Backs up and looses her balance

[angelchrys]

In the past few days, my cat has started acting strangely. She's been avoiding her litterbox, which is troublesome enough, but now she seems to occasionally lose function of her hind legs.

She starts backing up, but without putting any weight on one of her hind legs, then sits down on her butt with her legs splayed in front of her, flops on her side and gets back up, legs working okay again. She has switched back and forth between her legs, it doesn't seem to be related to an injury. When she's not having a...spell, for lack of better words, she has no problem with being petted and touched on her legs.

She has been eating and drinking regularly, but she's only used the box once in the past few days, the rest of the time she's been gracing my floor with presents.

I've taken her to the vet, who didn't seem concerned and only wanted a urine sample, saying it might be a UTI. Would this be causing her balance problems? Should I be worried or am I overreacting?

Christy

 

[cloud_shade]

How old is your kitty? A urine sample is definitely a good idea, though I would probably request bloodwork as well. It could be a UTI, kidney problems, blood clots, or a sprain, just to name a few things. I do not think you are overreacting. You may want to ask your vet to do bloodwork, either at the same time as the urinalysis or after, depending on how quickly the results come back and what the results are.

 

[yosemite]

Personally I would be looking for a new vet and getting a second opinion.

 

[stephenq]

I'd go to a new vet *immediately*. Anythig that even hints of cardiovascular or neurological issues should be considered an emergency IMO, and rear leg paralysis is a common symptom of cardiomyopathy, a very serious heart problem that needs quick intervention.

 

[semiferal]

I don't think you are overreacting at all. I'm not a vet (nor do I play one on TV

) but common sense says that a urinary tract infection will not cause balance problems!

Definitely find a new vet who will take your concerns seriously. To tell you the truth it sounds to me like your vet wasn't even paying attention to what you said and only heard the part about your cat's not using the litterbox. More likely it seems like she's not getting in the litterbox because she physically can't do it, and this is a sign of a potentially very serious - but also potentially very treatable - problem.