Cat has temporary weakness in back legs and falls twice this week - any ideas?

[obamy]

Hey guys. This is Benny.

He just turned 4 and has been very healthy. Last Thursday, I heard a noise on the floor and looked and he was kicking his legs. I thought he was having a seizure, so I picked him up to put him on my soft bed. He was completely responsive, but he sort of arched his back and twisted it around...hard to explain...so I put him down but he couldn't stand on his hind legs. About 2 minutes later, he was fine and running around again. I went to the vet and he got a full exam and bloodwork...all completely normal. Then last night I went to pick him up from a laying down position, he arched and twisted again and couldn't stand on his back legs again for about a minute...then he was fine again. So I think the first episode was just him trying to get up kicking his legs, not a seizure or anything, especially since he was so responsive. Just got back from the vet again. They are testing for some fungal infections, but they don't think he has any of those since he has no other symptoms. He has absolutely no other neurological symptoms either. I read something similar on another forum about a pinched nerve with similar behaviors, but my vet doesn't think that's it. She says the next step is probably to anesthetize him and do an MRI (prob around $1000). Does this sound familiar to anyone? I will pay whatever it takes to try to get him better, but doing an MRI sounds like jumping the gun a little to me. Thanks in advance if anyone has advice!
Amy (and Benny)

 

[momofmany]

If he was losing strength in his back legs, I'd suspect a heart problem, but it sounds like it's short lived attacks. I haven't had experience with this but send positive vibes that you can find the cause and treat it.

 

[designvhl]

Bump for my friend Amy!

Anyone have any insight into Benny's problem? She's very worried about the little guy!

 

[robertm]

I know that diabetes can cause weakness in the back legs. So can a blood clot that is located just above the hind legs, which stems from a heart condition like Momofmany mentioned. The blood clot can lead to a saddle thrombus, also called a thromboembolism. One sign of this is that the back legs are noticeably cooler to the touch than the rest of the body, due to the inadequate blood flow to those areas.

The fact that there were only 2 episodes, both of which only lasted for a minute or two, makes me hopeful that whatever it is, it is nothing as serious as what I just described. I just hope that it's not something that gets progressively worse over time. In any event you are doing the right thing by getting Benny prompt medical care. Please keep us posted.

 

[obamy]

I am assuming that his blood tests ruled out diabetes. I also know that they did a thorough check of his back legs yesterday, feeling them and listening at different points with a stethoscope...so hopefully they would have caught it if his legs were cool to the touch. I will have the results of his second blood tests today or tomorrow, I'll let you guys know. I am just very leery of putting him under and doing an MRI (unless of course things get worse), but I also don't want to forego any testing that might get to the bottom of things. This is hard!
Amy

Originally Posted by RobertM

I know that diabetes can cause weakness in the back legs. So can a blood clot that is located just above the hind legs, which stems from a heart condition like Momofmany mentioned. The blood clot can lead to a saddle thrombus, also called a thromboembolism. One sign of this is that the back legs are noticeably cooler to the touch than the rest of the body, due to the inadequate blood flow to those areas.

The fact that there were only 2 episodes, both of which only lasted for a minute or two, makes me hopeful that whatever it is, it is nothing as serious as what I just described. I just hope that it's not something that gets progressively worse over time. In any event you are doing the right thing by getting Benny prompt medical care. Please keep us posted.

 

[obamy]

Well, the vet called and told me that Benny's second round of bloodwork all came back normal. So...they are faxing a referral over to a kitty neurologist. This has still only happened twice, and I don't want to get pressured to put him under and have an MRI, the anesthesia scares me (not to mention the prices!)...any advice? I am thinking about watching him for another week or so, so that even if it DOES happen again, I might be able to explain it better to help the doctors. In the meantime, Benny is as playful, hungry, thirsty, and loving as ever. He really is a cool little kitty.

 

[obamy]

Just wanted to send out an update for anyone who was reading this and for those that gave me advice. Benny saw the kitty neurologist today and after his neuro exam, she is convinced that what happened were mild seizures. She thinks he has epilepsy, but unless the frequency or severity changes, she doesn't even feel the need to put him on meds. If it keeps happening, he might have to, but she says the meds they would use are very manageable and kitties do well with them. I'm so relieved!!!!!

Amy (and Benny)

 

[catcaregiver]

Glad to hear you're feeling relieved and that Benny's condition isn't more serious.

 

[petstorejunkie]

I dont know if this occurs in cats or not but in horses their stifles (a cat's patella, our knee) can lock up. The surgical procedure to stop the locking in horses is to cut the center ligament.
It could also be petite mal seziures. My dog suffered from them until I switched her to Solid Gold, seziures gone

I also thought maybe pinched nerve somewhere around the sacrum could do the same thing.
At the very least I would call the vet and describe it, and see what they have to say.

