Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: cracker on March 03, 2010, 16:23:36 PM

Title: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 03, 2010, 16:23:36 PM
Not sure if this should go in this area or not but heyho 

Anyone else have or known any cat to fall when sleeping we all know cats like to sleep ontop of telly and strange places well one of mine sleeps on the telly a lot but she falls off quite a lot she also likes to perch on are banister i saw her one day fall from the post on the banister backwards straight onto her back ( i nearly had heart failure ) she lay there for a few secs not moving thought she was a gonna or damaged her spine but she was fine after a while but wondered if anyone else had any ideas why she does this

a friend of mine had her sister who also did this but she lost her to either kidney or liver problems as a 2yr old  :(
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Dawn F on March 03, 2010, 16:26:07 PM
my old cat died of kidney cancer and lost his balance towards the end but only when jumping he didn't just fall off things - if your cat has always done it I wouldn't worry too much with bluto it was a definite change - he was always very precise in his jumping before - apparently something to do with toxin build up
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on March 03, 2010, 16:29:44 PM
Jaffa and Mosi like to sleep on top of the tv but as it's slopey, they do tend to slide off  ;D
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 03, 2010, 16:34:15 PM
interesting not sure when she started but recently its got worse im sure it has and always worried that she would get same thing as her sister she is a neurotic DSH a lot to do with her breeding i think ok well if she keeps getting worse might be worth having a blood test done check her kidneys and liver !
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: clarenmax on March 03, 2010, 16:57:40 PM
If this is a relatively new development then I'd be inclined to get her checked out anyway, all sorts of things can cause balance issues  :hug:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on March 03, 2010, 17:04:51 PM
We are not vets and this is how Swampy became so ill....you should be at the vets now!
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 03, 2010, 17:08:09 PM
not a new thing otherwise i would get her checked she has nearly always done it did ..did not worry to much to start with as only occasionally once in a blue moon type thing but will see how often she does it in the next week might get her checked just to put my mind at rest  ;)  
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on March 03, 2010, 17:09:40 PM
Read poor swampys thread and see what can happen.......dont wait till next week do it now please
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 03, 2010, 17:15:52 PM
just off to work soon as im back i will read swamps thread but this is not sudden this has been going on for years she can jump and everything else no roblems with balance there its more like when there a sleep they normally lock and seems she does not  other wise a healthy happy cat but will read your thread later thanks
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on March 03, 2010, 17:30:24 PM
Swampy was Kates cat and its her thread.........Swampysmum, and if your cat has been doing this for years , why are you suddenly asking about it now.....sorry this has made me very grumpy now
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls on March 03, 2010, 18:21:18 PM
Jaffa and Mosi like to sleep on top of the tv but as it's slopey, they do tend to slide off  ;D

 :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: bunglycat on March 03, 2010, 20:29:45 PM
If my cat had fallen of a banister and onto her back -i would have ;
a)- had a heart attack
b) whilst still having heart attack be on my way to the vets immedietly - That would be my FIRST PRIORITY -once the cat had been seen by a vet -i would finish my heart attack !
In other words -the cat should have been at the vets that day -priority -no matter how long its been happening - that is not right -the cat needs to see a vet -NOW !
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on March 04, 2010, 08:35:51 AM
Is it a recent development?  Given that she has fallen off a banister, I would get her checked out to make sure there's no problem.  Jaffa is a clumsy cat (sorry Jaf, you are)  and often slips off things or mistimes his jumps, but he's always been like that and it's not to the extent that there may be a problem.  Some cats just don't have great balance or agility  ;D
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Christine (Blip) on March 04, 2010, 10:53:44 AM
How old is your cat, Cracker?  And what's her name (for ease of reference)?

