Depressed Kitty??

[linkworshiper]

Maybe I'm overly worried, but I wanted to hear what the crowd thinks. I was surprised at feeding time today that one of my cats, Liam, didn't come running into the kitchen. He usually waits patiently for me to take his food out and put it in his bowl, which is right there. He's not a big eater and he kind of grazes, unlike my other chonkos who just inhale everything they see. Anyway, today, he barely moved a muscle when I took out the food. My fiancee thinks Liam is depressed because our newest kitty, Mr. Jenkins, seems to like picking on him. Conversely, I've found that putting Mr. Jenkins in a harness curbs that behavior, but then I wonder if HE gets depressed while wearing the harness. Maybe there's no problem at all and I'm overthinking it, but suggestions would be great.

A little more info that may or may not be useful. Liam is our youngest cat and has high energy when he plays, but he also likes a good nap. He loves to run around the apartment and climb things, which is why I have cat beds in some high locations. He seems to appreciate having those spots, especially if Mr. Jenkins is out. Liam also loves to hunt bugs and will socialize with two of our other cats pretty regularly. They even groom each other. Mr. Jenkins is very chill around humans and loves to follow us around, even with the harness on. But his curiosity vanishes when he's got it on and he usually just sleeps on the same chair until my fiance starts getting ready for bed. Then he follows her everywhere, harness or not. When I remove the harness for meal time, he does tons of big stretches that make me worry about exercise and mobility. (Though I will add that Mr. Jenkins has no problem running and jumping while wearing the harness.) So I just worry Mr Jenkins is sad when he has the harness on. Maybe everyone just needs more time until they're comfortable but I don't want any of the cats to think we have preferences. TIA.

 

[iPappy]

Hi! Do Liam and Mr. Jenkins have plenty of space between their food? If it continues I would have Liam get a check up at the vet just in case something else is going on. How long have you had Mr. Jenkins?

 

[linkworshiper]

Hi! Do Liam and Mr. Jenkins have plenty of space between their food? If it continues I would have Liam get a check up at the vet just in case something else is going on. How long have you had Mr. Jenkins?

Mr Jenkins usually eats in the bedroom with the door closed, which is why i remove his harness. Today I bought Liam a bowl similar to one of our other cats as he's expresses interest in it before. I'm hoping it was just a one off thing.

 

[linkworshiper]

Hi! Do Liam and Mr. Jenkins have plenty of space between their food? If it continues I would have Liam get a check up at the vet just in case something else is going on. How long have you had Mr. Jenkins?

Oh and also, Mr Jenkins has been with us for about ten months. We got him right when we moved into a larger apartment. We got Liam about a year and a half ago. He mixed in with our other cats without much trouble. Our old man cat picks on him but not in the way Mr Jenkins does. Mr Jenkins gets like... fixated. He was doing it with our other new cat, Rigatoni, who came home at the same time, but he cares less about him these days. Rigatoni had no issues mixing in with the resident cats. Part of the concern is that Mr Jenkins has FIV, which is fine so long as there's no biting and scratching, but alas....

 

[Meowmee]

I can't tell who you think is depressed? Liam or Mr.Jenkins?
Liam needs to get checked out if it keeps up because not eating is a sign something is wrong healthwise.

re the harness, maybe try a thunder coat. Quinn wore that for a while to help him calm down and minimize the jumping on Sybil etc. He didn’t like it when I put it on but he was totally gung ho after. Nothing would make him depressed practically, he’s got such high energy, just jumping and running all over the place etc. lol. The only thing that makes him a little depressed is if he thinks he’s not number one with me, and also if he can’t boss everybody around. Depressed is the wrong word because it makes him bad tempered, and pouty etc.

 

[linkworshiper]

I can't tell who you think is depressed? Liam or Mr.Jenkins?
Liam needs to get checked out if it keeps up because not eating is a sign something is wrong healthwise.

re the harness, maybe try a thunder coat. Quinn wore that for a while to help him calm down and minimize the jumping on Sybil etc. He didn’t like it when I put it on but he was totally gung ho after. Nothing would make him depressed practically, he’s got such high energy, just jumping and running all over the place etc. lol. The only thing that makes him a little depressed is if he thinks he’s not number one with me, and also if he can’t boss everybody around. Depressed is the wrong word because it makes him bad tempered, and pouty etc.

kind of both of them, but Liam has been playing with one of my other cats for the last hour or so. This usually happens when my fiancé goes to bed and takes Mr Jenkins with her, leaving all the other cats on dad watch while I stay up late. Liam also ate dinner so that was good. He’s much more slender than my other guys so he doesn’t eat as much.

hearing about your cat and thr harness makes me feel better because that’s pretty much the situation we have here. He’s not so much high energy but I think he has an attention complex. When thr harness is on, he usually just lays in one spot all day, but when it’s off, he explores…. And follows Liam.