 

[obamy]

He already saw his vet (twice) before going to the neurologist. They examined his knees and joints and found nothing. Hopefully it doesn't happen again anyway, but even if it does I can deal w it. All of that testing and the vet visits were worth it to get an answer, even though we aren't going to treat him at this point.

Originally Posted by Petstorejunkie

I dont know if this occurs in cats or not but in horses their stifles (a cat's patella, our knee) can lock up. The surgical procedure to stop the locking in horses is to cut the center ligament.
It could also be petite mal seziures. My dog suffered from them until I switched her to Solid Gold, seziures gone

I also thought maybe pinched nerve somewhere around the sacrum could do the same thing.
At the very least I would call the vet and describe it, and see what they have to say.

 

[hissy]

I would run a tox screen if one wasn't run. There is also a disease (calicivirus) that one of the symptoms are weakness in the back legs and difficulty with movement. Also don't rule out an inner ear infection. An untreated bad case of ear mites can cause some bad balancing acts with some kitties.

 

[glitch]

I dont know, there are so many things that come to mind with the back legs! My Glitch had FIP, and he had trouble working his back legs (but that would be pretty obvious now I would think, so probably not that)
Kitties get distemper and have that happen (this would be apparent also)
So, I guess Im going to go on either what the vet said, or what Hissy said (she's so smart) Whatever the cause Im sending you the best of healing vibes that it doesn't happen again!

 

[obamy]

Thanks guys. Yeah, they did a tox screen and checked his ears. And the fact he only got the weak legs during these 2 very brief "episodes" and then he was running around on them made the vets think his legs and circulation are fine. He is on Day 7 now without an "episode". He's in my lap purring.

I'll definitely be coming back to this forum though...it's a nice place to come get some answers or support. Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by glitch

I dont know, there are so many things that come to mind with the back legs! My Glitch had FIP, and he had trouble working his back legs (but that would be pretty obvious now I would think, so probably not that)
Kitties get distemper and have that happen (this would be apparent also)
So, I guess Im going to go on either what the vet said, or what Hissy said (she's so smart) Whatever the cause Im sending you the best of healing vibes that it doesn't happen again!

 

[edisonelliott]

This is EXACTLY what has happened to my cat Elliott this am. His blood has been tested twice (nothing). These short seizures (1-2 min) have come and gone twice. Otherwise he seems happy and healthy.

Any updates on if anything has been found to date or if these seizures happened again?

Thanks!

 

[orientalslave]

You have replied to a thread from 2008 and the OP joined then, made 8 posts in January that year and seems to have vanished.

 

[obamy]

So I was just googling my cat's current symptoms and found MY old post on here from 10 years ago. I thought I'd provide an update just in case anyone ever has the same issue. It's 10 years later and Benny is still the best cat ever. His issues that I posted about went away shortly after my original post and did not return until this summer, 10 years later. He is doing ok but having a minor episode a couple times a week. I just started him on CBD this week but also got a prescription for Keppra that I will use if the CBD doesn't help. His vet thinks it is seizures. He has had bloodwork and a heart ultrasound that came back normal. The episodes are very quick. Sometimes he seems out of it for 15-20 seconds and other times he seems fine except not moving his back legs for a few seconds and purrs right through it. My only worry is that he will fall and hurt himself during an episode (he has been falling off the bed/couch sometimes). He turns 15 in a few weeks, and I'm just hoping to have some more quality time with him. Advice still gladly accepted if anyone has any!
Amy and Benny

 

[catdawg23]

I am happy to hear after that big scare you got 10 good years without symptoms. Gives hope to those struggling with current cat issues. As far as symptoms has there been any additional stress, like new pet, home change or anything? Sounds like a nerve issue like if a pinched nerve cause temporary paralysis of back legs.

 

[ailish]

I appreciate your posting with an update. It does give us relatively new cat owners hope that every illness is not the end of the world. I have wanted a cat for many years and was never able to have one for a variety of reasons. I grew up with dogs and am pretty used to the dog thing. The one thing that has really surprised me about cats is I don't think I realized how fragile they are. I am still like a new Mom, even though it's been 3 years (I previously wrote 10 years, I must have had my own little seizure. I HOPE when I have had my cat for 10 years I will have calmed down), looking at every little thing as if it's doom for my cat. And she's completely healthy!

 

[catdawg23]

I agree, cats are delicate so I feel like everything is bad. We have 4 cats now, and not a day goes by I dont stress about something with them. Hoping our young kitten gets healthy and we can have a few drama free years.