Cat sweater causes unsteadiness

Hi,

I have a Devon Rex Cat and was advised by my vet that he would need a jumper in winter as he does not have a lot of hair. He now has two a store bought one and a hand knitted one.

The problem is when the jumpers are put on he becomes unsteady. The store bought jumper causes him to fall on his side while the hand knitted jumper just makes him really unsteady and he walks into walls. Neither jumper is particularly tight, but the store bought jumper is tighter.

A friend has told me that jumpers make her cats unsteady as well. Obviously I am not keen to force my cat to wear something that so affects his balance, so he won't be wearing the jumpers. (We live in Brisbane Australia so it does not get too cold anyway!)

My question is: Is this common and does anyone know why this might happen??

Glad you clarified the Australia thing..I was thinking, it's summer time, not winter.

lol I think its just a cat - the second they feel something unusual around them they just fall over. My two do the exact same thing when I put their harnesses on - then they either refuse to walk at all or walk like they're drunk. I think its just something he'll get used to with time, and when its colder, he'll grow to appreciate them! So its nothing horrible, just something he needs to get used to.

It depends on how it fits, anything that will restrict movement esp of their tail will actually cause them to loose their balance. Otherwise they're probably being pouty. Or it itches!

Why don't you go without for awhile and notice if they seem cold? The tips of Zissou's ears always get cold if she's in need of some warm snuggling. I don't know if special care is needed for hairless breeds in winter, but with my cat (a moggy with increasingly longer hair) I leave a lot of warm blankets around for her to snuggle up in and open the covers on the window so she can be in the sun. And I live in the Snow Belt.

I know if we are somewhere cold she will sleep stubbornly under the blankets at the backs of my knees and won't budge til morning. Which is nice for me too!

my cats sweater makes him do same thing-very loose. He likes to go out during winter and also is VERY prone to urinary issues so I bought him one...Cats seem to be alot slower then dogs when it comes to wearign sweaters/harnesses(maybe cause the more outgoing dogs will take more..."torture" for the end result is worht it to them? RJ