Limping cat

[Lisaecho]

My 13 year old bengal cat has all of a sudden began limping on his hind legs. He walks a little-quick sits, walks a little quick sits. My vet ran x-rays and blood tests and they all came back negative. Any suggestions?

[sugarcatmom]

Is he an indoor cat? Is he very active otherwise? I'm wondering if maybe he has a soft tissue injury, which wouldn't typically show up on x-rays. What body parts did the vet x-ray?

Arthritis is very common in cats over the age of 12 and this doesn't always show up on x-rays either. It doesn't usually manifest as sudden limping, except maybe if something was done to exacerbate it (like jumping off of something awkwardly).

Have you examined his toes for any issues, like say a damaged claw? How long has this been going on?

My only other suggestion would be to video tape him walking to show your vet, and/or have your vet refer you to a specialist.

[Lisaecho]

He is an indoor cat and other wise very active and vocal. Please tell me about a soft tissue injury!! I belive but I cannot be sure he xrayed his hind end. This incident had come on very suddenly in the past two weeks. I was hoping strongly that he had pulled something, however it does not seem to be getting better. I will only wait another day or so and then I do belive my next step will be a specialist. I just found out on Friday that all test results showed he was a healthy cat.

[Lisaecho]

Also, the vet could not locate any arthritis-which has has done in my dog who will be 18 tomorrow. I have not seen any issues with his toes, however I am not a vet and I will bring this issue up. Thank you so much for your help-I appreciate it so much!

[sugarcatmom]

Can you feel his toes to see if they're warm or cold? I imagine the vet would have checked him for possible heart problems but thought I'd mention it just in case. Bengals have a hereditary tendency towards Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy so ruling that out as a source of the limping might be a good idea.

[Lisaecho]

His toes are warm-the vet had mentioned there might be a problem with his spine. What is a soft tissue injury? How would the hypertrophic cariomyopathy be diagnosed? Through a routine blood test or would a test have to be done specifically for that?

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Lisaecho

What is a soft tissue injury?

Like a pulled muscle or tendon.

Originally Posted by Lisaecho

How would the hypertrophic cariomyopathy be diagnosed? Through a routine blood test or would a test have to be done specifically for that?

For a definitive diagnosis, an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) is the best way, but x-rays, an EKG, blood pressure monitoring and listening to the heart with a stethoscope can all be useful tools. If his toes are warm I don't think this is such an immediate worry though, but maybe something to keep in mind for future check-ups.

[Lisaecho]

Thank you for your help--I am going to make an appointment with a specialist-I can't take any chances. I will let you know how things turn out.

[dogcatlover]

Lisa, did you ever find out anything about your cat?