v8 unable to jump up

[bengy221]

hello again all

Well, recently I have noticed that my v8 is starting to have problems with jumping up onto furniture. He has actually started missing quite a bit and is becoming kinda of unsure of if he can make jumps anymore at all

The hardest for him is our bed which is very high off of the ground. He tries and misses and then eventually he gives up if we aren't there to help pick him up. I guess this is part of him just getting older (he's turning 9 years old this year) bit in his next vet appt I will discuss it to be sure it's not the beginning of any arthritis etc.

I'd like to get advice from any of you that have experienced this. I tried to put a little step stool next to the bed and showed him how to get onto it and then jump up onto the bed but he hates the step stool. I've looked into some of these ramps they make for dogs, but most of them don't look very stable and steady, and if v8 thinks he might fall off he certainly won't use it. Any other ideas ?

 

[hissy]

i would take him to the vet and have him x-rayed first of all to see if he has injured himself. Nine years old isn't that old for a cat.

He could have fallen, or pinched a nerve or?

 

[krazy kat2]

Of course you should take hissy's advice and have your kitty looked at for health reason. When my Fred started having problems getting on my bed, I lowered my bed. I got rid of the frame, and put it on the floor. Now he has no problems, and Pearl had to stop hiding out in the box springs.

 

[twofatcats]

I agree that this is not normal behavior for a healthy nine-year-old. My eight or nine year old Red Cat regularly jumps to a window sill 47 inches off the floor, and he is just a normal fat cat. Some cats are jumpers and some are not, but the fact that there has been a decided change, and especially since you said he misses a lot leads me to believe something may be amiss more than normal aging.

If there is not a high footboard on the bed, perhaps you could put a trunk at the foot of the bed which v8 could jump on then onto the bed.

 

[bengy221]

hey everyone thanks for the replies. v8 has an appointment coming up next week so I will address the issue with the vet and do whatever we need to get to the bottom of it. I've been looking up things online and I just want to hit myself for even thinking this was acceptable behavior "for his age". I am going to start putting boxes or other things near all of his favorite spots so he doesnt have to jump and risk missing and hurting himself at all. he's been really really cuddly and affectionate lately too and hubby pointed out that he no longer runs down the stairs for dinner.. he waits at the top of the stairs and he ends up going and getting him and carrying him down.

ya know - these are all pretty recent events but something that started going on a 6 months ago now strikes me as possibly related. He started just crying out at night and we would have to go find him and bring him up stairs. We thought maybe he was disoriented because we haven't been in this house for very long and he has never lived in in a multilevel home before. We started leaving on lights on each floor and that solved the problem.

ughh my poor baby - if i could only speak meow!