Seeing your once graceful cat stumble around like a drunk person, acting all weird, can be a traumatic experience for both the cats and their owners.
The reason why my cat is walking weird can be vestibular disease. Loss of balance can happen when injuries or illnesses disrupt the vestibular apparatus in the inner ear, which manages balance and coordination.
In this article, I will discuss the possible reasons your cat suddenly walks like drunk. I will also explain the common diseases that cause this behavior, so let’s jump right in.
Cat Walking Like Drunk or Cat Walking Sideways: Possible Reasons
Loss of balance in cats can happen when something like a disease or injury disturbs the vestibular apparatus in the inner ear.
As I already established, the vestibular apparatus runs the balance and coordination for cats. So, when something gets in the way, your cat loses balance and looks like a drunk person.
Vestibular disease can result from different things; however, it’s usually considered idiopathic, as the cause isn’t always clear without extensive testing. (*)
If your feline struggles with vestibular diseases, they can have difficulty standing up on all four legs. Sometimes, you can see your cat leaning or falling over, which can be scary.
Now, let’s discuss the symptoms of loss of balance in cats and common underlying causes for this behavior.
Loss of Balance in Cats: Symptoms
If your cat struggles standing up, watch for other symptoms of vestibular diseases, such as the following.
- Falling down
- Difficulty standing
- Stumbling around when walking
- Weakness of limbs
- Walking in circles
- Head tilting to one side
- Rolling on the floor
- Difficulty hearing
- Crying in pain
- Continual eye movements
- Lack of appetite or vomiting
Loss of Balance in Felines: Causes
Experts haven’t yet determined the specific thing that causes vestibular disease, but they’ve confirmed the following issues that can play a role in this condition.
- Neurological disorders
- Specific drug and toxin exposure
- Disease or injury of the spinal cord
- Damage or condition of the central nervous system
- Inner ear or middle-ear infections
- Tumors in ear canals, especially in senior cats
- Cancer
Loss of Balance in Felines: Diagnosis
The symptoms of vestibular diseases can result from other problems, such as head trauma or inner ear infections.
If you notice the signs of vestibular disease in your cat, schedule a vet appointment immediately. Your vet will check your cat’s overall health with a few physical exams, including neurological and ear (otoscopic) exams.
Additionally, you should provide information about your feline’s past medical history and tell your vet everything you know about the current signs.
Your vet will run several tests for underlying conditions that might be causing a loss of balance in your cat. They can suggest blood and urine tests and check your cat’s ears for infections.
You should also expect other exams like a spinal tap, MRI, and X-rays for injuries or infections that can result in loss of balance in your kitty.
These tests can rule out conditions and ensure the loss of balance isn’t caused by a more serious condition, such as a physical injury.
Loss of Balance in Felines: Treatment
The treatment for this condition will depend on your vet’s findings. If a known reason causes the loss of balance, your vet will provide appropriate treatment.
However, if it’s idiopathic (there’s no known cause for the loss of balance), your vet will only treat the symptoms. In other words, treating idiopathic vestibular disease is impossible.
Treatment for Underlying Causes
Loss of balance in cats can occur due to ear infections, toxin exposure, tumor, and other underlying conditions.
If your vet determines the exact cause, they will provide antibiotics for the infection or treat your feline for drug toxicity. In short, the type of treatment entirely depends on the underlying cause.
Treatment for Idiopathic Vestibular Disease
If your vet concludes the vestibular disease or loss of balance is idiopathic, they will treat the symptoms and ensure your feline feels comfortable.
The dizziness can make your kitty vomit or refuse food, so your vet might prescribe medications for treating nausea, vomiting, and motion sickness.
Note that your feline may need help with basic things such as eating, drinking, and moving during recovery. Additionally, your vet might suggest that you keep your cat in a cage with a well-padded surface for injury prevention.
The good news is the symptoms resolve over time and rarely recur. Now, let’s learn more about this disease.
What Is Vestibular Disease?
Imagine spinning in circles as fast as you can, then walking in a straight line. Seems impossible, am I right? Well, that’s how cats with vestibular diseases feel. (*)
Types of Vestibular Disease
Vestibular disease can be peripheral or central. The peripheral form carries a good prognosis with treatment and occurs more often than the central vestibular disease. The central vestibular attacks the brain and central nervous system.
Usually, vestibular disease in cats is idiopathic (the cause isn’t known) and typically occurs without warning in cats of any age.
The vestibular disease can also happen because of a concurrent condition.
Symptoms of Vestibular Disease
One of the most common symptoms of vestibular diseases is dizziness. So, your cat might seem like it had a few drinks.
Other symptoms of vestibular disease include falling, significant head tilt, repetitive eye movement or nystagmus, loud meowing, and ataxia.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Vestibular Disease
Once you take your feline to the vet, they will perform a physical exam, check your cat’s ears, and might suggest diagnostic tests for underlying conditions.
The reason for these diagnostic tests is that they can rule out other conditions that resemble vestibular diseases.
These tests include:
- A complete blood count for ruling out blood-related conditions
- Chemistry tests for kidney, liver, and pancreatic function and sugar levels
- Measurement of blood glucose levels or sugar levels in your cat’s blood
- Electrolyte tests for ruling out dehydration or electrolyte imbalance
- Urine tests for urinary tract infections and other diseases and evaluation of the kidneys’ ability to concentrate urine
- Thyroid tests for evaluating the thyroid gland’s production of thyroid hormone
- Ultrasound examination of your cat’s abdomen in case of tumors
The treatment will depend on your vet’s findings. They will provide the appropriate treatments if they discover underlying causes or concurrent conditions.
