Cat can't jump?

[pennyenvy]

My 8 month old boy cat cannot jump. He can climb up on things, hoist himself up, and do little hop ups if his front feet are on whatever he's trying to get up.. But he has zero verticle jump in him.

He used to when he was younger, he'd jump onto the bathroom counter or things a few feet off the ground, and he'd jump across things several feet, which he also no longer does.

He's not obese. He doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain, I've never seen him have any kind of limp... He tears around my home and pounces on his sister just fine. He's also definitely not the most graceful cat and not nearly as agile and dainty as my other kitty. He kinda lumbers like a racoon. (which is kind of appropriate cos his name is Meeko.) He likes to flop and roll around.

So! Is his lack of jumping ability a concern or are some cats just not jumpers?

image.jpeg

• pennyenvy
• Jun 28, 2016

He can't jump on this cabinet.

 

[yayi]

Meeko is still young and he could be the kind of cat that just opts not to jump for now. I assume he's been checked out okay by his veterinarian? He may look okay to you, but cats are known to hide any health issues until they become obvious. But if there are no problems I would just give Meeko more time to make up his mind about jumping.  

 

 

[catlover73]

I have a munchkin kitty named Starbuck that has short legs so she could not jump up on the cabinet in your picture. She uses my desk chair to get on my desk. I found out she was a munchkin at her first vet visit when she was a kitten. I knew nothing about Munckins back in 2006 and asked the vet if her legs should be growing?

Has this always been an issue for your cat? If this is a recent or sudden behavior change then I would go for a vet check up.

If you have concerns you could call your vet and ask them about the issue.

 

[margd]

I had a cat who stopped jumping on things.  He was eventually diagnosed with arthritis and I always wondered if not jumping was the first indication of it. He was like your cat - he didn't show signs of pain and seemed completely normal otherwise.  However Wesley was about 10 years old when he stopped jumping and your guy is still very young. Since Meeko seems healthy and otherwise normal except for some clumsiness, I'd just keep an eye on him for now.  He should be going to the vet in two months for his annual check-up so that would be a good time to discuss everything with the vet.  Of course, if he develops any other problems with his motor skills, he should go the vet before that.

 

[lykakitty]

My first thought with something likr this is usually arthritis, but since hes so young I doubt that's the problem. Definitely take him to be checked out by the vet just in case, because cats are good at hiding little problems until they're very obvious, very big problems. But if his vet says he's all clear my best guess would be that he just chooses not to jump. My cat Aria will always choose to find a walking or climbing route to where she wants to be over jumping there, even when I know she can make the jump easily and much faster. Maybe your guy's the same. Alternatively, if anything happened to maybe scare him while he was about to jump somewhere or anything like that he may be hesitant. If this is the case you may have to do some re-socialization work, which I can give you more details on if you think this is the problem.