What Causes Paralysis in Cats?

Arnold Plotnick, DVM, offers some possible answers.

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We tried to get the cat to the local veterinarian the next morning. On the way there, the cat's eyes became dilated. You could see hemorrhaging in the whites of the eyes and the cat's breathing became labored. The cat stopped breathing just before we got to the vet. I tried to perform CPR on the cat, but to no avail.

A preliminary exam from the vet suggested that the cat had an embolism in her back or possibly had leukemia. From what I've read about feline leukemia, paralysis is not one of the symptoms.

My friend’s cat was 3 years old and had all her required shots. What do you think caused her paralysis?

A: I agree with you that feline leukemia is unlikely to have been the cause of the cat’s paralysis. The most common cause of sudden rear limb paralysis is indeed an embolism. A heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can lead to arterial thromboembolism. In these cases, a blood clot forms in the heart, and a piece of the clot breaks off and travels down the aorta. It then gets lodged at the end of the aorta, cutting off the blood supply to the rear legs. In these instances, the front legs tend to be fine.

I can’t tell if the paralysis affected just the rear legs or if all legs were affected. If all four legs were affected, then I’m reluctant to guess as to what the cause is because there aren’t many conditions that would cause sudden paralysis of all four limbs in an indoor cat. 

Certainly, a blood clot to the spinal cord is a possibility, although this is uncommon. Trauma to the spinal cord is also a possibility, although, again, not common in an indoor cat. A disk problem in the spine is also a possibility, but this is more common in dogs and rarely affects cats. Unfortunately, without an autopsy, I don’t think we’ll ever know what caused this poor cat’s untimely demise. 

Regards,
Arnold Plotnick, DVM

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What Causes Paralysis in Cats?

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Arianna    Hermiston, OR 3/30/2013 5:03:38 AM Thank you for this article. This has answered the questions my family and I have been wondering over the past 2 yrs that had led to the mysterious death of our cat Zja-Zja. Her symptoms were similar,she would have her good days and bad days that last week she was still alive then after having a seizure and even with the help of my father giving her CPR she didnt make through the night,I woke up to find her dead the next morning beside me. Alana    Daleville, IN 9/27/2011 3:27:31 PM I located this article while looking for answers about some feral cats that stay in our summer home. Over the summer, we have had two cases where the mother has brought kittens between 6 & 9 weeks of age up to leave them beside the door to our place. The kittens are completely unable to move their bodies. They cry as if trying to get attention, but cannot even move their heads. Other than that, they seem to have no injuries. What could be the trouble? Other kittens in the same litter have survived. liz    caernarfon, YT 2/16/2011 1:34:17 AM These symtoms sound to me like your cat could have had dry FIP which ccan cause paralysis and eye problems. Symtoms can appear suddenly or over a period of time. The only way to teel for sure this would be to do do an autopsy however. Janet    Bethlehem, PA 10/18/2009 8:21:37 AM good article thanks very much