Sudden Change Of Behavior. Help!!!

Concerning my 10 year-old female baby.
She has been a lively, spunky, cantankerous cat since day one. Up to a week ago she was herself. All of a sudden on Thursday, she decided she didn't want to eat. I tried feeding her and she would just barely sniff the bowl and look away.
She's always slept a lot, as cats do, but she just looks so down and depressed. It doesn't seem she wants to do anything. She has to be pushed to act like herself, and she barely does that.
She is eating, but only half of what she used to. She wants to stay between a few select rooms in the house.
She will let me feed her, but then she goes right back to sleep.
I've noticed she'a been sporting a large pouch between her legs and it's gotten a bit bigger. Everytime I try petting it she growls and then hisses. This has been going on for a couple of years.
I brought her to a vet on Friday and the guy declared her not sick, that she was just suffering from the affects of what is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). He said she would bounce back on her own timetable. I still have to submit a stool sample for analysis.
Has anyone else been through this? I love her so much and would be destroyed if I were to lose her now.

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's your cat's change of behaviour that brought you here.

I can honestly say I've never heard of a cat having SAD, so I tend to wonder about that vet. Especially since, I assume, your cat has never acted like this in the winter time before?

Have you been to that vet before? If not, maybe consider a 2nd opinion.

Has anything changed in your home recently? New people? Less people? Change of human's schedules? Are there any other pets in the home?

Sometimes changes can cause stress, or depression, which SAD is a form of. Here are some TCS articles on stress that might be helpful:

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
You, Your Cat And Stress
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

You mention that she's eating less. Is she using the litter box normally? Is her stool normal? Sometimes older cats get constipated, which can cause their appetite to decrease.

Is she indoor only? Or indoor/outdoor?

Did the vet say anything about the pouch between her legs? It sounds like a primorial pouch, however, I don't think it's normal for there to be discomfort if you touch it. Although maybe she just doesn't like be touched.
Why do many cats have a saggy belly? | Pet Meds News

Hopefully things will get back to normal with her soon. Let us know how things go.

There is no solid evidence that SAD is even a real thing in cats.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in Pets | Can Pets Suffer From Seasonal Affective Disorder? | petMD While the answer is "maybe" or "probably," I did not see loss of appetite mentioned. Since loss of appetite & energy lasting a week is a potentially serious issue, have to question a Vet assigning it to something that is not even proven to exist.

Now if your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, there 100% are *some* behavior changes when winter rolls in. But loss of appetite and energy lasting more than a week is a pretty strong marker of a medical issue. It could be a transient virus, the same as humans get, but if it has already lasted a week, it is a concern.

A resounding YES to all of the above, and I strongly suggest a second opinion. If you live in the USA, you can find a feline specialist here, their search engine is by zip code. Just be sure to select "cat only" NOT "cat friendly."

AAFP | American Association of Feline Practitioners

Ok so the pouch between her legs is worrying me, but then your post goes on to say that this has been a couple of years?

Can you tell us some more info.

1) Is she spayed?
2) does she go outdoors?
3) have you changed her diet OR do you know if your food supplier has changed ingredients?

I would find it a bit strange to suddenly find a cat has SAD, I mean it's not impossible, but for a 10 year old to suddenly develop this seems off to me.

Could you start by maybe looking at when any symptoms at all surfaced, then listing them in the order you noticed? This will help to establish if this is behavior or a health issue and get you to the right forum for the best advice.

I agree with the others that it sounds physical. Did the vet do any bloodwork? Did she let him do a full exam, press on her belly, look in mouth and ears?

I haven’t heard of SAD in cats, either, so I agree that you may want to get a second opinion. Sudden behavioral changes and appetite loss are often signs of underlying medical issues in cats: Why Has My Cat Stopped Eating And Is It Dangerous?

By the way, the pouch that you’re describing sounds to me like a primordial pouch. Most all cats have one, to some extent, and it goes back to wild felines to allow their stomach room to expand after a large meal. The primordial pouch gets more noticeable after a spay/neuter due to a change in hormones, as well as when a cat loses weight .

