Yesterday, my father went outside and found my cat in the yard and it was acting drunk. He wasn't walking straight and its legs were splayed out. He kept falling and weaving and it ran from us. We followed it down to the neighbor's yard, but we didn't get too close because we were afraid it had rabies or something and it went behind a shed and threw up. He wasn't trying to attack us, and he wasn't hissing or anything like rabbid cats do. He was running around, and he was looking at us but going the opposite direction, so he might have been trying to come to us. He was mewling all weird like in pain. What's the matter? Could it be rabies? Or could he have been hit (someone pulled out of my driveway minutes before, and that particular cat does like to go across the road.)
Any help is appreciated!
2008-07-17T10:48:36Z
The cat went over the hill now and we can't find it to take it to the vet, and we're afraid to go near it just in case it does have rabies anyways, but we want to know so that we know if our other cats are in danger of getting rabies.
K-9Nurse2008-07-17T10:52:31Z
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It sounds very likely to me that your cat was hit by a car or ingested poison (i.e. antifreeze). Cats do not always have obvious injuries and broken bones from being hit by a car. Internal damage could be very extensive though. Weaving, falling, vomiting and displaying pain are signs that something is internally VERY wrong and your cat needs IMMEDIATE vet attention. Cats often have a very drunken gait and appearance, and vomit when they have ingested antifreeze. Even a few licks can kill. If you do not seek treatment NOW and your cat has ingested antifreeze, he likely will be dead in 72 hours. I hope you will take him in and everything works out okay. After he is healthy, your cat needs to be vaccinated against Rabies, Feline Leukemia and Distemper, particularly if you let him outside.
What Sarah said. It's relatively simple to see if the cat got hit, btw. Most cats fight the car and will end up with frayed claws as a result. A head wound could cause that type of behavior as well.
I might add it sounds like it could be a poisoning case to me. Rabies doesn't always present the way your movies have taught you and it's actually quite rare in most of the US. Poisoning, unfortunately, is not.
Maybe he's just not feeling well. I've read this somewhere.. Have you ever seen cat eating or chewing the grass? Cat does this when he's feeling sick. When they feel sick they will do this as grass has its own natural remedy that will help cure the illness. After eating or chewing, most cats will throw up to get rid off the 'poisonous' stuff in their body. I've seen many times my cats done this until I read about this natural cure from grass.
To me it sounds like your cat may have just ha a seizure, and then run into something and gotton hurt. It could also be that it had gotten bitten or just ran into something. Push down on serveral different places on your cat's body. If he seems mad or hurt when you touch him/her it may mean that a bone is broken. Take it to the vet As Soon As Possible! (ASAP)