Notwithstanding anything else, is there a way you can keep her away from the bannister when you are not around to supervise?
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 04, 2010, 11:23:46 AM
she is not ill and im not looking for vets advice more behaviour if anyone else has a cat that does similar i think its more a case of clumsyness like susanne has mentioned cant keep her away from the banister unless i shut her in a cage , ive had cats with kidney and liver problems nothing makes me think it could be that have recently lost my old girl of CRF managed it for years but then at the grand age of 19 she'd had enough she was my baby sadely missed lovely chocolate burmese  :Luv2:

this thread is about tia and she is only 3 or 4 quite young and very healthy just doppey  :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Janeyk on March 04, 2010, 11:38:35 AM
Our Squeaky would sleep in some odd places and positions from being a kitten, he was a funny cat and occasionally he'd fall off the edge of the chair arm or something but he was always fine.   Schui however had neurological problems which caused this later in life, he was an old boy and we had to be careful and watch with him.
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Rosella moggy on March 04, 2010, 14:30:17 PM
What about discouraging her from going up on bannister post by putting something unpleasant (to her) or awkward to negotiate on the post for the a while?  Could also try and encourage her to sleep in safer places.... catnip, feliway spray, woolly furry bedding, radiator bed etc

Just a thought

Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 04, 2010, 15:02:10 PM
Does not matter what bedding etc i give her she loves the telly  :scared:  so i have moved the telly now anyway so if she falls off not far to go  :evillaugh:

and yeah good thinking will put something on the bannister  :thanks:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Rosella moggy on March 04, 2010, 15:13:41 PM
Not quite the same thing but many years ago we shared our life with a female cat called Baron (name stuck altho he changed into a she  :innocent: ).  How I adored that girl  :Luv: 

Anyway she had an awful habit of balancing on tops of internal doors and fell to the floor a few times when we pushed door open.  Obviously incredibly dangerous so I'm afraid we used a plant spray whenever we saw her up there.  Thankfully it did the trick.
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 04, 2010, 15:20:59 PM
Not wuite the same thing but many years ago we shared our life with a female cat called Baron (name stuck altho he changed into a she  :innocent: ).  How I adored that girl  :Luv: 

Anyway she had an awful habit of balancing on tops of internal doors and fell to the floor a few times when we pushed door open.  Obviously incredibly dangerous so I'm afraid we used a plant spray whenever we saw her up there.  Thankfully it did the trick.

 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

yep have had the odd one do that too its when you open or shut the door at the smae time as realising they are there its like OOOPS  >:(    :shocked:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: angel-77 on March 04, 2010, 15:27:21 PM
my cat Tia sleeps ontop of my fishtank, when she shifts position she does tend to slip off!!

how high was the banister?

I think I would have taken her to be checked out too, especially as she fell on her back, shouldn't cats land on their feet, providing they have at least a metre distance to turn themselves? Could be wrong so dont quote me on that   :shify:

Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: cracker on March 04, 2010, 15:37:44 PM
Yes they are supposed to land on there feet  :innocent: it was about a metre high dont worry she was fine i kept a close eye and if anything wrong would of rushed her to vets but this was about 2 months ago  :shify: :-:  some cats are just too clumsy to be cats  :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Beccles on March 06, 2010, 01:20:10 AM
Figgy is another unbelievably clumsy cat - he rolls over and falls off things loads, suspect if I subjected him to an MRI (which I wouldn't, not for this) it'd show some very mild static (non changing) defect or injury in the motor cortex - like a human with dyspraxia. He's not ill, it's never changed or got worse or shown any sign of any problem at all, apart from occasional hilarity when he falls out of bed.

If you see any sign of any actual problem - including a bad fall, or if anything changes then absolutely straight to the vets, do not pass go or collect £200. If she's been like this for as long as you've known her, though? Unlikely to be anything significant. All creatures exist on a spectrum of ability, not just humans.
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: tab on March 06, 2010, 10:17:20 AM
Amber is terribly clumsy. She slides of the kitchen counters on a regular basis. Most times she  lands on her feet and does the I meant to do that but last week she slid down the front of the washing machine like something out of Tom and Jerry. Then again she also rolls off beds and chairs as she has no idea where the edge is. But as shes been like that for 10 yrs its all normal for her. If however she landed in an awkward position I would get her vet checked just in case.
love
Tab
Title: Re: Falling off ???
Post by: Mark on March 06, 2010, 11:05:03 AM
I hate to say it but Willow used to be the most agile cat going but as her CRF progressed, she started missing things. We were never sure if it was her  coordination going or if her muscles weren't as strong.