Young cat having issues with back legs

I have a six month old female cat who about three weeks ago started having trouble with her back legs. It literally happened over night. One morning I went to go feed her and her older brother and she did not want to eat. Then later she sat down in her litter box and got her poop all over her. She stopped running around and playing and her back was arched when she would walk. I took her to the emergency vet to address the not eating and walking issue. They x rayed her and nothing was broken, though the vet said she was walking with the "plantigrade" stance, like a raccoon. She recommended blood work to see if it was diabetes or low potassium.

I took her to my regular vet and they did blood work. No high blood sugar and all was normal except some enzymes relating to her muscles. He thinks it was some sort of blunt trauma, but without doing something like an MRI or taking her to a specialist it's hard to say. He put her on an anti inflammatory and told me to watch her. She has started eating again and generally acts normal, except she still isn't jumping or walking very much. I have left my other cat with my mom so she can be on her own and not be bothered.

I feel awful, I want to her help her. She was such an active kitten, but I am just starting out on my own and I cannot afford the type of bills that would come with a MRI or specialist. I already spent quite a bit doing these other tests, but I feel like such an bad person. My only hope is that with a little bit of time she will heal, if it was some sort of trauma and she will get back to normal. I try to keep her active and make her use her body.

Has anyone had any experience with something like this?

This is very odd. While I have not had the exact same thing happen, I have had my share of cats with odd neurologic problems. We also have a member here that recovered a kitten that was paralyzed due to a traumatic injury.

Can you post a video showing her moving around?

Did she by chance receive any vaccines within a week or two of her symptoms?

Did her paws ever feel cold?

Does she appear to be in pain?

Thanks for the reply! Her pads feel warm and have never felt cold. She got her last round of kitten vaccines in late October, so it had been over five weeks since she started acting funny. She doesn't look like she's in pain, she has just been quiet. She's still very affectionate, loves to eat and be loved on. She's just less active. Here is a video of her walking:

 

Its a long shot as it seemed to happe n over night to her, but have you had her knees checked? My kitten Possum walked like that at one point, and it ended up being slippery joints in his back knees. They slide in and out of place as he walks. Again, a longshot, but worth checking if they haven't already, amd it isn't a reaction to something

fireflyingaway, how is your kitty doing today? I stumbled on your thread while searching the internet for answers to what could be going on with my cat, and it sounds exactly like what you and your cat are experiencing. I am worried sick up to the point where I'm shaking. 

I have a six month old boy who is not doing well. Watching your video was almost scary, my cat is also black, the same age and size and he is walking exactly like your cat Piper. I first went to the vet because his whole body seemed week, he sleeps a lot more and just seems real tired. He takes a few steps and then he has to sit down. The vet is running a full blood count and hopefully I will get the results on Friday. After that we’ll just see what happens and what our approach should be.

From what I’ve read this could be caused by two things: Toxoplasmosis or FIP. Toxo can invade the brain somehow and FIP, well I don’t even want to think about it.

I’m also deeply guilt ridden right now, because I fear if it is Toxoplasmosis I am to blame for it because we gave our cat raw beef a couple of weeks ago. My friend who has two cats does it all the time, and for some stupid reason I thought I should give my cat a treat like that too. Now I’m worried sick this meat had toxo in it, and well… I believed cats couldn’t get sick from toxo, just thought they passed it on to humans. I was wrong about that. I don’t know if I could live with myself it it comes down to Toxoplasmosis.

Let me know how how it goes. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. 

I am taking her back to the vet on Friday. My vet asked me to bring a copy of the x-rays that were taken at the emergency vet because he'd like to see them for himself as opposed to just reading the report. She's walking better, better steps and for long periods of time. My vet said that we might have tried to wean her off of her the prednisone (her steroid) too soon. She does better when she takes the pill, but I am going again to see if they see anything new. I am trying to avoid a specialist as much as possible, so we will see what happens on Friday. 

Stickis, I have thought about her eating something. I'm gone almost ten hours day, so I am not sure if she got into something. I do have two roommates who can be kind of inconsiderate at times and I don't know if she got into something or if my other cat may have hurt her. There are so many possibilities, but her blood work was good, just the thing about her muscles which leads us to believe its a injury.

Talk to your vet about checking her Thiamine level, as well as her potassium. It might also be worth checking her for toxoplasmosis.

Good that she seems responsive to pred.

How has everything been during the weekend?

She's actually doing really well! I took her back to the vet on Friday and my vet was still perplexed. He took more x rays and still nothing was abnormal. She did apparently somehow get ear mites in the last few weeks. He gave her another steroid shot, more steroid pills and is going to treat her for the toxoplasmosis just to be safe. She's started running around and acting more like herself. She started giving me "gifts" again.i came home to find my roommates shirt on my floor!! I hope she's turned the corner and she continues to improve

That is great news! Keeping my fingers crossed for Piper.

Wishing in the best for your kitty too!

That's good news! I hope she continues to improve.