Cat walking slowly all of a sudden

[moosx777]

Hi all! Never done this before so i apologise in advance if its messy!

My cat came home last night walking slowly out of no where, he keeps doing sad meows :( but isn’t limping can still jump like normal and can scratch his head. I’m a quite worried but as it’s christmas my normal vets is closed. He seems pretty tired but still insists on going out. He’s eating but a little less than normal. He can still clean his back legs too. He’s not usually a dramatic cat so I’m very stressed and worried, any help will be MUCH appreciated!! thank you

Is he toileting? Walking slowly with a wide legged gait can be a sign of a blocked bladder (a definite middle of the night emergency).

Call your normal vet and there will be instructions on how to speak to a vet out of hours

I’d keep him in because if he’s walking slowly then he’s less able to run from cars and dogs. Maybe he has an infection that’s making him weak. As a PP said, it could well be an emergency.

It’s so hard at Xmas to find somewhere. We have an emergency vet that’s open 24 hours (quite a drive away because there’s only one for the county). I’d google and see if there’s anything like that. If you have insurance then the cost will be fine. I hope he gets well soon.

Try and give him a check over by slowly/gently pressing on him from head to toe to see if you can find any sensitive/sore bits. (Apologies in advance if this get you scratched!).

It could be a back/spine/pelvis injury or as already mentioned a bladder issue.

Obvs depending on what you find, either contact out of hours vet or your usual vet in the morning.

And, keep him in until he's back to normal.

I would get him to an emergency vet. Cats are very stoical and very good at hiding pain and illness. If you are noticing these signs, it could be much worse than is apparent.

Thanks to everyone who replied!! He started limping this morning and i ended up taking him to the emergency vets. Turns out he just has a puncher wound on his foot (vet said possibly a rat bite) and has a slight infection 🤦🏻‍♀️ He’s got antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine he should be all good soon! Again thank you to all 🩷

He is gorgeous! Mine is always getting into trouble like this too, I hope your recovers soon!