# A cat that doesn't jump?



## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

I think I have one.

Cheddar will not jump up more than 2 feet, and even thats pushing it. If he can climb up something, he'll do it, but I can use a baby gate to keep him in one part of the apartment and he won't get over it.

I find this really strange, as every other cat I've had could easily jump 5 feet or more without a problem. Nothing seems to be physically wrong with him- he just doesn't seem to want to jump.

Thoughts? Anyone else have a cat that won't jump?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Mellie isn't much of a jumper, either. She's only been up on my kitchen countertop once, and when it happened it seemed to come as a surprise to her. So she CAN jump; she just doesn't seem to be motivated to do so except when she needs to.


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## gsc4 (Mar 27, 2005)

Squirrel does not jump much either. If she has a choice of jumping up on a chair first and then over to the counter or just one big jump up to the counter, she will always take the chair then counter route. Even coming down she will usually walk to the end of the counter where she can jump down to the chair first instead of one big jump down. 

But Schnitz loves to jump as high as he can in a single jump.

Just like people, I think some cats are more athletic than others.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Callie had short little legs and would always use stepping stones to get up on things, the floor to the kitchen counter was way to far for her. Onyx was quite the jumper as is Maggie. Kobi can jump, but is lazy and doesn't do it often. Holly is still kind of small to go straight from floor to counter and used the breakfast bar stools. Just depends on the cat, I think...


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

coaster said:


> ...she CAN jump; she just doesn't seem to be motivated to do so except when she needs to.


Yup, curiosity......I didn't think Cinderella could really jump, either, until I came home and found her in my wardrobe box when I moved (about 5 feet tall)! She jumped on top, fell in, and was trapped for a couple hours. :roll:


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

poor Cinderella! I bet she thought twice about jumping up on stuff after that!

Cheddar is about the same age as Holly, although he's bigger than average for his age, so I wonder if maybe he just hasn't learned to jump yet. I guess it just seems unusual to me since the last kittens I had could jump 5 feet up into a basement window at about 12 weeks old...

I put up the baby gate again the other night to keep him shut in the livingroom. My was he ever upset! he would sit on the other side of the gate and just meow and meow for me to let him on the other side, but he never tried to jump over.

Not that I mind having a kitten that doesn't jump... that just means that I don't have to worry about him knocking things off of the counter or from on top the entertainment center :wink:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Nell said:


> poor Cinderella! I bet she thought twice about jumping up on stuff after that!


Nope! Two days later, I came home and heard her little muffled meows AGAIN! I thought I had closed the top securely, but she hit the right spot and fell in again. I emptied it out that night and got rid of the box. :roll:


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I know, I think we should count ourselves lucky that they don't jump very high. I sure don't mind that Rookie doesn't understand the concept of getting on the kitchen counters!


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## kimibaby (Jan 9, 2007)

cat can jump 5 feet high?1?! pardon my ignorance, i have only one cat, and the best he can do is jump up to the sofa or chair. never see him up in the table or anywhere higher than 2 feet


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

I've seen Indoor/outdoor kitties i've had jump five or six feet straight up to catch birds. And Snow used to jump/run six feet up a brick wall to sit on her favorite window ledge.  
:angel :catrun


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## Feydora (Dec 21, 2006)

Read this but please don't jump to conclusions. I had a kitten that didn't jump. He was persian and I figured that he simply belonged to a breed of cats not exactly known to be athletes by nature.

As it turned out, he had cardiomyopathy (heart defect). It wasn't detected during examination when he received his first shots but the vet clearly heard a heart murmur when I brought the cat back for his booster shots.It must have developped later. Unfortunately, my little Achile died a few months later. As I said, don't jump the gun on this but you should definitely ask your vet to pay extra attention to his heart condition on his next check-up.


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

I've though about it maybe being due to something physical, but I'm pretty sure its not. He is a very active kitten... he spends all day running around and trying to ambush toys, the other cats, etc, or just sprinting across the apartment, and he doesn't even seem to get tired...ever. lol


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