Our question this week was:

My cat recently (within the last few hours actually) has displayed some odd symptoms. He is normally a very playful 7 year old cat… we teasingly say he thinks he’s a dog.. he plays ALL the time.

But today we noticed odd behavior. He is walking against the wall for balance, walking around in a circle not responding to audio stimuli. He attempted to jump in the bed and his backside didn’t make it then a few minutes later fell out of the bed onto my 10 year old son. He is walking into walls and objects.

I’m really concerned. Is there a severe need to take him to the vet?

Jean Pavek

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. The quick answer is yes, take him to your vet. You should be concerned. His symptoms are significant and can be caused by several reasons.

Your vet will most likely want to do an exam that will help determine if he can see, and a neurologic examination to determine his overall coordination and nerve control. They will also most likely want to do some blood work to make sure his blood sugar is normal and to look for any signs of infection.

There are many possibilities of what this could be ranging from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), diabetes mellitus, vestibular disease, inner ear infection, seizures, and more. The links to these articles might be helpful.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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