I'm Lost!! Mental illness in Cats?

[wvcatguy]

About 5 yrs ago, I found a tortoise shell cat on top of a phone pole. It was in the middle of a storm. Fortunately, she came or fell down & was in a bush I could reach. She was soaked but immediately came to me. I have other cats & she never blended in with them. One cat chased her constantly but the others ignored her. For awhile the 2 cats played a bit but at some point she stopped playing & just hid from the other cat. She was always fine alone with me & eventually, the other cat stopped chasing her.

The problem is she never seems relaxed. The other cats ignore her but she still hides a lot. Hides under the couch, under the bed. Sometimes she seems completely normal & sits out with everyone but then she starts to hide again. She hides & won't come out to eat. It's like she has no will to fight to survive.

The current situation is she sits in a kitchen window all day. She barely sleeps. She will eat peacefully with everyone but then get back in the window. For awhile, she sat in the litter a lot. I try to take her to bed with me & she dozes off briefly. Her eyes don't completely close & she shakes. Then she wakes up & heads to the window. I'm not sure what to do. Her behavior is so strange.

The cat has always seemed miserable. She's only been at peace when she's hiding under the covers when I'm sleeping. Any ideas?

 

[alysondunn]

About 5 yrs ago, I found a tortoise shell cat on top of a phone pole. It was in the middle of a storm. Fortunately, she came or fell down & was in a bush I could reach. She was soaked but immediately came to me. I have other cats & she never blended in with them. One cat chased her constantly but the others ignored her. For awhile the 2 cats played a bit but at some point she stopped playing & just hid from the other cat. She was always fine alone with me & eventually, the other cat stopped chasing her.

The problem is she never seems relaxed. The other cats ignore her but she still hides a lot. Hides under the couch, under the bed. Sometimes she seems completely normal & sits out with everyone but then she starts to hide again. She hides & won't come out to eat. It's like she has no will to fight to survive.

The current situation is she sits in a kitchen window all day. She barely sleeps. She will eat peacefully with everyone but then get back in the window. For awhile, she sat in the litter a lot. I try to take her to bed with me & she dozes off briefly. Her eyes don't completely close & she shakes. Then she wakes up & heads to the window. I'm not sure what to do. Her behavior is so strange.

The cat has always seemed miserable. She's only been at peace when she's hiding under the covers when I'm sleeping. Any ideas?

Hi. Have you taken her to vet to rule out physical illness? She can be put on Prozac. Talk to your vet. Too many cats can be the problem, along w other noises. Provide food in her hiding spot. Try feliway too.

 

[mikiandnino]

My cat was going out when she was very little. Somebody or something made her totally scared. She came home after 1 day and she never was the same again. She is running and hiding from every person that is not us. My friends most come many times in our house that she will stop being scared...I tried all possible tricks and advices that i found or got. Nothing helped. :-(

 

[shadowsrescue]

When you brought her into your home, did you do any cat to cat introductions or did you just plop her down and hope for the best?  Cats need time to get to know each other especially because of territory.  She has found her "safe spots" and her "territory".  Yet it seems she never learned how to interact with the other cats.  I hope that they coexist even if they are not buddies.  My guess is that since she really doesn't know the other cats well, she is afraid of them.  It makes her nervous as the rest of the house is not her territory and she may not understand "shared" territory. 

A vet check is a really good idea.  When was the last time she was there for a check up?  Before trying Prozac, you might look into Composure liquid max.  It is a non sedating calming supplement for dogs and cats.  You can mix it into wet food 2x a day.  It might help her to feel a bit more calm.

Do you ever play with her?  Play therapy is a great way to boost confidence in a cat.  The theory, hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep is a great place to start.  You can use a wand toy that will get her moving.  You might need to start slowly with even a shoe lace.  Laser pointers are great too as you can keep the laser close to your body and it won't scare her too much.  Allow her to run and play.  You will need to start slowly and work up the amount of time.  The key is to allow her to experience hunting, catching and killing a toy.  Next you want to offer her a small special meal or snack to satisfy the eat.  Next she will groom herself and take a nap.

You can try the play sessions numerous times each day.

Thank you for rescuing her and taking the time to better her life.

 

[tammyp]

Yes - what ShadowsRescue said!

And I highly highly recommend a good read of this blog: http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/

The writer has so much experience with so many rescued cats, and it all comes out in her posts and stories.  She talks about cats with traumatic pasts, and how these affect their views now, and how we can help them overcome past experiences and assist them to even beyond their potential.  I have read ALL her posts (there are several years), and they have taught me so much about cat psyche and how we can help any cat feel more secure, and increase and overcome (to  whatever degree possible, but always some improvement) brain/mental limitations.

From my reading of this blog, I don't think your situation is an extreme case in difficulty (yay!).  I think you will find it tremendously helpful and rewarding...

 

[wvcatguy]

My cat's name is Missy. I know I tried to ease her in slowly when I first got her. Initially, Missy seemed happy & played with one other cat. She was actually the aggressor. At some point she started to withdraw. Usually she never stays still long enough to play with. Then again, she goes through periods where she lays relaxed out like the other cats.

Right now she seems almost afraid to sleep. There are no cats anywhere near her & she just sits in the window all day. If I hold her, she relaxes for a bit & then fights like crazy to get loose & go back to the window.

Thanks for all the comments. I'll definitely visit the vet soon.

 

[juleska]

About 5 yrs ago, I found a tortoise shell cat on top of a phone pole. It was in the middle of a storm. Fortunately, she came or fell down & was in a bush I could reach. She was soaked but immediately came to me. I have other cats & she never blended in with them. One cat chased her constantly but the others ignored her. For awhile the 2 cats played a bit but at some point she stopped playing & just hid from the other cat. She was always fine alone with me & eventually, the other cat stopped chasing her.

The problem is she never seems relaxed. The other cats ignore her but she still hides a lot. Hides under the couch, under the bed. Sometimes she seems completely normal & sits out with everyone but then she starts to hide again. She hides & won't come out to eat. It's like she has no will to fight to survive.

The current situation is she sits in a kitchen window all day. She barely sleeps. She will eat peacefully with everyone but then get back in the window. For awhile, she sat in the litter a lot. I try to take her to bed with me & she dozes off briefly. Her eyes don't completely close & she shakes. Then she wakes up & heads to the window. I'm not sure what to do. Her behavior is so strange.

The cat has always seemed miserable. She's only been at peace when she's hiding under the covers when I'm sleeping. Any ideas?

I had a calico with very similar problems. She was on kitty prozac for about half her life, but she suffered from anxiety and it was never fully controlled. We found some balance and she was happy enough....but yes, cats can have chemical imbalances in the brain just like humans can. Truthfully every calico / torie I've ever had has been slightly "off" in some way. My mom and I have always joked that all their colors are mixed up because they're a little mixed up on the inside.

I'll write more later and elaborate on things we did to help Juliet adjust, maybe it will help. I know 5 years seems like a long time but Juliet took 7 years to start to feel at home in any one place.