Please help! What just happened to my cat?

Question

OK, first of all, I just called the animal emergency place so I have spoken with a vet, but we decided to wait until tomorrow, because the problem *seems* to have resolved itself - at least for now.

I was sitting watching t.v. when my 9-year old spayed female kitty walked into my view. She seemed to lose control of her back legs and began wobbling. She tried to jump off the table and collapsed. Then when she started walking again, she was wobbly and disoriented. I caught up to her and she had just collapsed. I immediately called for my husband. I told him to take her to animal ER. Now, during all this, she recovered and became completely normal - all within the space of a minute or two. I called animal ER and they asked if there were any poisons she had access to. We have a child-proofed home, so no.

Since then (maybe 10 minutes ago), she has completely gone back to 100% normal. Here's more:

1. We have a male who attacks her time to time. Not much tonight though (more cmng)

2. She's very skittish - the last time we went on vacation, we boarded her and the vet said that next time we should get a pet sitter because she is so skittish that it was unhealthy for her to be boarded there. They also said she *may* have a heart murmur.

3. We've had her over 8 1/2 years and nothing like this has ever happened.

We're taking her to the vet 1st thing in the AM as the emergency vets suggested. But I'm going nuts now. Anyone have any thoughts on what might be wrong with her? She seems completely fine now.

An FYI to anyone looking for an update - she's absolutely fine today, but I have scheduled an appt. for Wednesday (the dr. said it could be many things but given the speed that she recovered with it's not even remotely likely that this is something emergent).

I'd also like to address the person spreading the rumor that Swiffer WetJet is poisonous to pets. It's absolutely NOT and has been debunked thoroughly by Snopes.com. Here's the page if anyone's interested. http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

Answer 1

I have to agree with some of the other answers that told you it might have been a seizure. Keep and eye on her and see if she has another episode, write down the time and length of seizure each time, this will help the vet to know. Never think an animal can't get into poisons, you'd be surprised. A wet floor or counter is toxic until it dries. Swiffer Wet Jet is one toxic product, it contains chemicals simular to antifreeze. Child proofing is never 100%. Just ask my boys. My one cat Zapper was accidentally insecticide poisoned this past summer and she now has occasional seizures due to mild brain damage. I had a spaniel mix 12 years ago that had them and she was diagnosed with Epilepsy. Vet put her on medication. The dosage need to be monitored and increased if they become more often again. Were you aware that a cat that eats a mouse that ate poison or bug with poison on it can also poison your cat if she gets hold of it. Even though they may be indoor cats, critters can still get in and you can't watch them 24/7. We get mice each winter even with 14 cats, and I can't use poisons on them since they might catch and eat them. I just hope they kill as many as possible each winter. You did do the best thing and talk to the vet and to be taking her tomorrow.
You really need to separate the two cats if possible. The stress isn't good for her with a heart problem and now with the seizure of unkown origin stress is the last thing she needs. If not separate them, teach him no on attacking her, water is best used in a squirt bottle.

Answer 2

My dog acted similar to this one time. He lost control of his back legs for a few hours, then it got so bad that he lost control of basically his whole body. We tried calling the vet who was supposed to be on call that night, but he didn't call us back, and our dog died on the way to the emergency veterinarian. When we got to the emergency vet, they told us that he either had a bad reaction to something, or he might have had a blood clot in his lungs, or he might have had a heart murmur we didn't know about. We think that in my dog's case, it was a bad reaction (because he had a vaccine that day that he always has a small reaction to, and this time it happened to be a big reaction). So anyway, seeing that your cat's condition was similar to my dog's (at least, my dog's condition at first), and the emergency vet suggested that it might have been a heart murmur that killed him (even though we kind of think it was a vaccine reaction), i think it might actually be a heart murmur that your cat is having. Sorry if this is really confusing. To make a long story short, I think you should take the cat to the vet a.s.a.p. because you don't want to wait and have your cat die all of a sudden, and then you'll always wish you'd have taken your cat in while you still could.

