cat suddenly acting different

[caitlin448]

I returned yesterday after being out of town for two days and my very sweet loving cat is scared of everything! She keeps hiding under the bed, coming out for pieces of time to cuddle then getting scared and hiding again. She is very jumpy, staring at the front door, the slightest noise makes her hide. Just a few minutes ago she was walking towards me in the laundry room and suddenly jumped sideways like something touched her but nothing was there. It's like she's hyper scared. Normally she is all over me, follows me everywhere, meows and cuddles a lot. I'm concerned that this started after I was gone for two days. I can't figure out what could have happened to frighten her so much. I've gone out of town before and she was fine. She is 4 years old. Any ideas? Thank you in advance!

 

[otto]

Who was taking care of her while you were gone? This sounds like she is in pain. It's possible she injured herself in someway, or swallowed something that is causing internal trouble, such as a blockage. I'd bring her to the vet.

 

[caitlin448]

No one was seeing her. When I leave for only two days I usually just leave extra food and water. She already was afraid of people knocking on the door, she would growl and hide. That is because she was traumatized as a kitten. But this behavior is new, she is anxious. She's eating and drinking normally. Do cats get scared for no reason?

 

[otto]

Anything could have happened while you were gone to frighten her, a loud noise, someone banging on the door, seeing something out a window. Do you live in an apartment with shared walls, floor or ceiling?

Glad she is eating and drinking. How about the litter box?

Have you held her and felt her all over to check for any sensitive spots?

PS welcome to TCS, by the way.

 

[caitlin448]

Yes I've held her a lot trying to comfort her. She feels normal. I live in an apartment on the middle floor. It's concerning that she is this upset. She has lived here over a year and is used to the sounds of people walking up and down stairs and in the apartments above and below. She is most afraid of the front door, she stares at it a lot now. Another thing, today she was on the bed and kept pawing at something that wasn't there. She'd stick her paw out to touch it and then was confused when she didn't feel anything. It was really weird. When I came back from my trip her nose was bright pink and she looked haggard in the eyes but was normal looking after a while. Litter box is normal too.