4 Year Old Female Today Started Acting Weird Lets Out Growls And Jolts Backwards

[darkessence]

Hello I made an account as I am very concerned about my female cat.


I have two cats male and female brother and sister.

Male has UTI issues.

My roomates have a 3rd cat that has been here about 4-6 months.

My female cat randomly today has had three sporadic moments when she would growl unordinarily and spazz/move backwards quickly and tumble over a bit. First time we were playing and she suddnely growled and spazzed backwards, then kept laying on one side and turning over on the other and backing up again slowly and stopped playing, seeming like she is very uncomfortable. Then she sleapt for a while. Then second she had just eaten and jumped on the bed, and then jolted backwards and let out an odd growl. Then it happend again just now a third time where she jolted backward and ended up stumbling over chair legs while letting out an odd growl. Then she put her head down and is now sleeping. Breatheing seems normal.

I am very concerned because my male has been havnig a lot of problems off and on with his UTI. My fiance left about 2.5months ago and Nala seemed to be not horribly upset over it, like Simba was. Nala doesnt really like the new kitten that much who also keeps using their two litterboxes.

I have noticed last week or so she will have a hard time finding a spot in the litterboxes. She would do circles in one box then move to second do circles there and back and forth until she finally would pee. Didnt seem to have issues with pee coming out.

Not sure about her using litterbox today as I was at work.

Please help, cannot lose my precious kitties.

Ill be taking her to vet tomorrow more than likely. :/

[EDIT] she normally hate sher belly being touched but i went to feel her belly to see if it would be hard from having pee in there and it didnt seem full but she didnt seem to care that i was rubbing it this time maybe it felt nice?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Is she spayed?

 

[Willowy]

The jolting backwards could be from dental issues (they try to "back away" from their own mouth, which doesn't really work so well ), but if she's showing other signs of uncoordination it might be neurological. I'd get her in to see a vet on Monday. . .from the description I wouldn't consider it an emergency but you do want it checked out.

 

[darkessence]

She is spayed. This morning she seemed okay, ate food again. Then sleapt on me for two hours, just now i gently moved her off me so i could get up to go to bathroom, and she jumped down and flopped on her back and rolled for a bi. THe got up and immidietly start backing up drunkly and did the odd yelping growl again.

So it seems like after naps it happens more frequently maybe.

Very concerning im going to see if i can take her in today maybe.

Hopefully someone has had similar experiences

[EDIT] now she just went to closet to go to sleep and hied. she hasnt gone in here for a long time

 

[cat princesses]

Please keep us posted - maybe she also has a UTI? Do you clean the litter box daily? I scoop mine at least 2x per day morning and evening. The rule of thumb is you should have at least 1 litter box per cat PLUS 1 extra. Do you clean your litter box monthly as well? I dump mine completely and clean it with bleach or vinegar/baking soda. Cats don't like lysol or mr clean etc, it's a very strong scent and can leave a smell on the litter box. It's always good to completely sanitize it monthly and start them out with fresh litter. I don't know if a dirty litter box can cause a UTI or not but it would just seem nice to have a fresh potty.

 

[weebeasties]

Many years ago I had a cat with similar symptoms. It turned out he had been given the incorrect doseage of medication at the vets office. When I rushed him to the emergency vet they told me the dosage he was given was the amount you would give a great dane, not a 12 pound cat! Since the symptoms are continuing for your kitty a second day this seems unlikely unless there was something that she is getting into that she shouldn't? Human medication perhaps? I think you should definitely take her to the vet. I hope she gets better soon. Please keep us posted.

 

[darkessence]

I took her to the vet.

Vet told me need xray.

Paid 300 that I dont really have.

Xray came back showing no issues.

I took her home and she tried to go into litterbox but her back feet could not seem to go over the box so she kept falling in getting upset and going into closet.

She finally was able to go pee and I got a video of her limping.

Showed vet he said he didnt think it was her paws and thinks its neurological which has me very concerned.

I gave her anti inflammatory steroid medicine and she seems ok is sleeping but will continue watching her and probably take for a blood test on monday.

Im not familiar with neurological issues but def worried.

Here is the video

 

[darkessence]

To touch base on litter I def clean 2_3 times a day.

Sometimes more, but I do keep it nearby in a giant bag. Not sure if thats an issue.

And I typically clean out box and throw out old litter maybe every couple months.

Shes not licking her nether regions at all and able to pee so dont think its a uti.

Hoping the blood test on monday shows whats wrong and hope thats its nothing too serious.

Anyone have experience with neurological issues?

What do they entail?

Thank you all for your support.

These guys are my babies and got them with my ex fiance after we lost our baby.

So I couldnt imagine being without them.

 

[cat princesses]

Gosh, I'm not sure. It looks sorta like she's limping. Did the vet say anything about ataxia? I had a cat that suffered from that towards the end of her 23 years on earth and we did give her a steroid injection which helped. Does she seem disoriented and does she bump into things or go in circles like she's dizzy? It's almost like the one leg is weak for some reason. Do you think she fell or slipped? My cat looked very similar to that and what happened with her was one day she tried to jump up on the leather couch and she missed, slipped backwards and hit herself on the coffee table. After that incident, she was never the same. I took her for accupuncture, laser therapy, nothing helped. I'm curious to see what the blood work shows. Please keep us posted.

