My female cat, Rini, is almost 3 years old. She is a happy cat, if not a little scared of her bigger brother. Plays a little bit. But eats well, her eyes are always alert, and she is relatively a petite cat.

I always noticed her hips 'sway' when she walks. I always thought this was adorable, because her tail is straight up and curls at its end (it looks like she is doing a dainty little walk). But lately I've been wondering if something is wrong with this? Her back legs... They seem.. Stiff. Watching my other cats walk from behind, I notice their legs bend and move forward like their front legs. Hers... Don't. Not really. It's not hugely noticeable. But her back legs seem to stay straight. And the 'swaying' of her hips seems to be her shifting her legs back and forth in order to walk forward, instead of bending her legs.

The only thing I can think of, as far as history, was that last year she had a bad reaction to a rabies/distemper shot the vet gave her. (I am well aware NOW how dangerous combining those vaccines are, and just how dangerous they are to begin with. I didn't go back there.). Anyway, the day after the vaccine, she walked EXTREMELY stiff. Didn't bend her back legs at all and was hiding, etc. Took her to the vet and all of that and they gave her stereoids and it got better.

But now I'm starting to worry about her. Is it normal for her to walk like this? And I don't know what to do. I REALLY want to take her to the vet, but I'm afraid too. Basically because we would have to go to a new vet, and she is way past due on the rabies vaccine. She is strictly indoors, and had such a bad reaction to it last time, I REALLY don't want to risk another possible emergency by forcing her to get it. In my state, pets cannot be exempt from the shot due to health, poor reactions, or disease.

She seems normally OK otherwise. Eats well, healthy fur coat, plays, isn't lethargic. The stiffness is very subtle (I have been slightly noticing it, but at the same time was never really sure it was stiff or just my imagination. That subtle). I'm thinking it is FROM the rabies shot, which is why I am hesitant to take her to a vet who will force her to get it because she's a new patient and I don't have proof she had it recently.


So, my question is, what could be causing the stiff legs? Is it something that might be very serious, at her young age, that I should take her to the vet asap and risk further injury to her if they won't see her without the shot? Or is it relatively normal for some cats to walk like that?

Souhait,
I have seen cats with stiff back legs and always wanted to suggest to the owner to go to a physiologist to give their cat physiology. I am not a vet, but I believe that just as humans do very well going to a naturopath, animals can also profit from alternative medical attention. It might have been that your cat reacted to the shot by stiffening her legs to compensate for pain. Just as we tend to cramp up when we experience something traumatic or with pain, animals do too.
Does your cat react negatively when you pet her hind legs? Have you tried to massage her legs?

Before starting on the 'alternative medicine' path, give the traditional one a try.

Just suck it up and go to the vet. The vet CAN NOT make you do anything or give your dog anything you don't want. If you have to have any sort of vaccination before entering, then find yet another vet.

The vaccination routine has morphed into a cash cow over the years, as most professional veterinary organizations have determined that most annual vaccinations, after the puppy series is finished, are both unnecessary, and potentially detrimental to health. With a few exceptions, of course, depending on your pet's situation. http://www.dogs4dogs.com/kitten-shots.htm

Before starting on the 'alternative medicine' path, give the traditional one a try.

Just suck it up and go to the vet. The vet CAN NOT make you do anything or give your dog anything you don't want. If you have to have any sort of vaccination before entering, then find yet another vet.

The vaccination routine has morphed into a cash cow over the years, as most professional veterinary organizations have determined that most annual vaccinations, after the puppy series is finished, are both unnecessary, and potentially detrimental to health. With a few exceptions, of course, depending on your pet's situation. DR. JEAN DODDS' FELINE VACCINATION PROTOCOL – 2010 (http://www.dogs4dogs.com/kitten-shots.htm)

Umm, this is about a cat, not a dog.

Umm, the post is about a CAT

Well, at least the protocol is right. The advice still stands, except for two words. My bad, I guess.

Are you able to cuddle this cat? If so, you can do a pretty decent check-up on her legs yourself by flipping her on her back and petting her. Gently push down on her back paws and see if it causes any sort of reaction. Pet her some more and then try to check out her range of motion by gently taking hold of her rear leg, just above the paw and moving it like she's riding a bicycle, and very slightly move her ankle away from her body and back towards it as you do it, but be very gentle the whole time... As Ms. B suggested, make it more of a massage than a medical exam.

All you need to do is see if there's a reaction. If she naturally flinches away when you touch near her paws, you may not be able to do more than the gentle press to see if she's in pain. Even if you can't really pick her up, as long as she lets you pet her you can gently push down at the base of her tail, above her hips, during a good pet, and see if it causes her obvious discomfort.

If she can do all of that without any trouble, and if the only obvious symptom is an unusual gait, I don't think you really have a problem. Obviously, because of her unusual medical history, the most definitive way to find out if there's a problem is to take her to the vet for a thorough check-up. Could you borrow a shot tag? I'm not sure if it's legal, but for an indoor cat with prior bad reactions, I'm not sure it's unethical, either. Are you close to a border? Is it possible to find a vet that does not have to update your shots with any visit?

my 14 yr who went for annual follow-up after her heart disease diagnosis, was given a distemper shot at vet which I was against but they said was necessary every 3 years. Besides taking her bloodwork, which all came back normal except high white cell count, so 2 days later since I got her antibiotic shot... after the distemper shot, I called them as she was completely out of it and couldn't walk and looked in terrible pain and just laid there.
after the antibiotic shot, she continued to be lethargic and not eating as much and laying, not walking... so theytold me to bring her again. They took blood for wbc count and also pancreatitis which she had in 2010 and recovered from with pepcid ac.

they gave me pain killers and pills to get her appetitite up. She's been so out of it, I stopped the pain meds as she was so stoned I couldn't tell if she was recovering from the other 'diagnosis'... took her to another vet who said its her back! So now we are going to do x-ray s tomorrow, to see what is going on. Obviously if they find something on the spine like a tumor, I know that's the problem but honestly I think it's the vet that's caused this and don't know what recourse I have or what to do to get her better. She is depressed and laying in her bed, has a good appetite but does not want to be held. She has always been the most social, lapcat, sittiing with us, on the bed, the couch in the living room... whatever room we were in , she was in, and now she's reduced to just laying there giving me sad eyes. I'm so upset, was it the distemper shot (which I read about afterward, and told the vet she's 14 and just goes out to sit on the deck and does not need it but they told me she does, they give every 3 years)... or
maybe they hit a nerve with the shot or when they took blood in the backroom, twisted or fought with them and they held her too hard or she feel off table... I have no idea what happened when they took her in backroom but she was hissing at them afterward through the entire annual exam. They also said they could do x-rays but would have to sedate her but she has heart disease so there are risks. They said she is too stressed and will bite them. This is a cat that's a lover and never hissed before at anyone for any reason! Any advice would greatly help. The anti inflammatory that would be b est for her sping would also potentially cause her cardiac arrest, so the new vet gave her their second choice which is safer but may or may not be effective. We are between a rock and a hard place and love her so much. She thinks she's our baby. Thanks for your ideas and help and any previous experience with this.