My cat is walking very slowly and low to the ground

What might be wrong? My cat is walking very slowly and low to the ground.


My 5 year old cat began sitting hunched, and walking very slowly and crouched low to ground about two weeks ago. When we pick her up she is tense and curls her back legs and tail under.

Took her to the vet, had multiple base labs drawn: CBC, liver, kidney, thyroid, blood sugar, hydration level, etc.

All were normal. The vet examined her body and found no evidence of physical injury or palpable lumps or swelling.

She continues to groom herself as usual, but we notice her appetite has slightly lessened. Her interests and interaction have waned. She sits quietly and doesn't 'talk' to us like usual.

The only other unusual behavior was about two weeks ago she was standing next to me in the kitchen, meowed at me (not unusual) and proceeded to poop on the floor. She has a cat door, and has never done this before.

We cannot do endless testing, but wondered what the best step would be in narrowing down the problem.

Editor's note: I'm sorry to hear that your kitty is not doing well. It sounds like the vet is on top of things with all of the tests.

I would think the best chances at finding out what the problem is quickly would be to get a consult from another vet. Did they do X-rays? I'm wondering if she injured herself and there just aren't visible signs.

The other thing I'd ask the vet is if it's possible that she has a neurological problem, or perhaps she got into something poisonous?

Comments for My cat is walking very slowly and low to the ground

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 25, 2020
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cat walking low to the ground
by: Anonymous

Have her ears checked
May be mites or ear infection
My cat has done this same procedure
It's all ways with her ears
Sep 10, 2018
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sight and hearing problems
by: Jim W.

If your cat can't see or hear well, I think she may be walking that way because she's not getting enough feedback from her senses and is being cautious about her steps. It may look more exaggerated because she has shorter legs.
Sep 10, 2018
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cat Behavior
by: Anonymous

Why is my cat walking low to the ground?

My family and I have asked this question many times regarding a cat we received over a year ago by our oldest daughter. She said, the kitten ran towards her meowing as if scared to death, hoping (as she puts it) over the blades of grass being that it was so little or just been weaned from her mother. At the time, the kitten was given to me, not noticing too much of her behavior other than a very unusual affectionate cat. Before the time of she was old enough to spay, we notice her legs were shorter than norm and a sway in her back, possibly munchkin? But then the slow walking pace continued as she grew even after adjusting to her surroundings. Over time we notice her hearing or her eye sight wasn't very good, which would explain her horrific meow, not much was ever advised from her veterinarian or to say what breed she was.
Jun 02, 2018
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		cat walking low and slow .....
by: ljp

My kitty was also acting fine just like Gracie, and yesterday began doing just what she did. Mine is an indoor cat. She is only slightly interested in playing *she is usually wild about it and is eating normally. She has been hiding most of the day again. I am most concerned and will take her to see the vet next week if this doesn't resolve.
Jul 11, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Update on Gracie
by: Anonymous

Thank You. She was such a darling cat: Himalayan and Torti mix, with what we called a Tortitude (spunky attitude). She was both loving, affectionate and spunky. A unique habit of hers was to sit and stare at me for up to 20 minutes at a time. She would bump her head into my husband's neck and head and hold it there - love, love. We miss her terribly, and plan to find another kitty when the time is right.
Jul 10, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		So sorry!
by: Anonymous

Oh, I am so sorry to hear this very sad news! I thought she was getting better, but obviously there was more to her illness. Poor little soul, she must have been in pain. She will be free of pain now. Hugs.
Jun 25, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My cat is walking slow and low to ground
by: Anonymous

I am Gracie's owner and have a current update as of 6/24/14.
We had to euthanize our little darling sweetie, and miss her SO much. She improved after earlier antibiotics, but in the past few weeks was sneezing uncontrollably, tilting her head, draining from right eye and sleeping more. She was clearly in a lot of distress (she couldn't get any sleep at night due to the sneezing fits). The Vet found a growth in her right nostril that extended all the way to the opening, blocking her breathing and causing the sneezing. No matter which decision we made we would have spent several thousand dollars having it removed (including MRI or CT scan, biopsy, surgery, etc.). It was most likely a cancerous tumor or polyp that had invaded her ear, nose and/or sinus cavity. This explains her low, slow walking pattern several weeks earlier - was affecting her equilibrium. The Antibiotics given to her earlier addressed an acute infection, but did not solve this problem.
My husband and I feel such a loss without her little 'selfie' in the house - she was truly a special darling.
We love cats so will eventually adopt another kitten to befriend our other cat LuLu, and fulfill a need of ours to have two cats in the house. Thank you all for 'listening'.
May 01, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Good news!
by: Anonymous

That is good news! I hope she will be ok now!
Apr 30, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My cat is walking slow and low to ground
by: RET

I am the owner of Gracie, the cat described above.

An update: After three days of Antibiotics Gracie began acting perfectly normal again. We are assuming she had an inner ear infection that caused unsteadiness, prompting her to tilt her head and walk so cautiously. Her 105 fever no doubt made her listless and uninterested.

