Shaking of the legs in a young cat

Our question this week was:

Good Evening Dr. Debra,

My 6 month old kitten Tommy’s back legs shake for awhile when he stops walking and when stretching. And today his front legs well, it’s like he was very weak and was faltering and probably would have fallen to the floor had I not been right there steadying and observing him. He has stopped running around the house and playing with his sister and mostly lays down. He was recently neutered and I thought maybe an infection. He saw his vet yesterday and was given fluids (I noticed his stools were a bit hard) and Dr. felt some stool while palpating. He is taking Amox. BID. He’s like a geriatric kitty and I am really getting worried about him.

Lisa Schouten

Answer

Good evening to you and thanks for your question. It sounds like your kitten (Tommy) is very weak. This is very abnormal for what should be a healthy 6-month-old Kitten.

I think you should take him back to your veterinarian. Questions I’d want to know are …is he eating? Vomiting? Does he go outside? Is he having normal urinations and bowel movements? Is he having any trouble breathing? Is he painful anywhere?

Depending on what he looks like during his physical examination, they may recommend blood work (a very good idea). Blood work will help determine what his blood glucose is, if he is anemic or fighting an infection among other things.

I wouldn’t wait – call your vet.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra