My cat seems depressed.....?

Question

she has always been an indoor cat. We have 4 of them, all are indoor cats, lately Fluff has been sitting on the couch all day staring outside for hours on end. She always has this depressed sad look in her eyes. Do cats get depressed and is there a treatment for it? What do you think I should do for her?

Answer 1

Cats usually are pretty stoic when they don't feel well. Even the most attentive owner can miss it. By the time she shows any symptoms, you seriously need to get her to the Vet, ASAP.If she completely checks out OK with blood work, etc, or even prior to that stop and ask yourself How long has she been this way? What else happened or changed around that same time? Death of another pet, person moving in or out, household move, family member become seriously ill? While not all Vets acknowledge this, cats do grieve & show signs of depression. When my little boy kitty died, I thgought I was going to lose my other cat (only 4 at the time) because she grieved so hard. Even though he was always sneaking up on her & tackling way too rough, etc. , it was astoundinding the effect of his death.Hope this helps, if you still don't get to the bottom of it, a holistic Vet who practices homeopathy can usually treat her very effectively. They are on line , and mine (Dr Judy.Stolz) saved my kitty's life after 4 other Vets & testing could not figure it out & all they could offer was Prednisone 'till the end. She is now back to bouncy & happy & loving by being on this treatment protocol, I cannot reccomend it highly enough.

Answer 2

Don't feel guilty for not letting her out - you're taking good care of her by keeping her inside where it's safe! The average inside cat lives TEN YEARS longer and is healthier than an outdoor or indoor/outdoor cat. Do you give her toys, or do you play with her? I'm not sure how far along you are with your recovery, or how much playing with her you can do, but if you can move an arm without pain you should be able to use one of those fishing-pole toys. Is this something that's started since you had the surgery? It may be that she's picking up that you're not well, and she's worried about you. But do keep an eye on her to see if she shows any other signs of anything being wrong, like loss of appetite or anything, just in case.

Answer 3

Take her to the vet. I recently learned that cats hide illness much better than other animals, and will exhibit strange behavior when they are ill that often goes unnoticed until it is too late. It is possible for cats to be depressed as well, and there is a treatment.

Answer 4

Definitely get a check up, but try changing her food. Maybe if you can't let your cat outside try bringing her outside and holding her. If she's looking outside depressedly she probably needs a little more excitement. Just like humans though, food effects the mood you're in. If you give your cat dull cheap flavorless food, expect a dull, inactive, uneventful cat. Good luck with this problem.

Answer 5

Your cat might be sick. Not to get you scared but my cat never wanted to be alone for a while and just layed around more often than not. I took her to vets and they felt a mass.. she had cancer and it was so bad they had to put he down. The vet told me that cats usually wont let you know they are sick or hurting. you might want to bring her in for some blood work at least. Maybe she is low on iron.

Answer 6

Have your vet do a good check up on her, she could have some underlying condition that is making her feel poorly. Cats do get depressed, but it's usually because of illness, physical discomfort or death/separation from mate or owner.

Answer 7

Maybe your place is too small. Are the other cats dominating over her?Is it possible to take her out for some fresh air?

Answer 8

Definitely give her some extra love and affection. It can't hurt!

Answer 9

I agree that it would seem she is not feeling well and should be checked out by her vet.