Cat randomly having trouble walking

[Kate_927]

My cat was diagnosed with heart disease and lately will randomly act like he can't walk good. The first time it seemed like his leg gave out and he just crouched down for 3 or 4 minutes. Then he got up and was totally normal. No issues at all. It happened again tonight but I didn't see his leg give out he just started doing this weird crouch walking thing. Again, in about 3 or 4 minutes he was totally fine. We have taken him to the vet and they did an ultrasound and do not see any signs of blood clots. Is there something else that could be causing this? They did give him a very low dose of blood thinners just in case but honestly it's a nightmare giving it to him and half the time it doesn't work. He spits it out or severely foams at the mouth we can't figure out the best way to get him to swallow, it he just freaks out

 

[kittenmittens84]

For the pills, have you ever tried a pill popper? They’re basically a syringe with a little rubber tip where you put the pill, and then you open the cat’s mouth with one hand while holding the pill popper in the other and using it to give them the pill. It helps get the pill much further back in their mouth so they have to swallow it. Some cats do better when you swaddle them in a towel before you give them the pill.

make sure you give some water after the pill, either from a syringe into the side of their mouth or you can give them some water from a can of tuna.

if it’s a pill that can be given with food, you can coat it in a little butter to prevent the foaming and make it more enticing.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't really have any concrete idea about what could be causing his walking issue, and I don't think an ultrasound would show arthritis. You might ask the vet about that and see if an x-ray is in order to check for arthritis. Or, if there is a possibility he could be experiencing some sort of muscle spasm, or a 'pinched' nerve?

As far as the blood thinners, if they can be crushed and taken with food, I would suggest you try one of the following 'tricks':
1.) 'juice' from canned tuna and chicken, and then give him a piece of the meat as a treat afterward
2.) baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut)
3.) lickable treats, such as Applaws, Wholehearted, Tiki Cat Stix, Inaba Churu, Vitakraft - just to name a few
4.) Tiki Cat Mousse (which is complete meal, not a treat)

Giving meds in one of these fashions - if it works - is a much more pleasant way for both you and your cat.

 

[di and bob]

He may be having pain.....As for the pills, my cat took Lasix for years because of a heart problem, I had no problems at all giving them to him, I used a small torn off piece of Pill Pocket for cats and 'cemented' it to a tiny piece of bacon, he gobbled it right up. Or mash it into the middle of a piece of cheese. Cats seem to swallow whole and fast when they really love something.

 

[Kate_927]

He may be having pain.....As for the pills, my cat took Lasix for years because of a heart problem, I had no problems at all giving them to him, I used a small torn off piece of Pill Pocket for cats and 'cemented' it to a tiny piece of bacon, he gobbled it right up. Or mash it into the middle of a piece of cheese. Cats seem to swallow whole and fast when they really love something.

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately he is extremely picky so I have not found a single treat that he will eat and only one type of wet food. I tried putting it in a bite of the wet food but he foamed at the mouth just as bad with that. Maybe I need to crush it up more. I'm thinking the pill itself just has a really bad taste that is hard to disguise. But crushing it up smaller may help.

 

[Kate_927]

For the pills, have you ever tried a pill popper? They’re basically a syringe with a little rubber tip where you put the pill, and then you open the cat’s mouth with one hand while holding the pill popper in the other and using it to give them the pill. It helps get the pill much further back in their mouth so they have to swallow it. Some cats do better when you swaddle them in a towel before you give them the pill.

make sure you give some water after the pill, either from a syringe into the side of their mouth or you can give them some water from a can of tuna.

if it’s a pill that can be given with food, you can coat it in a little butter to prevent the foaming and make it more enticing.

We will try the pill popper next. I didn't have much luck with that with our other cat but I'm thinking I'm just bad at it technique is everything I'm sure. I will watch some videos and see if there's a better way to hold him. I will also try the towel method. Thanks for all the advice

 

[di and bob]

I give my cats their daily meds in Hartz Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. They have never turned them down, they are a gel like treat. They are in sore at Wal-Mart or Dollar General, and at Amazon and Target.

 

[Kate_927]

I give my cats their daily meds in Hartz Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. They have never turned them down, they are a gel like treat. They are in sore at Wal-Mart or Dollar General, and at Amazon and Target.

Oh I've never heard of that one before. He has turned down every kind of treat that I try to give him but I'm still trying new things in hopes he will like one of them. I'll try and pick this up tomorrow thank you!

 

[Mr. Meow]

How many times do you think this walking issue has happened? Does it appear to happen on the same side/same leg that you can tell?
What worries me is this (and please note that I am not a vet):
Cats with heart disease can develop a sudden onset lameness or paralysis, essentially a sudden inability to move a limb. The most common cause of rear limb paralysis in cats is a blood clot that goes to the back leg, called a saddle thrombus or arterial thromboembolism (ATE).
If this is still happening, I'd strongly recommend another ultrasound, possibly from a different vet as a second opinion.

 

[Kate_927]

How many times do you think this walking issue has happened? Does it appear to happen on the same side/same leg that you can tell?

What worries me is how many times it could have happened when I wasn't home to see it. It seems like it's his left side. We've seen it happen 3 times in the past month. So it's not all the time thankfully but enough to have me worried.

 

[Mr. Meow]

What worries me is how many times it could have happened when I wasn't home to see it. It seems like it's his left side. We've seen it happen 3 times in the past month. So it's not all the time thankfully but enough to have me worried.

I'd still strongly recommend a second opinion ultrasound.
Also, I know you're having trouble giving him his low dose blood thinner (which is usually given to keep blood clots from forming), but can you try to see if there is a correlation between him not getting/taking his pill and an episode of him having trouble walking? If there is, report it to your vet.

 

[Kate_927]

I'd still strongly recommend a second opinion ultrasound.
Also, I know you're having trouble giving him his low dose blood thinner (which is usually given to keep blood clots from forming), but can you try to see if there is a correlation between him not getting/taking his pill and an episode of him having trouble walking? If there is, report it to your vet.

Yes I've been thinking about a second opinion as well. If it was a blood clot though, is it normal for him to walk totally fine after just a few minutes? Everything I've read talks about paralysis but I can't find anything on it being that short term.

I will definitely pay more attention to if it's when he misses a dose or not. Thank you again for your help.

 

[Mr. Meow]

Yes I've been thinking about a second opinion as well. If it was a blood clot though, is it normal for him to walk totally fine after just a few minutes? Everything I've read talks about paralysis but I can't find anything on it being that short term.

I will definitely pay more attention to if it's when he misses a dose or not. Thank you again for your help.

A full clot would cause permanent paralysis. However, a short term blockage of oxygen and blood flow to an area can cause temporary symptoms as long as it's not cut off for long periods of time. That's why when you said it's happened a few times in the past month, I'd hope a second opinion could catch something before it becomes even more serious.
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