Older cat having strange episodes

Question
Hi Diana.  I have a question about one of our older cats.  First, a little background info.  We have three adopted cats of various ages and one dog.  The cats are strictly indoors and get monthly frontline applications.  The dog gets frontline and heartguard.  We have had the cats for 7 years but since they are adopted, we don't know their medical history before that. Also, we have just moved from Alaska to North Carolina about 6 months ago.
Our oldest cat (approx. 16 y.o. male persian) has begun having "episodes" where he seems to lose control of his legs.  He will stumble around as if we were drunk or dizzy and sometimes during one of his "episodes" one of his legs won't work at all as if he has a charlie horse or something.  This only happens maybe once or twice a week and usually only lasts a few minutes but it definitely has me concerned.  He also has been getting thinner lately (he's always been a little on the skinny side though).  He eats well, drinks plenty and still seems generally okay, but I'm still worried.  I even took some video during one of his "episodes" so that if I needed to show a vet he could see what I was talking about.
Should we take Merlin to the vet or is this just part of being an older kitty?  Thanks for any advice you can give.
Celeste

Answer
Muscle weakness does occur with age, however if he is having specific episodes a visit to you veterinarian is recommended.  The fact that you have video of one of the episodes is also very useful.  There are a few different possibilities such as a hypoglycemic episode associated with diabetes, vertebral disc instability with pinching of nerves, and seizure.  

Older cats can lose weight due to many factors, two of the most common being renal disease and hyperthyroid disease.  A trip to your veterinarian will allow them to do a good physical and blood work and urine testing which can help diagnose these as well as the above conditions.  If a vertebral problem seems indicated on examination they would likely ask to do x-rays to be able to visualize the problem.

If I can be of any further help please let me know.  Humble apologies for the delayed response.