Cat not herself

[Meid]

For about a month or two she seems to be sleeping more and has stopped waking me up as soon as the sun comes up for food and to go out (something she has done since she was a kitten). In fact some morning she doesn't really get up and venture outside until about 10am.

Other than this she is healthy - eating, wet nose, purring, playing inside and out.

DH thinks I'm mad to consider that something is wrong and says she has just changed her routine but my gut feel is that she is not herself.

We did move house in January which might have caused upset, although she seems happy.

Am I being silly to consider taking her to the vets? She is 2 years old.

[Sparklingbrook]

No, if the cat is not herself I would definitely take her to the vet. It's gone on for a month. Just explain what you have on here, it will put your mind at rest.

[cozietoesie]

I tend to listen quite a bit to gut feelings because you get to know cats so well when you live with them but your DH does have a point in that cats can change their routine when they move house and she's also growing up now. I wouldn't call you 'mad' though.

When did you last go to the vets with her ? She sounds as if she's pretty healthy really but if she's due to get booster vaccinations or something why not book her in and the vet will give her a MOT at the same time which would ease your mind.

[Sparklingbrook]

YY cat MOT cozie.

[Meid]

Thank you for your responses. It helped my decision. I took her to the vet this morning. It seems she has a bit of an upset tummy - the vet could feel diarrhea. He said the most common cause will be eating something she shouldn't and he'll treat it as such and she is now on antibiotics. Hopefully this will help.

I am going to take this opportunity to moan about the vet, though. I am new to the area so was visiting this vet for the first time. I found him totally dismissive of my 'gut feel' about something being wrong. He told me she seems fine (other than the diarrhea) and I have nothing to worry about. In fact, if she is sleeping more than usual and being clingy it is a sign she is very content and relaxed. The vet made me feel silly.

So, although the diarrhea has been found and is being treated, that must be a fairly recent problem and the fact that I know she has not been quite right for some time is another issue and one the vet felt was daft. Not his exact words but he got his point across quite clearly.

I've had cats all my life and the only other time I had a 'gut feel' was when my elderly cat was displaying similar behavioural changes to this one and it transpired she had cancer. If the diarrhea doesn't clear up I'm going to a different vet.

Thanks for the advice yesterday. And thanks for listening to my moan about the vet!

[Sparklingbrook]

Well it's put your mind at rest. And you have discovered your vet to be very unsympathetic . Time to look for a new one?

[cozietoesie]

My vet listens attentively to anything I describe - as well she might because cats cover illness up so well that sometimes behavioural changes can be an important initial diagnostic tool. I comfort myself with the thought that the vet practice is not a charity and they're being well paid for it.

Maybe time for a new vet, as Sparkling said. If you don't feel sympathetic towards them then keeping on with them is not really a good idea, I think.

[Sparklingbrook]

Everyone knows that one of the first signs of there possibly being something wrong is when a cat changes it's routine or isn't itself.

He was quite happy to give antibiotics though. Is that the usual treatment for diarrhea?

[Meid]

Thanks. First time to this vet, will not go again.

I've just remembered I also said she has been on and off her food and he replied that they don't always eat a consistent amount each day - again dismissive.
Maybe he thought I just picked this cat up off the street and don't really know her. Sigh, like I wanted to spend the equivalent (I'm not in the UK) of forty quid just for heck of it.

I also expected him to have a very good feel of her, check her mouth/teeth. Once he had felt her the diarrhea he didn't examine her any more. He took her temp (I have the scratch to prove it LOL) and listened to her chest for 1 second. I didn't get the full cat MOT!

My previous experiences of vets has been very positive. As you describe, Cozie, they usually listen attentively. I miss my old vet!

[mrs2cats]

If I found a vet that wasn't very sympathetic, I'd change vets.

Just a thought...how many other cats are there locally? Our cat started acting a bit differently, very clingy, constantly wanting my attention. Then we noticed that cats that we did not recognise started wandering through our garden. We've had a few houses sold and bought nearby and they must have cats.

She's sorted them out now and let them know our garden is her territory but I think she was feeling a little insecure. She's happier now that the other cats seem not to wander through.

[Meid]

Thank you Mrs2Cats and interesting you say this. As we are new to the area there has been a couple of territorial fights between my cat and one that had previously been considering our garden as part of his territory. I told the vet who again dismissed me as he said a cat that is worried about another cat coming in wouldn't be sleeping more, it would be anxious and sleeping less.

[mrs2cats]

Hmmm, not sure about what vet said. Our cat definitely stayed inside more and curled up on her armchair when she wasn't looking for me or following me around. She certainly went out less.

Eventually between her and the kids (who helped in chasing cats away by just going outside) the other cats seemed to realise that it's her territory.

I think cats are like people and we can't just generalise. There may be some anxious cats that sleep less but my cat doesn't appear to be one of those. She showed her insecurities in other ways very similar to your cat.