Help! Cat acting strange.

[wolfsvain]

Hey guys, My name is Sam.

My cat, Stormy, of 7 - 9 years. (Not exactly sure, Ive had him a lonnnggg time though.) Suddenly acted weird when I was getting ready for bed. He had been fine all day, I didnt see a single problem with him. Even poked his head straight in my face sniffing me to say hello earlier. But suddenly, within the last couple of hours... he's changed. I thought it might have been one of his legs, because when I moved on the bed to reposition, he meowed like I had offended him, and he plopped right back down next to me. The meow was far from normal, and I have never heard him act that way toward me.

I moved again to test his reaction, and he meowed the same, acting very upset again. At this point, it alarmed me, and I checked him. when I touched his back legs, he made the same meow. So, I thought something might have been wrong.

Well, I tested to see if he could move well, (since I didnt see him enter my room at the time) and he could move well, but he would act like it was uncomfortable. Move a couple of steps, then stop. I petted him, and he acted annoyed, still angry meow.

Im not exactly sure what to do. He still purrs and everything, he just seems not right. Should I watch him a little more and see what he does or what? Im really worried, all types of help would be great.

Note: We dont really have money right now, so if you guys think its serious enough for a vet, I could possibly beg my mom to do it, but I dont think it will work.

[ElliesMomma]

need more info. do you let the cat outside? could he have been injured?

you should check his back legs and rump for any signs of injury. make sure he is pooping and urinating -- perhaps change his litter box to a fresh start, and see if there is normal amounts in it by morning.

is he eating and drinking normally? purring is a good sign, i think.

if it were me, i'd watch him carefully overnight and observe how he acts in the morning. can he walk normally? does he come for breakfast?

if he doesn't get better or seems to get worse, then he should be seen by a vet.

you'll know more once you give him a good once-over, looking for anything wrong, and observe his movements and mannerisms carefully for overnight and tomorrow morning.

[wolfsvain]

Well, on the cat box, I wouldnt be able to tell anyway... because we have 2 other cats besides him, and one litter box. And we change it weekly.

As for the outside: No. The younger male cat is an outside cat, but he's acting fine. In fact he killed my new fish last night while I was asleep. (Is not happy.)

The cat food and water: We use the same large bowels for all cats.

Update: He is very temperamental, and it is hard for him to jump up in areas. And there have been times where he refused to let me pet him, because he was so upset about something.

Mom still wont listen to me, because we dont have the money. And she claims he probably "slept wrong" when I dont even think its really possible for cats.

Btw, I was wrong on the age, he's 11. Is arthritis a possibility? Since it takes him a lot to even jump up. A lot of the time now, he wont even try, until I put him up there. But, even when I do that, beds seem to be painful for him.

We had a dog that had such bad arthritis that eventually, he just couldnt get up anymore. His legs would lock up and such, but Stormy (the cat acting strange) doesnt really seem like that. But, I could be wrong. Ive never seen arthritis in cats before.

Feedback please?