Thank you all for your interest and comments.
Apr 30, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sick Kittie
by: Anonymous

Do you sleep with your kitty? One time I noticed that my cat was limping and walking like his back legs were in pain. At first I thought it was arthritis, but then I realized that since he started sleeping closer to my body I was rolling on his legs with my chest when I slept, pinching his legs under me a little.

After that, I pushed him a little bit away when he got too close when I was sleeping and he recovered in a couple weeks. But Gracie's symptoms look a little different with the head tilt and ear discoloration, though.
Apr 28, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Thanks for update!
by: Anonymous

We are all thinking of Gracie. Thanks for leting us have an update. It really does sound very strange, I hope this Vet can find out what the problem is, does she have a fever?

Editor's note: The high end of normal for a cat's temperature is 102.5 (she was at 105). Hopefully, the anti-biotics will take care of it.
Apr 28, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cat walking slow and low
by: RET

I am the owner of this cat.

Went again to a Vet... not sure what is going on, but symptoms don't fit neatly into any sure diagnosis. She was tilting her head, had a 105 temp. and both eardrums looked off-colored, so she is currently on antibiotics.

She is no longer walking low to the ground. (We wondered if she had dizziness/labrynthitis -sp?, thus was walking cautiously). There are no signs of physical injury. Even though she uses a cat door she is almost always inside (by choice). The interesting thing about this is that she had 3 days in the midst of this where she was normal.

The Vet is monitoring her situation closely.

Thank you all for your input on this. We are taking good care of our little darling... her name is Gracie.
Apr 26, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Please keep your cat indoors.
by: Jeannine

Sounds like she was injured outdoors. Please, please, please, do not let your kitty outdoors.
Apr 25, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Keep her in the House!
by: Anonymous

I would make sure your child-cat remains a house cat. You never know what could happen to her outside. Definitely get a second opinion. She was really trying to get your attention when she pooped in front of you! I wish we could speak cat language. Good luck!
Apr 25, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		nervous cat
by: Anonymous

I think your cat has been possibly mistreated or badly frightened and thats why she is walking close to the ground, do you have a new cat, or a dog?
Apr 23, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		cat acting strange
by: Anonymous

She may have the dry form of FIP. I had a 2 year old that started doing strange things and none of the vets... could find anything wrong. My cat ended up dying at the emergency clinic after a week of being there.

I later found out the results from one of the vets that I had taken him to, that his blood work that was sent to a university suggested that it was FIP. There is nothing you can do for FIP.

I also had a few cats die of the wet form of FIP. Type in FIP symptoms on your pc and see if your cat has some of them.
God Bless.
Apr 23, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Injured?
by: Anonymous

She may have been hit by a car. Is there swelling?

Editor's note: The vet found no swelling or evidence of injury. That doesn't mean she wasn't injured, of course, but the vet couldn't find any sign of it.
Apr 23, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cat walking slow and low
by: RET

Thank You All for your input. I will take her to a different Vet for 2nd opinion.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Keep your cat inside always
by: Anonymous

For now keep your cat indoors. He might have gotten into something like pest control on someone's yard. Cats that do their business outdoors sometimes run the risk of other health issues.

I have never let my cat out for anything. Someone may have hurt her or a dog may have done something or she might have been bitten by something.

Keep her in and maybe give her some tuna in oil or salmon in oil. Sometimes if she has obstructions the oil may help flush it out but please don't ever let her out to do her business.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		sick kitty
by: Julia

It sounds like she might have a blockage somewhere. I would guess a bowel obstruction. She could have eaten some string or ribbon. I had one that ate sewing thread. He would unwind it from my sewing machine and run all over the house with it, eating some in the process. Fortunately, he passed it without too much problem but he had a tummy ache for a few days. I would definitely get her checked right away because there could be serious, even fatal results from this.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		check for poisoning
by: Melinda

When my cat was walking like that, it was because a horrible child had sprayed him to soaking with Spray and Wash and he had chemical poisoning that soaked through his skin into his blood stream. He had to go on kitty dialysis to recover.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		urinary?
by: Anonymous

Has the cat been tested for leukemia? Some of mine who had it acted like that. Another thing that comes to mind is a urinary blockage or feline urinay syndrome.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sick kitty
by: AnonymousChris

I would definitely get another vet to just check your baby out. It may be something simple if found early.
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cat problem
by: Anonymous

Sounds like some sort of stomach problem, also sounds in a lot of pain! Please try another Vet for a second opinion!
Apr 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Get an x-ray!
by: Cathy Huff

While I know the tests are expensive and your vet seems to be on top of the situation, an x-ray is warranted in this situation. She could have a blockage or any other type of intestinal/kidney problem that is not noticeable by just an exam. She could have hurt herself and internal injuries don't always show up at first. She might have eaten something that is caught in her digestive track. Please don't wait! Have the x-ray done as soon as possible!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Cat Health Questions.