Cat Sitting Off To One Side

[bakvskg]

I recently noticed my 1.5 year old cat sits off to one side- her right. She seems to be not evenly distributing her weight between her hind paws, as if she is trying to keep weight off her left paw.

I am quite certain this is not something I have observed her do in the past. But ever since I noticed it a few days ago, I see that this happens every single time she sits, or “loafs”. Other than this, she seems to be acting completely normal, not even limping. I took her to the vet pretty much immediately after I started noticing this and the vet was not concerned, since she is acting completely normal and was jumping up and down the counters of the examination room, and on physical examination everything was without issue- she didn’t mind having her paw touched in any way. We decided to just watch and wait.

I’m just curious if anyone has ever come across this before? Maybe she just prefers sitting like this? Maybe she and her brother wrestled a little too intensely and her leg is bothering her a little but not too much and it will pass? Should I be worried?

 

[stephanietx]

My cats do this. I've noticed that it doesn't seem to be because of any injury or pain, but just preference. It's kind of like if you stand for a time, you'll put more weight on one foot.

 

[Furballsmom]

Wow, she's simply gorgeous!!
I'll have to look more closely at my boy, and see if he does this...

 

[bakvskg]

Furballsmom thank you! She’s my little toasted marshmellow

 

[Furballsmom]

She’s my little toasted marshmellow

my first love of my life cat was a meezer .

 

[Kieka]

Link does this too BUT he favors his good leg and sticks the bad one out (the twice broken and now bad arthritis one). I did a double take because your photos could be Link when he was a little younger, at least from the back.

Here he is hanging out the back leg when he is just hanging out.

20161106_154038.jpg

• Kieka
• Nov 28, 2016

IMG_20170325_170351.jpg

• Kieka
• Mar 25, 2017

Both of the above were after the break and before I realized how bad the residual damage was. The vet thought it might get better since we believe there was significant soft tissue damage but an x-ray about a year ago confirmed that arthritis had developed and fairly advanced given the age of the injury. He's being treated for that and doesn't hold the leg quite so extreme unless the weather is really bad.

My other two cats without known joint injuries sit fairly symmetrically. Since other people are saying it is fairly normal and my situation is sort of extreme, I wouldn't worry too much......

HOWEVER (and this is a big however from a worrier so take it with a grain of salt), Siamese are more prone to hip dysplasia then some other cats. My boy is only a few generations removed from purebred Siamese. I found out about the arthritis because of an unrelated problem and the vet was concerned it was hip dysplasia. They had the specialist review the x-rays and he said the hips looked fine but once we got the problem figured out we probably should explore treatment for arthritis because that looked pretty bad. I know your girl is young but, if you can afford it, it might be worth it to have an expert check her hips to make sure she isn't showing early signs of a hip problem. Especially if she is purebred, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

 

[bakvskg]

Kieka Link is so incredibly handsome!

Artemis

 

[bakvskg]

(Oops I hit post before typing everything out- thanks phone)

Kieka Artemis isn't purebred, she was actually a rescue from a local kitten foster organization, the rest of her sisters were all black and her brother was grey and white. It's interesting that I see quite a lot of siamese kittens come through these rescues, I wonder if it is something about this area.

Anyway, I am a HUGE worrier so I really appreciate your advice. The thought of hip dysplasia actually did cross my mind as well. I'm honestly still convinced that something is going on with Artemis, even if it is something minor, this just doesn't seem like the norm for her. It's not just every once in a while, it is every time she sits. I feel like I would have noticed this quirk about her a long time ago, considering how obsessed I am with her. ( Furballsmom Artemis is my first cat love of my life!!)

But I am also just trying to keep calm about it and just observe. She really seems to be acting completely normal otherwise. I'm not sure at what point it would be worth getting an x-ray, or going to a specialist (not really sure where I would start with this either). Money is not an issue if it means making sure she is happy/healthy but I don't want to unnecessarily subject her to undue stress either. I think if this continues a specialist might be a good idea though...

 

[Kieka]

(Oops I hit post before typing everything out- thanks phone)

Kieka Artemis isn't purebred, she was actually a rescue from a local kitten foster organization, the rest of her sisters were all black and her brother was grey and white. It's interesting that I see quite a lot of siamese kittens come through these rescues, I wonder if it is something about this area.

Anyway, I am a HUGE worrier so I really appreciate your advice. The thought of hip dysplasia actually did cross my mind as well. I'm honestly still convinced that something is going on with Artemis, even if it is something minor, this just doesn't seem like the norm for her. It's not just every once in a while, it is every time she sits. I feel like I would have noticed this quirk about her a long time ago, considering how obsessed I am with her. ( Furballsmom Artemis is my first cat love of my life!!)

But I am also just trying to keep calm about it and just observe. She really seems to be acting completely normal otherwise. I'm not sure at what point it would be worth getting an x-ray, or going to a specialist (not really sure where I would start with this either). Money is not an issue if it means making sure she is happy/healthy but I don't want to unnecessarily subject her to undue stress either. I think if this continues a specialist might be a good idea though...

It's the color point gene that's spread far and wide in the general cat population. Making lots of scattered colorpoints out there. My area has more than most because there was a breeder in the area in the 50-70s before spaying and neutering was a normal thing. Lots of people getting cats and letting them roam so the colorpoint gene is fairly well represented in our feral population. Plus a resurgence of Siamese in general after Lady and the Tramp probably didn't help things. Two pointed cats will always have pointed kittens so it's fairly easy to backyard breed once you get two pointed cats even if they aren't Siamese (then say they are). Way off tangent, sorry....

Since it isnt an immediate concern, I would wait until your next annual exam and ask the vet to take x-rays then. Explain that with how she sits it's just a concern you'd like to rule out and worth the cost of the xray. As to specialist, your vet can point you in the right direction if it is warranted. In my area, there is a practice that only handles specialist required situations or 24 hour emergencies. Since Link was having his unrelated problem at 9pm we ended up at the emergency room and his x-rays ended up with a specialist a few days later while we tried to figure it out (turned out to be a drug related complication from something else, whole thing was one convoluted nightmare).

 

[Kieka]

Kieka Link is so incredibly handsome!

Artemis

Thank you. He knows it and expects special treatment because of it. Too smart for his own good sometimes.

 

[ardnassac291]

Hi! Were you able to find out why your cat was doing this? My cat is doing the same thing. Out of character, but she doesn't seem to be in pain. I'm worried about her but don't have the money to get her x-rays.

 

[fionasmom]

The OP has not been back in a while, so I don't know if you will get a reply.