I took my baby to the vet because I was worried he had a cold or pneomnia. He has very bad asthma and pacreatitis. My point is run to another vet tomorrow. A cat not eating is a major warning sign and problem!
My baby is on pain meds and antinausea medication and he is eating again. If a cat isn't eating they start metabolizing their liver .... which makes them worse. Currently I'm giving him watered down fancy feast broth with the meat chunks pulverized with a fork (or as I call it 'sick kitty soup.') Plus he has dry food. I could tell he was queasy because he would go to his food, sniff it, then turn away. Also a dehydrated cat is not good (and giving your cat a daily IV sucks..... but it can keep them alive.) I hope your baby makes a full recovery.

rubysmama said:

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's your cat's change of behaviour that brought you here.

I can honestly say I've never heard of a cat having SAD, so I tend to wonder about that vet. Especially since, I assume, your cat has never acted like this in the winter time before?

Have you been to that vet before? If not, maybe consider a 2nd opinion.

Has anything changed in your home recently? New people? Less people? Change of human's schedules? Are there any other pets in the home?

Sometimes changes can cause stress, or depression, which SAD is a form of. Here are some TCS articles on stress that might be helpful:

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
You, Your Cat And Stress
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

You mention that she's eating less. Is she using the litter box normally? Is her stool normal? Sometimes older cats get constipated, which can cause their appetite to decrease.

Is she indoor only? Or indoor/outdoor?

Did the vet say anything about the pouch between her legs? It sounds like a primorial pouch, however, I don't think it's normal for there to be discomfort if you touch it. Although maybe she just doesn't like be touched.
Why do many cats have a saggy belly? | Pet Meds News

Hopefully things will get back to normal with her soon. Let us know how things go.

Click to expand...

She has gotten down before. One time she would not move from the kitchen table. She stayed there for a solid week and only came out when the central air was turned off, so I attributed it to that.

One other time, that I can remember, I made the mistake of giving her new food and she laid on the floor for an entire day. The second I went back to the old food she was fine again.

The vet I went to was the first time I had been there. They did not do blood work, but they did give her a rabies shot - which she had no reaction to. Right now, I'm waiting on the results of her stool sample.

Since I posted, she has been eating a bit more. She's also using her litter box and the stools are healthy. There are no overpowering smells of ammonia.

Believe it or not, she is starting to ever so slowly return to herself. Her appetite has picked up a bit more and that spark has returned to her eyes.

I was feeding her a ton of flaked tuna. She always went nuts for it, but the vet said tuna, while appetizing to cats, is actually hard on their digestive tract. I have noticed if she had too much tuna she would throw up.

He suggested pate food for her, especially now that she's older.

As for actually by changes: I was going out a bit more, leaving her alone for longer periods of time. She would wait by the door if I stayed out too long (Mother Hen), but in the past week or so she stopped doing that. Maybe she was disgusted?

Naturally, I am being vigilant and if she slips again by even the slightest degree, I certainly will take her to get blood work at another vet.

Oh, and she was fixed as a kitten 10 years ago and she began sporting the aforementioned pouch then. And the vet made no mention of it.

Thank you for your detailed and heartfelt response.

She sounds likes a sweet, super sensitive girl. And you sound like a caring cat parent. I hope she's back on the road to her normal self, but keep an eye on her, and get a 2nd opinion if you think she still isn't quite herself. I always feel it's better to err on the side of caution.

Here's one more TCS article that might be helpful:
What To Expect As Your Cat Ages

Ok wait, you brought your cat in to the vet for all these alarming symptoms, yes if a cat not only stops eating but is also acting differently, something is wrong. Cats do everything they can to hide their discomfort so when they are showing something is wrong it might be worse than you think. Anyway, the vet looked at the cat, didn't do blood work, declared seasonal depression and vaccinated her???

Please please find a new vet. Does anyone else find this highly irresponsible of the vet?

I would take her to a new vet, have a full blood panel done, at 10 that should be done anyway, and xray that weird pouch on her stomach or get a cytology done if the vet thinks its fluid build up. All these things sound really serious. I don't mean to freak you out but please go to another vet.

I would not wait because she seems to be feeling a little better. Something was/is very wrong, even the sickest animals have good days and bad days. She is hiding her discomfort now and eating on instinct. So she may feel a little better, but I would really urge you to not let this go.

P.S. if you just mean the Primordial pouch (the extra "sway" of their belly you can see as they run) that has nothing to do with spaying, even though it is often considered to be. Some cats develop it and some don't. Since you said something down there was so painful that she was growling at you, THAT is not normal.