Answer 3

Sounds like only the vet will know for sure once they run tests. I had a dog one time that developed epilepsy type seizures. She would just freeze up and her legs couldn't move...they'd just lock up. The episodes would only last a minute or two and then she would be fine. That was 30 years ago and technology and vet medicine is much more advanced now. I'm sure you'll find help for your kitty. Good Luck.

Answer 4

The wobbling legs are one symptom of diabetes, which is most often seen in female cats around the age of your little loved one. It's possible that she had a small seizure due to her glucose level.

I found out that my cat also had diabetes only a month ago; I was terrified and heart broken. In the last 4 weeks I've learned that its not the death sentence I thought when I first heard the news. With additional care and a good bit of reading on the subject I've realized that I can give my cat the extra care she needs with little change to my lifestyle. It DOES take a good bit of time to get her insulin amounts regulated (I'm still in the process of trying to get this amount regular), but she is in no pain and has a normal life aside from daily shots of insulin. (She doesn't mind the daily shots at all; she actually comes to me when its time for it because she feels better after getting it.)

The most common symptoms of diabetes are excessive water drinking / excessive eating and weight loss. If you cat doesn't have any of these symptoms my guess is that it's not diabetes - but the wobbling sounds familiar. There are LOTS of on-line sources on diabetes if you want more details. Good luck at the vets and best wishes for your kitty!

Answer 5

Hi,
Start looking all over her for a Tick. Ticks can also give these symptoms.
http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/articles/cat_tick.html

Below is quoted from this site.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/ticks.htm

What are the signs of tick poisoning in cats?

Some or all of these symptoms may be present...

Limb weakness, starting in the hindlegs, progressing to the front legs, appearing wobbly & uncoordinated, falling over, paralysis.

Vomiting or dry retching, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, coughing.

Incontinence.

I was at a cat seminar a few years ago & one of the vets there mentioned a couple of interesting warning signs. He said that a cat's pupils will dilate & it can sometimes lose it's ability to meow when it's been poisoned by a tick. The large pupils & inability to meow can show up days before more obvious symptoms of poisoning become apparent.

PLEASE let us all know how your is cat is going when you get back from the vet. Thanks

Answer 6

You don't mention if you allow your cat to go outside. If so, it sounds like poisoning. If she is an indoor cat it is possible she has had a slight stroke. You will know soon enough but I suspect it has something to do with her heart. Can you take a few minutes tomorrow to let us know what the diagnosis ends up being. Good luck, I know how upsetting it can be.

Answer 7

i had the same problem with my 2 y o male what happened was he swallowed one of those pretzel nuggets, those big ones, whole. and it got stuck, causing my cat too appear drunk and disoriented. he spent about half an hour in the litter box crying like some one was stepping on him. he passed the pretzel whole. of course your cat may not have the same problem but she should be fine though the next time this happens DO NOT WAIT take her immediately to the vet

Answer 8

could be a seizure but doesn't sound like it. also could have gotten in2 something but i dont think she would have recoverd as quickly. loss of control of limbs and collapsing is usually the symptom of an illiness. She needs to be takin to the vet and have tests done tonight or tomorrow. could be a number of things including heart disease. google and look up causes for collapsing cats

Answer 9

I work at an er vet and i think you should take her in.She could have thrown a partial clot, especially since you think she has a heart murmur.Why haven't you ever gotten the heart murmur worked up?She may have poor blood flow to her rear end due to it.Take her in now.Maybe to another hospital.

Answer 10

What kind of anti-flea medication do you use? My cat develpoed sensitivity to the common ingredient in most OTC flea treatments (pyrethrin. she was having seizures, her fur looked awful, she even fell off the sink once, i was afraid i was going to have to put her down. Took her to the vet, and they discovered the allergy, gave me a reccommendation. She's now a happy, healthy 9 with a gorgeous coat.