 

[orange&white]

Until the vet can check her out, let's hope for the best. Maybe she did slip and pull a muscle in her leg or something that will easily resolve itself with time. On the video, it does look like her limp is only in one leg. Are you observing weakness in both back legs or just one?

I'm better at advising others to be objective than I am at taking my own advice, but worrying over the worst case scenario will do you no good and Nala will pick up on your stress. Try to be positive until you can get her to the vet to diagnose.

 

[Sarthur2]

I had a cat who developed sudden neurological issues that were helped by a full month of antibiotics and prednisone given daily. Never knew what caused it, but she got better and lived for many more years. Sometimes it's caused by a virus.

I hope your cat improves. Hiding is generally a way that cats let you know they feel bad.

Is your other cat's UTI under control? Do you feed wet food? Cats with UTI's need wet food for the moisture to keep crystals from forming.

 

[darkessence]

Thank you for the support everyone.

I do feed them wet food.

She doesnt go in circles or seem disoriented most of the time.

After the antiflammotory yesterday she seemed normal and stopped limping so I thought maybe it was from sedation.

But she just woke up from sleeping on me and ate and i had went to look at her and saw her limp into the closet again, presumably from the litterbox.

I will definitely take her for bloodwork tomorrow.

I am just so worried for her, and will continue to do what I can but just the x ray bill was very large for me and im worried i wont have funds to keep covering necessary tests :/

 

[cat princesses]

Check and see if your vet offers a payment plan - there are all sorts of funding options that you can apply for. I'm not aware exactly what are - hopefully others can post some links for you.

 

[darkessence]

I had asked the vet already he said they dont but there is a care credit card that will help cover with no intere, its just i have bad credit from early on in life :/

 

[darkessence]

I am stressing out so bad right now.

Now my male cat had a uti issue again today too.

He went to the bathroom but only the tiniest drop came out and he strained for a whiel and did a painful meow.

His baldder doesnt feel too hard but he does yelp when i touch it.

I feel like I need to take him to emergency room asap but i literally have no money lfet after taking care of female..

I am so worried that he may not make it until tomorrow morning when i can take to regular vet which i should be able to afford.

What syould I do?

I called a couple emergency places they all said i need to take him somewher asap but all said that it cuold be up to 4000.....i have 140$ left and was gonna use that for the females blood tests tom.

I do get paid wed but itll only be another 600

I should also note that after straining to go he is now just laying on th e bed and seems comfortable. he was licking his genitals for a while but he doesnt seem in pain just laying there.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh boy. Take a deep breath.

Your guy needs clavamox. He also needs fluids to flush any crystals through. Will he let you give him fluids with a syringe?

I think the UTI needs treatment before blood tests for your other cat.

I think you should ask the vet to try clavamox plus prednisone for your first cat before spending big bucks on blood work and other testing, which may never reveal what has caused the problem, and which you really can't afford.

Also, since your guy gets recurrent UTI's, ask for a refill on his meds.

I do think your first cat needs his blood sugar checked for diabetes. He appears very overweight, and the stumbling could be related to low blood sugar.

You might want to change their food to a high protein, low carb, no grain, no fillers diet. Might help both of them.

 

[darkessence]

Thank you sarthur.

yeah i am having a real hard time.

Cat in video is actually female. She is slightly overweight probably when i took her to vet they said 14 lbs but didnt say anything about being overweight.

Male is 16 lbs.


He seems comfortable is on the bed sleeping, ust woke up and is licking his genitals.

I called a bunch of emergency clinics and one said they would check him out for free if i took him in and if anything serious needed to be done they knew a place where they do payments, which gives me relief.

But he seems comfortable is slow blining and sleeping and only wass uncomfortable the one time he tried to go pee and nothing came out, and also when i felt his bladder he made sounds like he didnt want me touching down there.

Im going to wait to see him try to go pee one more time and if nothign comes out im going to the place that said they would check him out for free.

If he does end up peeing ton I will take him to vet in morning and ask for clavamox.

Is this something he can take forever????

He is much more receptive to syringe into mouth, struggles a bit but will let me do it.

My female is a whole different story regarding that though.

I will try to get blood work for her as soon as i can and check for diabetes as well as the other stuff the vet wanted to check. She seems to be doing okay today better than the other two days and havent seen her jolt backwards anymore at all yesterday or today. just the limping yesterday and limping once today this morning.

 

[Sarthur2]

Clavamox is used for 7-10 days at a time to treat something specific.

You can have a blood sugar test done alone without a full panel being run. It's quick and can rule out diabetes.

Straining to pee is indicative of a UTI. It's good you have somewhere to take your cat tonight if necessary.

 

[darkessence]

Sarthur, do you happen to know the absolute time that am emergency visit is needed.

He strained once but nothing came out at all.

Is it like two of the emergency palces said that he would be going in and out multiple times clearly needing to go and nothing coming out?

Or is the one time enough to warrant me going to emergency?

Again hes still sleeping wakes up every now and then to give a few licks to genitals but has not attempted to go potty again.

thank you so much

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with the description given to you by the two emergency vets. Since he did strain though without success, you should get him in tomorrow at a regular vet to start meds to avoid a full-blown problem.