Ataxia and back leg issues

Saintsman

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Hi all,

I’m hoping someone may be able to give us a bit more information about the issues with our cat. We got our rescue cat Oreo in December last year when she was 6 months old. She was and has been seen by numerous vets and they all say that it is likely to be a muscular problem rather than cerebral or skeletal. When she runs she seems to hop with her back legs and when she walks it is as if her back legs are in slow motion. Other than the gait issue she is fine but today it seemed as if she lost all control of her hind quarters and was dragging herself by her front paws. She didn’t seem in pain and after 45 minutes she began to walk as she had done before.
Has anyone on here witnessed something similar with their cat?
She is up to date with injections and is well cared for, we are happy to take her to the vets and will do tomorrow for a check up but in the meantime if you have any thoughts please let me know.
 

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Saintsman

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The pictures attached show the positions she was in when she couldn’t move her legs. She is normally happier when she is chilling with her sister like the photo below.
0FB83F0E-9C12-4640-9894-B60D23E3341C.jpeg
 

fionasmom

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What a pretty little tuxedo girl!

Hind limb weakness in otherwise healthy 9 month old cat.
Intervertebral Disc Disease?
Ataxia in Cats

My personal experience with ataxia is with a condition called degenerative myelopathy which is genetically present in breeds like GSDs. I have had two with this condition. That does not mean that I know that your baby has this. The overlapping that I am seeing is the bunny hopping and the painless dragging of the hind legs. However, that does not make a diagnosis. One quick anecdotal test you can do is to take one of the rear paws of your kitty and turn it so that the top of the paw is against the floor and then see how quickly she moves it back into position. Not moving it quickly is considered to be a possible sign of neurological involvement.

Has she seen a veterinary neurologist? You mentioned that she has seen multiple vets so you might have already made those rounds.

Did she come to you with this issue, in which case did the rescue know anything about her background such as an injury or trauma? I was also curious about it being called muscular as ataxia is considered a neurological condition.

There are mobility aids for cats, such as carts, if it comes to something like that which hopefully it will not.

Mr. Meow Mr. Meow ?
 

Mr. Meow

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I agree with fionasmom fionasmom
While the symptoms of degenerative myelopathy are there, only a specialized vet can make that diagnosis. What stood out to me was that it took about 45 minutes for control to be regained. Typical ataxia can be a few days to a few weeks for symptoms to reverse (if at all) but symptoms usually don't get worse after 12 hours.
Neither of us are vet's, so I'd suggest getting a referral to a specialist who can provide more insight.
 

Meowmee

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Has it resolved? Is it an on/ off gain thing? Dragging the back legs can be a sign of a saddle thrombus as well which is an emergency. My guess is it is something neurological. Another possibility could be her elbows are dislocating. My beloved Sybil (profile pic) had that as a kitten at 6 months to a year but it resolved on its own over time. She also became paralyzed by a saddle thrombus due to hcm which took her life many years later.
I hope your baby will be ok and you figure this out soon.

https://www.petcarerx.com/article/cat-dragging-back-legs/5271
 
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