 

[Meowmee]

kind of both of them, but Liam has been playing with one of my other cats for the last hour or so. This usually happens when my fiancé goes to bed and takes Mr Jenkins with her, leaving all the other cats on dad watch while I stay up late. Liam also ate dinner so that was good. He’s much more slender than my other guys so he doesn’t eat as much.

hearing about your cat and thr harness makes me feel better because that’s pretty much the situation we have here. He’s not so much high energy but I think he has an attention complex. When thr harness is on, he usually just lays in one spot all day, but when it’s off, he explores…. And follows Liam.

He probably just doesn’t like wearing the harness it could be that he’ll adjust. Or you can try the thunder coat maybe he’ll like that better. That’s good that Liam is eating again.

 

[Meowmee]

kind of both of them, but Liam has been playing with one of my other cats for the last hour or so. This usually happens when my fiancé goes to bed and takes Mr Jenkins with her, leaving all the other cats on dad watch while I stay up late. Liam also ate dinner so that was good. He’s much more slender than my other guys so he doesn’t eat as much.

hearing about your cat and thr harness makes me feel better because that’s pretty much the situation we have here. He’s not so much high energy but I think he has an attention complex. When thr harness is on, he usually just lays in one spot all day, but when it’s off, he explores…. And follows Liam.

He looks like my Zena. Quinn is a pb siamese and is very bossy and jealous/ protective of me etc.

 

[linkworshiper]

He probably just doesn’t like wearing the harness it could be that he’ll adjust. Or you can try the thunder coat maybe he’ll like that better. That’s good that Liam is eating again.

He’s gotten better at moving with it on. He adores my fiancé and will literally run after her wherever she goes, even with the harness. Did you get a thunder shirt for your cat? The harness I have is like a little vest that clips on his back.

 

[Meowmee]

Yes I got two thunder shirts for Quinn he outgrew the first one. He was a kitten and that was recommended to calm them he was so hyper active and dominant aggressive with my older cat Sybil. We tried medication too but that was the only thing that helped – the thunder coat… but it didn’t really stop the behavior completely.

If the harness works, and he doesn’t mind that I would just stick with that because the original thunder coat is pretty expensive.

 

[Alldara]

linkworshiper I noted you had a post from Sept 2022 about Mr. Jenkins and his anxiety.
Is he still on anxiety medication?

Since he's always been an anxious cat, you may need to consider that he needs long-term anxiety medication instead of short-term medication (like gabapentin). Here's a list of a few you can speak to your vet about. Types of Anxiety Medication for Cats | PetMD

 

[linkworshiper]

linkworshiper I noted you had a post from Sept 2022 about Mr. Jenkins and his anxiety.
Is he still on anxiety medication?

Since he's always been an anxious cat, you may need to consider that he needs long-term anxiety medication instead of short-term medication (like gabapentin). Here's a list of a few you can speak to your vet about. Types of Anxiety Medication for Cats | PetMD

Hi! No, he's not on gabapentin anymore. It's honestly just like... insanely expensive. I will definitely bring this list to the vet. Thank you!! I couldn't quite tell how much the gaba was helping. He was hard to pill and could tell when it was in his food. I'm currently giving him some calming stuff a friend suggested to me, but that's another thing I can't tell the effects of. It's just so strange because he is so calm and easygoing with humans.

 

[Alldara]

Hi! No, he's not on gabapentin anymore. It's honestly just like... insanely expensive. I will definitely bring this list to the vet. Thank you!! I couldn't quite tell how much the gaba was helping. He was hard to pill and could tell when it was in his food. I'm currently giving him some calming stuff a friend suggested to me, but that's another thing I can't tell the effects of. It's just so strange because he is so calm and easygoing with humans.

My anxiety cat was comfortable with humans too.

I think gabapentin is meant to be short term anyway.

Do you use any catnip or silvervine with him? I got some catnip with valerian root that's helpful for my current cat.