My kitty is clumsy, shaky, and uncoordinated lately

My cat Joey is 8 years old. She's never had a health problem before. The past year or two I've been noticing she's been extremely clumsy and ungraceful, which is not typical for a cat. Her head shakes/twiches sometimes, and she has to reallllly plan it out before she jumps on something, and even so, often falls off before another attempt at the jumping. I only really started taking note of it when I got another cat, a 2 year old named Charlie. He can jump on a railing with items on it, and gracefully pass around or over the items without disturbing them. If Joey were to jump up there (providing that she even makes it up there of course), she'd knock everything off of it, no question.
You can push her over very easily on accident, and she walks kind of funny. At first I thought it was hip dysplasia (or however you spell it) but the vet seems to think it is a neurological thing, but can't really seem to figure it out. What might be wrong with my baby?

[leelee71]

I'm sorry to hear that you are going thru this. I know you must be so worried and stressed out! It sounds neurological or it could be that he might have eaten a poisen. Sometimes the cleaners we use on our linoleum floor or elsewhere can get on their paws and then they lick them and ingest the poisen.

Please everybody be careful that you rinse real well when you clean your floor b/c cats have died this way. Anyway, I would definately try maybe cleaning with water for a bit and see if this could be it and definately take him to the vet, poor kitty.

[plastikfear]

Well she's been this way for a few years now, so I dunno if its something that can be fixed, but I would like to at least know what it is exactly. She never used to be a clumsy kitty...

[Missy890]

Like your vet said, it most-likely is a neurological problem! That doesnt mean your cat can't live a full happy life though!-Just one thought, im not sure if you have taken your cat to your vet, and if so im sure the vet already checked for this, but if your cat hasnt seen a vet-check her ears!
Sometimes if a cat has a bad ear infection it will throw off its balance and all sence of cordination-(almost as if she was drunk).
But like i said, if your cat HAS been to the vet, The vet has probably already checked that out.

For neurological disorder, there really isnt much you can do other than watch that she is getting around ok. Make sure his food, water and litter box is flat on the floor so he is not forced to try to jump or manuever his way around objects!

[Mojo25]

Check this website:
I know a cat with a similar affliction, and this was it's problem.  Maybe this will help.

Cerebellar ataxia: This is caused by problems with the cerebellum which is an area of the brain involved in controlling balance and coordination. Affected cats often stand and walk with their legs far apart and may be described to have a highstepping gait (goose stepping). Cats with cerebellar problems find it difficult to make accurate calculations when jumping and so often do this in a very exaggerated way. Tremors, which in some cats get worse when they go to do something such as eating (referred to as an intention tremor), may also be seen.  

[Mojo25]

the website was
http://www.fabcats.org/owners/wobbly_kittens/info.html