Should I be worried?

[noid_13]

The last few days I've noticed my 4 year old cat acting like he's having trouble jumping onto the top of our deep freeze. (We keep the cats food up there because for some reason the roaches we have will stay out of it that way.) Next to the deep freeze we have a desk and next to that is a large trashcan with a lid.

My husband and I thought he was just being lazy and didn't want to jump anymore. I've caught him a few times jumping onto the trash can and walking across the desk to get to his food. I didn't think anything of it at first, just that he was being bad but then I noticed that the trash can is a little bit shorter than the freezer. The freezer is about 3 feet high I think.

Could he be having problems with his back legs? He can jump onto our bed and couches fine and he seems to be healthy other than sleeping a lot. I realize cats sleep a lot of the time but he seems to sleep more than our other 2 cats (4 years and 7 years old). The other day he threw up but it was just once and nothing seemed unusual about it. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not but he's also fairly needy.

I don't know if I'm worrying for no reason or not, I just want to be safe. We had a 4 year old cat die because we didn't know he was sick until it was too late. The vet couldn't even tell us if it was a parasite or his liver since we couldn't pay for the tests.

[noid_13]

Thanks for the replies. I watched him for another few days and he seems to be getting up there ok now. I think maybe he had a small sprain or something or was just being lazy and figured out we weren't gonna pick him up :P

[opus88]

hi......I also just wanted to mention to you that weak back legs...muscle wasting can also be sign of Kidney disease...you should really have some blood work done to be sure...♥

[AnnieBrooke]

He could have a sore back, not back legs.  Or a muscle sprain.  Age 4 is a little young to be unwilling to jump.  Problem is that if you don't have the money for vet care, you are just going to have to guess, at this point.  If you would like to help him out, put a small step stool next to the freezer, so he can make it in easier steps.