original poster)?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
The vet didn't do any x-rays. She manually checked her legs, made sure her pupils were dialating properly, took her temperature, and did a blood sugar test. Meowzabeth was doing better by the time we got to the vet though, so she didn't get to see many of the symptoms other than being more calm and lethargic than usual. The cat is nearly normal at this point.
It sounds like she may have hit her head and gotten a mild concussion. She may have had some damage to her spine, pelvis or legs also. Dragging her legs, walking in circles, and tilting her head to one side, having trouble staying upright and occasionally falling over while sitting are all signs of head trauma. Fortunately it was not too severe and it seems to have cleared by the time you left the vet's office. However, keep a close eye on her for the next 24 hours, because if there is any nflammaton and tissue swelling, [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]damage can be increased by loss of blood supply and pressure on important structures and nerves. This can be reversed by speedy administration of anti-inflammatory drugs by your veterinarian. I had one last year who was only 6 weeks old and had obviously been thrown out of a car. He was totally limp, could not walk at all, and he had road rash and a huge swelling around one eye socket. In addition, he was temporarily both blind and deaf. As the swelling went down, he started to improve, and by the next day he could kind of walk but only in circles. His vision came back and his hearing came back but he was still just a little limp rag we carried around for another couple of days. Soon he learned to walk with fewer circles, and then he would run, but scampering with high steps like a baby bunny. Sometimes he would fall over. He did heal completely in two weeks. I named him Lurch. It's his bug-eyed little face you see on my avatar here.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Yes, excellent story @Red Top Rescue !
These are infact signs of head trauma.
While it's impossible to tell if there will be swelling or not, I am a bit surprised the vet didn't give an anti-inflammatory just for the simple sugns you described and took her your kitten because of.
A few months back one of my foster moms closed her recliner chair down and Zubie got smashed.
He spent 2 nights in the hispital, lost his sight and hearing as well.
He could not sit up, was limp and helpless.
His pupils were uneven.....
If it weren't for this fab vet of mine feeling like she had to at least try to save him, I would actually have had her put him down. He was a wreck.
Face all swelled on one side, one eye was bulged out far, it looked grim.
2 days later I picked him up and brought him home.
They told me the key to his possible recover is to contain him in a carrier that will not allow him to try to get up, as this makes the brain work, and it needed as much down time to repair itself that little bug had in him.
So I did.
He couldn't even eat.
Kept him for 2 days here, and saw small improvements.
Long story short, the last thing to fix on Zubie was his circles like you saw yours doing.
After 4 weeks, Zubie was completely good again and got adopted with his brother
Just watch closely, and try as best you can to keep the activity level as minimal as possible.
These are infact signs of head trauma.
While it's impossible to tell if there will be swelling or not, I am a bit surprised the vet didn't give an anti-inflammatory just for the simple sugns you described and took her your kitten because of.
A few months back one of my foster moms closed her recliner chair down and Zubie got smashed.
He spent 2 nights in the hispital, lost his sight and hearing as well.
He could not sit up, was limp and helpless.
His pupils were uneven.....
If it weren't for this fab vet of mine feeling like she had to at least try to save him, I would actually have had her put him down. He was a wreck.
Face all swelled on one side, one eye was bulged out far, it looked grim.
2 days later I picked him up and brought him home.
They told me the key to his possible recover is to contain him in a carrier that will not allow him to try to get up, as this makes the brain work, and it needed as much down time to repair itself that little bug had in him.
So I did.
He couldn't even eat.
Kept him for 2 days here, and saw small improvements.
Long story short, the last thing to fix on Zubie was his circles like you saw yours doing.
After 4 weeks, Zubie was completely good again and got adopted with his brother
Just watch closely, and try as best you can to keep the activity level as minimal as possible.
@FEHL27 -- how is your little girl doing?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
wonderful news! i'm so glad she's made a complete recovery from her fall.
