Behavior Changes In Healthy Cat

[arouetta]

This isn't a "this is happening now", so I'm starting this here instead of Cat Behavior. Has anyone else ever had a cat that was completely healthy and yet had significant behavior changes when a different cat in the house was sick?

I was taking a trip down memory lane and I remembered that when we first got Montressor he was super full of energy and curiosity. And his favorite outlet for energy was bothering Shadow. He wanted so bad to be her friend and play and cuddle with her, and he'd chase her on a regular basis, trying to start a game of Tag. And she was running in fear of her life, and it was not a game. Then she'd spin around and hiss, he'd put on the brakes and look brokenhearted and start doing a very high pitched meow at her.

But sometimes his energy would go into the toilet. So would Shadow's, and they'd be calm towards each other. The first two times, behavior changes bad, I'd pack them both up and take them to the vet. And both times it was the same thing - Montressor was perfectly healthy, Shadow was sick. Shadow would bounce back and Montressor would get the zoomies again. The third time he displayed a behavior change like that, Shadow seemed perfectly fine. I packed her up to go to the vet and left him at home. Sure enough, Shadow was hiding being sick, and treating her got him behaving normally again.

Anyone else ever see that sort of thing, where the best way to tell if a cat was sick and hiding it was to watch the behavior of the other cat?

 

[boney girl dad]

I believe this to be true. Cats communicate a lot with scent that goes unnoticed or slow to notice by us.
My only personal observation on this subject took place between Boney Girl and Xena. Xena had always bullied Boney and most days made it clear that she was the alpha female. After Boney nearly died and her last 100 days, Xena behaved differently. Xena no longer asserted herself. She allowed Boney freedoms that she would've never allowed before. Xena even seemed a little sad after Boney's passing which was a little unexpected given their history. I sure wish they were close friends while they were with me, but knowing they are now great friends in heaven does bring me some comfort. (sorry for getting off subject)

 

[arouetta]

Cats are never off the topic.

 

[maggie101]

I believe this to be true. Cats communicate a lot with scent that goes unnoticed or slow to notice by us.
My only personal observation on this subject took place between Boney Girl and Xena. Xena had always bullied Boney and most days made it clear that she was the alpha female. After Boney nearly died and her last 100 days, Xena behaved differently. Xena no longer asserted herself. She allowed Boney freedoms that she would've never allowed before. Xena even seemed a little sad after Boney's passing which was a little unexpected given their history. I sure wish they were close friends while they were with me, but knowing they are now great friends in heaven does bring me some comfort. (sorry for getting off subject)

My Josie is very ill. I have not noticed behavior change though her and Peaches are vey close. I am worried what will happen when Josie's gone. Will Peaches hide in a corner or become Maggie's new friend. I am guessing Coco will be her new companion and she still will not like Maggie. They do not get along because Maggie wants to play with Peaches but she doesn't

 

[MeganLLB]

I brought home a new cat once that looked okay at the breeders but once I brought it home, it was lethargic and was having respiratory problems and had drainage from its eyes and nose. I just left it in the carrier and Luna stared at it and hissed and growled. She is never like that with other cats. Even with new cats. She was always curious and playful with new cats, but not this cat. She avoided it like the plague and just hissed and growled. I think she knew that it was sick. I took it to the vet, he wrote me a note and I returned it to the breeder and got my money back. Luna was never like that with any other cat.

 

[arouetta]

My Josie is very ill. I have not noticed behavior change though her and Peaches are vey close. I am worried what will happen when Josie's gone. Will Peaches hide in a corner or become Maggie's new friend. I am guessing Coco will be her new companion and she still will not like Maggie. They do not get along because Maggie wants to play with Peaches but she doesn't

What I wasn't prepared for when Shadow died were the other cats' grief. Montressor practically worshiped the ground Shadow walked on but his only obvious symptom of grief is being more clingy. Midway would aggravate Shadow for the fun of it but knew she was boss and they would mostly ignore each other. Shortly before her death the two of them really got into it at 5am, serious fight. Yet Midway was the one to fall apart after her death. He entered a pretty bad depression and it took a LOT of extra attention to pull him out of it.

 

[kittycatgirlowens]

my cat bobby is a tuxedo this is not the picture of him he is a bobtail very cute

 

[maggie101]

What I wasn't prepared for when Shadow died were the other cats' grief. Montressor practically worshiped the ground Shadow walked on but his only obvious symptom of grief is being more clingy. Midway would aggravate Shadow for the fun of it but knew she was boss and they would mostly ignore each other. Shortly before her death the two of them really got into it at 5am, serious fight. Yet Midway was the one to fall apart after her death. He entered a pretty bad depression and it took a LOT of extra attention to pull him out of it.

Luckily I have Coco so she will hopefully become Peaches new companion. Peaches worships the ground Josie walks on. She does not get along with Maggie