<p>My cat suddenly spiraled into what my vet sister called “grieving”. I do not know what triggered this - the death of the other cat two weeks ago (they did not seem to care about each other) or D’s departure to college (D loved this kitty and was the one who fed her), or the combination of the two. Anyway, the cat lost any interest towards eating, has not touched any food in two days, and became much, much more mellow, but otherwise looks fine (she still jumps on our bed at night and purrs as loudly as an engine). I had a phone consultation with my sister who told me to take my kitty to be checked out by her regular vet and may be get her on antidepressants. Sister also said that cats, unlike other animals, could starve themselves to death and recommended force feeding the cat with some soft food until we can get her checked out (the vet is closed for the holiday and it is not an emergency). I had no idea cats could do that! Apparently, sudden changes in cats’ environment can trigger this, and the condition can last for a while.
Has anyone here had a similar experience with pets? How did you handle it?</p>
<p>There are antidepressants for cats???</p>
<p>My cat refused to eat for two days when I went to a summer camp in high school. By the time my parents told me, the cat had started eating again without intervention.</p>
<p>BB - is the cat still drinking regularly? Dehydration is very dangerous for cats and sometimes we don’t notice how much they drink. If you are concerned about that, then get out the dropper and force hydrate or get some yummy wet food and spoon feed.</p>
<p>Is the cat starving or dehydrated ? You can verify this by checking the litter box. If the cat get go outside, maybe it’s hunting well.</p>
<p>The cat still drinks water, so she is not dehydrated. She is an indoors only cat. I spoon-fed her some baby food (made sure that there was no onion in it, since it can be toxic to cats). I would have left her alone, but she is overweight, and overweight cats need daily nutrition since they can quickly develop fatty liver disease (I think that’s what it is called) if allowed to starve. I bought her a new kitty cozy lined with soft fuzzy fleece, and she jumped right in. On the bright side, it keeps my mind off thinking how DD is doing.</p>
<p>I would say if she is still purring and being social (ie jumping on your bed), that’s a good sign. Many animals will start hiding when they are sick. Watch her do her business in the litter box. Is she urinating and defecating easily? She could have a UTI (both sexes of cats get these) if she is straining to eliminate waste.</p>
<p>My vets always said NOT to change a diet unless told to by a vet. Cats’ digestive systems function best on normality so adding a new food (even the most organic, high-priced canned food) may cause more problems.</p>
<p>Aw, poor kitty. Please keep us updated!</p>
<p>Thank you all for suggestions and support. I did checked her catbox, well, she is doing OK, but since she has not had any solid food in two days, there isn’t much #2 (sorry for the graphic details :)). This cat only eats dry food, and force-feeding her with her regular dry food was not an option. Baby food was accepted OK, and even licked off her whiskers. She is definitely not sick, just emotionally driven into this food refusing-state, which, according to my sister, happens in cats when their environment changes (loss of a close one is one of those changes).</p>
<p>Maybe give the cat another couple of days to adjust before medication ? You are a good cat mom !</p>
<p>We had a dog who went nuts everytime my Dad went out of time. It always seemed unfair to me since my Dad didn’t feed him or walk him. I think your cat could easily be missing your daughter and/or the other cat. BTW the NYT’s magazine had an article about treating animals emotional problems a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>I have had cats get depressed, mad and angry at “changes in their environment” If she understands the other cat died, then cat might assume the same about kid off to college. Try a phone called it worked for my cat. use the speaker phone on the cell phone. And you need to use drugs for the cat. I know we dont want our kids messing with drugs, but it time for some serious catnip. Get her a new toy with some very fresh catnip. It’s the same as relaxing with a bourbon for humans.</p>
<p>Ah, the tempermental cat. I have met a few. I cat-sat my in laws cat a couple of times, and that cat hated us. She hid for a couple of days, although she ate when I left the food out at night. My own previous cat got depressed when her fur was shaved for a procedure. The cat I have now is a very resiliant fellow, and I think that the male cat (neutered) is more easy going than the two females that I knew.</p>
<p>I tend to pamper the animals when they have gone through what might be an ordeal. I give food that I know they love - even if it is not necessarily the most healthy for them(not unhealthy food just not “pet” food). Cats love cooked fish and chicken. A little of it mixed with the regular food could encourage a cat to eat. Now I realize that I am unorthodox in my pet nutrition, because I do give table food to the dogs and cat on occasion, and I know the vet says no. My labrador retriever is over 15, and ate a bit of table food from time to time, but not a regular diet of it.</p>
<p>We lost a cat about 11 yrs ago …he was very close to our older cat. My husband got anoher cat ( felt a little guilty and responsible for the death )
Surviving kitty refused to come in the house ever again.
Re: kitty antidepressants…one of my cats is on them. Everyone laughs at me, but he was having some behavioral problems and we tried other avenues .
It has mellowed him out , but made him extremely attatched to me</p>
<p>Wow, I will try to put D on the speakerphone when she calls tonight (I hope she does). I thought my little sister was talking a bunch of baloney when she mentioned antidepressants for cats, but apparently they do exist and work! Thank you all!</p>
<p>Bunsenburner- sorry to hear about your cat.
Our dog is definitely depressed after the death of our other dog also about two weeks ago. He is subdued and is very interested in being inside the house. He has even taken to following me around from room to room on occasion. This is our dog who loves to hunt gophers and skunks. Still has his appetite. I had no idea about anti-depressants. I also had not thought about our dog being sad that my son has gone back to school. Our dog likes to sleep in my son’s room and has continued to do so even with son away. We jokingly call son’s room the dogs bedroom.</p>
<p>We have had the same experience with dogs. Always had two at a time and when the last one passed we decided to just keep one. The remaining dog had a bit of a hard time. He would pick a spot on his paw and irritate it by licking all the time. At one point the vet had him on an antidepressant. You can imagine the jokes among my friends when I told them my dog was on Prozac 
I ended up getting a crate and taking the dog to work with me when I can.<br>
That resolved the problem.</p>
<p>My mom takes care of our cats when we go out of town and they eat very little/nothing for her while we’re gone. Sometimes she doesn’t even see them and they are all indoor-only cats. I suspect your kitty is missing the person who normally feeds her. Since she’s acting loving, I’d just keep offering her food (and affection during feedings) for a couple of days. Like others have said - keep us posted on the progress.</p>
<p>Our elderly cat (actually D’s) is generally crazy. (seriously, she’s nuts and has been bulimic since kittenhood, with no ill effects to her health it seems). We expected some weird behavior after D’s departure a week ago, especially since we were on vacation and away for the week. Came home last night to positive reports from the pet-sitter, and a most affectionate, purring, loving creature. Totally alien behavior for Miss Crazy Cat, byt if this is grieving – and if it lasts! I’ll take it.</p>
<p>My brother’s cat was severely depressed last year at the death of my cat (they were very close) AND my brother leaving for college (they were also very close). He eventually got over it… but lost 2 pounds. We also recently got a dog, so that may have put some stress on him as well.</p>
<p>I’ve had animals grieve. My “college” cat went home to live with my parents, when the cat was 11, my father died. This poor kitty would rush to the front windows at 5:30 and wait for my father to come home from work. The rest of the time, she stayed curled up in his closet. This lasted about 3 months—the not eating part only lasted about 2 weeks. </p>
<p>Once when one of my dogs died, one of the remaining dogs who had been his “buddy” since puppyhood, refused to eat for about 10 days and spent 24 hours a day either on top of a small hill in front of our home howling or lying on her grave. These two displays of love and grief were some of the saddest things I have ever witnessed.</p>