Cat gone crazy? If so, what to do?
Anon because it's personal
Background: We have two cats, a male short hair named A, and a female long hair, called B. A is older. A&B have grown up together and have never been separated. We've had them for almost a year. We got them from a military guy who had to give them up due to shipping out. He was their only owner before us. They were skittish at first when we brought them home, often hiding and refusing contact. Over time they become affectionate, seeking us, sleeping in the same room, etc, etc. A, the male cat, has adopted our 18 year daughter. B, the female cat has adopted my wife. I drift between the two. Both cats were fixed long before we got them.
We are three humans, a married couple with an 18 year old daughter who's room is on the second story. A, the male cat, spends much of his time up there with her, though he'll come down to eat, go the bathroom and hang out with B, the female cat and us for a while before going back upstairs. B, the female cat, never goes upstairs. She stays downstairs, choosing to hang out in certain spots for a couple of weeks (our bedroom, a chair in the living room, the dining room table) before moving to a new spot.
About a week ago, our daughter left for the summer to visit other relatives. A, the male cat who had adopted her and spent most of his time upstairs, has come downstairs and though obviously sad, has stayed downstairs for the company. B, the female cat, has kept up her usual personality, hanging out with "her brother" and just generally being herself.
Until four days ago. When we came home, she was nowhere to be found, when usually she's somewhere visible and greets us when we get home, with either meows and/or following us around. She didn't seek us out all and never showed up anywhere. By the second day, after looking around I realized she was upstairs, hanging out in the bathroom. She NEVER goes upstairs, it's unheard of. Now she's refusing to come downstairs at all, seemingly even to eat or go to the bathroom. I left a small dish of food for her in the bathroom and she's barely touched it. She's alert and appears interested when I wave string in front of her (a favorite game). She's ok with being petted, but if you try to pick her up or some such, she'll move away. This morning she's started peeing on the bathroom floor, without a litter box. The upstairs does not have have AC, so it's stifling hot up there, especially for a long hair cat.
We had another female cat (different breed), who seemed to do something similar. That previous cat, C (also fixed), was content to stay indoors until at some point she eventually decided going outdoors was the thing to do and from then on she stayed outdoors. One day we found her dead by the side of the house, for no apparent reason. She was from the pound and had a common disease from cats get in the pound (which I can't recall at the moment), which we think killed her.
To sum things up:
1. Everything was fine up till four days ago.
2. Now normally affectionate and healthy eating cat is shunning contact and not eating much.
3. She is fixed.
4. She stays in the un-air conditioned upstairs, in a bathroom, drinking from the toilet, eating little and has taken to peeing in the bathroom where she's staying, though she isn't sitting in the urine and is in fact as far from it as possible.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for what's going with this cat?
posted by anonymous to pets & animals (17 comments total)
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posted by annathea at 4:43 PM on June 21 [5 favorites]