cat suddenly can't stand

[DougC]

Wednesday night 2AM my cat was running around the house as usual, 7AM
Thursday morning it could not stand on its front legs. I saw it wake up,
try to walk and fall onto the floor. It would only scoot on its front
"elbows" while the back legs appeared normal. Also at this time it
vomited: no hairball, just food. I waited about 30 mins to see if it was
just something from sleeping, but it didn't improve so I took it to the
vet.

Thursday evening they called and said now it wouldn't stand on the back
legs either. They did a general blood test (nothing), spine x-rays
(nothing), gave steroids (in case it was from a fall/injury to the
spine) and an antibiotic (I don't know what this was, they didn't put it
on the receipt). The reason for the antibiotic was that there was a
bacterial disease that could cause such symptoms, so they gave that too.

There was no improvement, so they kept the cat another night and gave it
some prednisone, guessing it was a CNS brain/spinal tumor. The next
morning was still no change either way, and I took it home.

The cat is alert, the head/neck/torso moves normal and it will even lie
on its side and stretch its legs occasionally--but it is too weak to
stand. It will also sit on its haunches "sphinx"-style when it gets
tired of laying on one side. The back legs do appear to be able to push
harder than the fronts. It wouldn't eat at the vet, but did eat and
drink a very small bit after being home a short time.

There's no indication it's in any pain at all, it doesn't have any bumps
or scrapes, or any other particularly sensitive spot. It is a single
indoor-only ~9-yr old spayed female cat (no other pets at all) and
didn't have any recent medicine or any food changes.

-------

The local vet said the next step was to go elsewhere for a CT/MRI that
would probably cost around $3K (that is including an operation, if one
was possible).

I have not spoken to the second place yet, the local vet called and
relayed that info to me. The local vet said that the MRI would
definitely show what was wrong, but in many cases (brain tumors) the
problem is not practical to operate on anyway.

Has anyone here heard of a similar experience with a cat?

And has anyone had experience with seeing a cat through a MRI/spinal
operation? What are the chances of success, assuming it can be operated on?
~

[B G]

Hi, I don't know what could be wrong with your cat but I've had
experinces with different problems. my 10 year old male had a seizure 4
years ago from a suspected infection that was thought to be in his
brain. with prayer and antibiotics he recovered . hyperthyroidism is
another thing that can cause unsteady legs but also ravenous appetite
and weight loss come with it. acute pancreatitis can also cause a dog to
fall and stumble. I keep pancake syrup on hand to rub on the gums of my
cats and dogs when I suspect they may be in trouble if they can't stand
up. hopes this is helpful.