However, if they don’t identify anything specific, your vet will recommend supportive care for your dizzy feline while they recover. As I already stated, most cases resolve quickly without medication. The best part? The symptoms rarely recur.
Prevention of Vestibular Disease
Unfortunately, there’s no known prevention for this disease.
However, regular checkups and diagnostic tests can identify underlying conditions that could cause this disease.
Moreover, call your vet immediately if your cat suddenly walks like drunk.
What Is Ataxia?
Ataxia is the term for loss of balance and coordination that usually affects your cat’s heads, limbs, and torso.
Moreover, ataxia is caused by the reduced sensory function of the nervous system. And it can be caused by many diseases.
Types of Ataxia in Felines
Ataxia comes in three primary types: vestibular, sensory, and cerebellar. Let’s talk about these types of ataxia in detail.
Vestibular
The vestibular system is situated in the inner ear and brainstem. And the job of this system is to control your cat’s balance and sense of “up and down.”
Vestibular ataxia typically causes leaning, falling, head tilting, and rolling. And cats with vestibular ataxia can’t get their bearings.
The central vestibular ataxia affects the brain stem, which makes cats super drowsy or sedate.
Sensory
The sensory ataxia typically results from lesions in the spinal cord, especially spinal cord compression.
This type of ataxia causes cats to lose track of their feet, which can cause crossing of legs, knuckling of toes, etc.
Cerebellar
The cerebellum is the portion of the brain that helps manage fine motor movements and strength.
Cerebellar ataxia causes uncoordinated movement of your feline’s limbs, head, and torso. Cats with this ataxia type generally have a wide stance and large steps.
If your cat has cerebellar ataxia, they can also experience head or body tremors and swaying of the torso.
Symptoms of Ataxia in Felines
Cats with ataxia can appear drunk with a wobbly walk. They can also sleep and rest more than usual.
Ataxia in cats can also cause other symptoms, such as curling under the toes while moving, mild head tilt, or abnormal eye movement caused by underlying issues with the central nervous system.
Cats with ataxia usually fall or roll to one side and experience nausea because they feel unsteady. However, felines with chronic ataxia have already adjusted and don’t experience nausea often.
Causes of Ataxia in Felines
Ataxia can be caused by different reasons, depending on the type. In some cases, even with extensive testing, vets can’t determine the exact reason for this disease. However, they can still rule out other conditions and provide treatment.
Causes of Vestibular Ataxia in Felines
Causes for this ataxia include fungal infection or feline infectious peritonitis, toxicity, middle or inner ear infection, trauma, cancer, tumor, polyp, inflammatory-medicated causes, or unknown causes.
Causes of Sensory Ataxia in Felines
Causes of sensory ataxia include degeneration of the spinal cords and nerves, loss of blood flow to some parts of the spinal cord because of a stroke, or bleeding blood vessels causing a buildup of blood that compresses the spinal cord.
Other possible causes include congenital disabilities that cause the malformation of the spine or vertebrae. Or spinal cord damaged by a tumor, trauma, or abscess that induces bleeding and swelling in the spinal canal.
Causes of Cerebellar Ataxia in Felines
Cerebellar ataxia can result from degeneration of cerebellar tissues or inflammation caused by unknown reasons.
Until modern, balanced cat food came to the market, thiamine deficiency was also a common cause of ataxia.
However, as more cats eat non-commercial cat foods, thiamine deficiency is rising again. Moreover, structural changes like malformation or underdevelopment of the cerebellum can also cause ataxia.
These issues can happen if the mother cat has panleukopenia virus while the baby is forming in the uterus.
A brain tumor, metronidazole toxicity, and inflammation or infection in the brain can also cause ataxia in cats.
Miscellaneous causes of ataxia in kitties include anemia, oxygen issues associated with respiratory or cardiac disease, electrolyte disturbances, and hypoglycemia.
Diagnosis of Ataxia in Felines
If you see any symptoms of ataxia in your pet, call your vet immediately and ask for advice. Once you take your feline to the vet clinic, your vet will require your cat’s medical history, then conduct a thorough physical exam of your feline.
They will examine your kitten for neurological abnormalities. Once they determine the ataxia type, your vet will conduct supplementary exams, such as radiographs, urinalysis, blood work, and advanced imaging.
And hopefully, they will determine the cause of the disease in the affected cat.
Treatment of Ataxia in Felines
The treatment will depend on the type and cause of the ataxia. For instance, if your cat has some infection that causes ataxia, your vet will prescribe antibiotics.
Ataxia without a determined reason or idiopathic ataxia requires supportive care for the symptoms, such as anti-nausea medications.
Moreover, if your vet can’t identify the cause, they will advise that you keep your feline in a safe, well-padded place.
Otherwise, they might hurt themselves. Lastly, if your feline can’t eat or drink due to the condition, you must take your cat’s feedings and hydration.
Simply put, some types of ataxia can be cured if the underlying cause is determined and treated. Other types can’t be fixed because they’re idiopathic. Luckily, this type of ataxia can resolve over time without medication and never recur.
Key Takeaway
Loss of balance can indicate underlying conditions or appear without reason. Either way, don’t take this issue lightly and take your cat to the local vet clinic.
At the vet clinic, your cat can receive the necessary medical treatment, even if that treatment doesn’t resolve the cause of the disease.
Your immediate action could save your cat’s life or ease their discomfort, so ask for veterinary advice at the first symptom of this disease.
*image by Wirestock/depositphotos