Sad Kitty

[drbobcat]

Inky is a 9-month old black kitten who has been at my shelter for about four months now.  Initially, ashe was very kittenish--playing, playing, playing--but very affectionate.  About a month or so ago, she became despondent, forlorn, sleeping in her cage, coming out once in awhile to sit on top of the cat tree, walking around quietly.  First I thought she was just sad when one of her kitten friends was adopted, but now I think her personality has changed.  No one seems to be interested in relocating her (which we can do) or in re-fostering her.  She is frequently allowed out at night, free to wander around the shelter.  I suspect that she may be more active at night, but I have no evidence.  I've tried spending extra time with her, giving her treats and new toys, but no dice.  Maybe she's just turning into a quiet pussycat; I've seen that before in shelter cats, but I haven't seen one so despondent.  Any ideas?

 

[orientalslave]

She's at an age when kitten personality is being replace by adult, but she sounds depressed to me.  If she can be fostered in a home where she gets attention and games that would be great.  It is also worth a vet check in my view to make sure there is nothing clinically wrong.

 

[GoldyCat]

I'd say a visit to the vet is warranted. With that drastic of a change there could be some medical issue going on. I thought one of my cats was calming down because he was getting older. It turned out he was in pain because of horrible teeth and gum disease. As soon as he had all his teeth pulled he was back to bouncing off the walls. Okay, he's an aby, so I don't expect him to ever grow out of the kitten phase. But at least I'll know to look for something wrong if he does change again.

 

[finnlacey]

I agree. Depression is one of the biggest signals that something physical is going on. Cats cannot tell you when they're sick and they're very good at hiding it and can appear to physically be fine when in reality, something is going on. I think she should be checked by a vet to make sure. 

 

[minka]

Aw.. She needs a home!

 

[txcatmom]

It turned out he was in pain because of horrible teeth and gum disease.

This was the first thing that popped into my head...also because of experience.  A thorough vet check is definitely in order to rule out physical problems.  Bless her heart and yours for caring about her.

 

[drbobcat]

Nothing warrants a vet check for Inky.  She eats and poops well ( the gold standard!), interacts with people, and doesn't show any other signs of distress.  Other shelter volunteers and staff haven't found anything to fear.  A couple of other staff have commented that she seems ok, but I still have my doubts.  No question this cute girl needs a home, but so far nothing has come up.  She may just be mellowing out in her own way. 
 

 

[GoldyCat]

Nothing warrants a vet check for Inky.  She eats and poops well ( the gold standard!), interacts with people, and doesn't show any other signs of distress.  Other shelter volunteers and staff haven't found anything to fear.  A couple of other staff have commented that she seems ok, but I still have my doubts.  No question this cute girl needs a home, but so far nothing has come up.  She may just be mellowing out in her own way. 

 

Eating and pooping are not necessarily signs of good dental health. Merlin never stopped eating and the veterinary dental specialist couldn't believe it. He said Merlin's teeth were the worst he'd ever seen in a young cat in 25 years of doing cat dentistry. He now has new pictures to show examples of what resorptive lesions look like.

 

[minka]

Eating and pooping are not necessarily signs of good dental health. Merlin never stopped eating and the veterinary dental specialist couldn't believe it. He said Merlin's teeth were the worst he'd ever seen in a young cat in 25 years of doing cat dentistry. He now has new pictures to show examples of what resorptive lesions look like.

Exactly. ^This.