DH went over to my skiddish cat this morning and he started to run away as he often does and he was dragging his hind legs. We called the vet and they said to bring him in. Getting him in the crate was a bit of a chore because he was so scared. They took an xray and didn't see any problem with his spine. The Dr. said that it might be a Saddle thrombus which is a clot that goes into his loer body and he loses function to his hind legs. The only good thing is she said that usually with Saddle thrombus the back paws are cold and the nails blue because there is no blood going to them. His were warm and his nails were normal. He was running around last night and was fine. There is a possibility that it is a slipped disc which wouldn't show up in an xray. They are keeping him for 2 days and will try to treat him with steroids to see if he gets better. I'm so upset, I can't stop crying Reading online about Saddle thrombus it says that even if he is able to get back function in his hind legs that it will more than likely occur again because it's a heart condition that can't be treated. They also said it's very painful. I don't even know what we are going to do if this is the case. I don't want him to suffer for the rest of his life and the thought of them recommending euthanising him is making me sick. Please pray that it's not Saddle thrombus and that he will come out of this OK. He's not even 3 years old.
Has anything like this ever happened to anyone's cat?
Update: Thank you everyone for the prayers and thank you for sharing your story Sweetdreamz. It made me feel better knowing that your cat is doing well. It's funny, your cat actually looks like Sam except Sam is a bit chubbier.
Since posting this we got back Sam's blood work and everything was good. That along with other things made the vet pretty sure it is not the Saddle Thrombus (thank God). They tought it might be a slipped disc or inflamation in his spine so they gave him anti-inflammatory meds yesterday. When we called this morning they said that there was very little improvement and they wanted us to take him to LI Veterinary Specialist to see a surgeon. They scared the cr@p out of me because they didn't want us to wait until Wed. (which was the appt. LIVS they gave us) they wanted us to bring him in today into the emergency care which we did. The Dr. there did an exam and couldn't find anything. Thankfully he is not in pain. He is moving his back legs a little but he is not walking on them. They still don't know what is causing it yet there are several things it could be. I think they are leaning toward slipped disc but they won't know anything until they do more tests. The surgeon/neurologist is going to examine him tomorrow and hopefully we will know more. Thanks for "listening".
oh no!! thank goodness his toes aren't showing signs! that it's not saddle thrombus. if it's a slipped disc, then that's treatable. i know someone who's dog was paralyzed from a slipped disc, but she had surgery and fully recovered! good luck, keep us posted.
I have a cat that we took in when he was 6 weeks old.. when he was 2 months i found him lying on the floor unable to move his back legs at all... i rushed him to the hospital and after xrays i was told he had a slipped disc and the surgery was $2000 i didnt have that and the other option was to keep him caged for 8 weeks with no movement.. i would only take him out to use the litter box and would have to help him into it... once the 8 weeks was done i put him in a larger space to get used to walking around and a few weeks later i let him free... he still can rund and jump on the bed couch and chairs just not as high as regular cats... sometimes he waddles and we gave him that nickname..
I'm so sorry about this. I can't imgaine what you are going through. When my kitty was sick last month I didn't eat, sleep- I cried all the time. A true basket case...so I know how you feel...
Hopefully it wont' be anything serious- the previous poster's story seems promising...
We called the vet and they said to bring him in. Getting him in the crate was a bit of a chore because he was so scared. They took an xray and didn't see any problem with his spine. The Dr. said that it might be a Saddle thrombus which is a clot that goes into his loer body and he loses function to his hind legs. The only good thing is she said that usually with Saddle thrombus the back paws are cold and the nails blue because there is no blood going to them. His were warm and his nails were normal. He was running around last night and was fine. There is a possibility that it is a slipped disc which wouldn't show up in an xray. They are keeping him for 2 days and will try to treat him with steroids to see if he gets better. 
