Tremors and Shaking in Cats

If your cat suffers from tremors or shakes then they could either be mild and low or sudden and frequent. They might also occur at any time of the day but they could be more common in the morning or late in the evening.

If you have ever witnessed your cat having a mild tremor or a case of the shakes, then you might become very concerned about what could be causing them.  There can be a few health issues that can cause tremors or shaking in your cat and these conditions will require veterinarian attention.

What is a tremor?

A tremor is an involuntary movement that can be repetitive in nature. It can occur in any part of the body, the head or the legs and in some cases they might only be targeted to one area. Most often there is a reason your cat is having tremors or an issue with shaking. A physical and a blood test can usually identify the issue.

Hypoglycemia

Since cats love to sleep for hours on end and only eat when they wake up, some cats can wake up with low blood sugar. Tremors occur because your cat has a decreased level of glucose in the blood which results in your cat having the shakes or mild tremors.

Solution: A blood test will determine what is causing this. 

Myasthenia Gravis

In the cat’s body, each nerve is connected to muscle to give directions. There is a gap between the nerve and the muscle which the receptor passes a message into and this triggers a signal to be sent to contract the muscle. This message doesn’t occur if your cat has myasthenia. One of the symptoms of this condition is tremors and issues with mobility and general walking. The longer that this is left untreated, the more the muscle will waste away.

Solution:  A blood test can be carried out to see if this is the cause of the tremors. 

Nervous System Disorders 

This is another disorder which causes tremors in cats along with seizures, numbness, weak muscle and coordination issues. The main cause of this disorder relates to a problem located in the cerebellum area of the brain. The cause might be due to a brain tumor but until tests are carried out, it won’t be known. 

Solution: If the cause is determined to be a brain tumor then depending on how serious the issue is, surgery or radiation might be carried out to treat the problem. 

Genetic Issue

If you adopt a kitten or a cat from a website or from a stranger, then you never know the exact background of that animal. The animal might have been mistreated or malnourished or born into parents who were related to each other. Inbreeding can lead to unknown deformities which can cause issue in your cat further on down the road.

Solution: Bring your cat to your veterinarian for a physical and a blood test.   

Pain

Cats are very notorious for hiding any illnesses. This means your cat could be really sick and you might completely miss the symptoms. If your cat was hit by a car, or ingested something it shouldn’t have, then the outer sign could be trembling.

Solution: If your cat begins to behave in an abnormal manner that is not like their normal self, then always seek veterinarian help. 

Treatment

If your cats tremors and shaking is a continuous thing and it starts occurring more frequently, then you should bring your cat to the veterinarian because you need to find out what is the underlying cause.