Screaming cat

Yesterday everything was fine, my cat was normal.. Then i came home from school, and went to bed. My neice and nephew were sleeping over since their sister is in the hospital. So when i was asleep i woke up because i heard the cat screaming. As if someone was hurting him. So i got up right away and i went to see what was happening to him. His cage (that just recently i put it for him as a bed) was outside of my room i the hallway, when it was in my room before. My nephew was pressed against the wall scared to move, and my mom was trying to talk to mini (the cat) but he just kept screaming and screaming. I don't like to see him like that. I don't know what is going on. We all went into my mothers room and the cat got out of the cage, and when i walked by him he jumped back and started screaming. Right now hes not screaming as much as he was yesterday.. but when i first came into my room (hes hidding under the bed, which my mom recently moved around the furniture yesterday because of bedbugs) he jumped back and screamed then ran under the bed.. but i sat here on my computer and a few minutes ago he came out and licked my arm.
Hes walking around as if hes stalking and he is sniffing everything. If he sees my nephew he gets crazy and starts screaming. It breaks my heart to hear him like that, and its worse because i don't know what is up.

I think that it's either because my mom moved his cage from my room, and also the furniture in my room, and the living room, which are all the places he likes to be in.. I guess he feels thrown off "wack".. but i dont understand why he even screams at me?

I'm taking a big guess here, but I think somehow your nephew hurt your cat. It might not have been intentional, but a cat doesn't start that behavior for no reason. If he is in pain, any little thing is going to set him off, even the people that he loves. My cat of 11 years had a gum problem and because he was in pain, he would run away from me and meowl when I tried to pet him. I don't think this has anything to do with moving the furniture - that was just a coincidence.

You need to keep a very close eye on him and get him to a vet if this behavior continues. If he allows you to touch him, run your hands over his entire body and very gently bend his legs, arms, etc. If he winces, you know he was injured in which case get him to a vet pronto. If he doesn't allow you to pet him, I would be equally concerned.

If your niece/nephew have never been with cats before, you need to spend some time with them educating them on how to interact with a cat. Kids don't always have a clue. And I wouldn't let them interact with them without your supervision for a while.

I hope he feels better!!

I think you should take him to the vet. He may be in pain.

Seconding or thirding the pain thing... But I really hope that's not the case and that he's just out of sorts because you've moved furniture a bit.

I wouldn't wait to take him to the vet... you say he's screeching less, but that could be because he's building up a tolerance to the pain or because he's slowly becoming shocky just as easily as it could be because whatever it is is getting better. How are his vitals? Is he alert, using the litter box regularly? Crouching a lot?

Please let us know how he's doing.

He says he didn't touch the cat. At first i was thinking the same thing.. like "What did you do to him?" because if he was screaming like that something must be up. He is allergic to cats so he said he didn't touch the cat at all. I don't think he is in pain though because he is walking fine and when he licked me he had stood over the chair.

He ate and everything but hes just hidding alot. He comes out occasionally but when he sees someone that doesnt live here he runs under the bed.
My neice was just close to him under the bed, and he didnt yell or anything. Hmm.. I'm scared to go touch him incase he bites me or something

cats can hide pain very well. You should really make a trip to the vet, have him examined. Better safe than sorry.

Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be that your nephew did anything to him. He could have just as easily taken a fall or something and injured himself that way.

I want to take him to the vet, but how do i take him.. The cage door is missing as well a some of the plastic screws that hold it down.

Is he not approaching you at all?

If you can catch him while he's in the cage, that would be great. (If he doesn't spend him in the cage, get him in there with food and water.) If you're really worried about him biting you, wrap him in a towel and wear gloves.

You can take a partner along and have them hold the kitty while you drive, too. It's not ideal compared to a pet carrier, but it's pretty important that he make this trip.

He has approached me, he climbed up on my seat and licked my arm, but at the moment he is under the bed. He just came out again and hes eating.

Run out to a pet store and buy one of those cheap cardboard carriers. if you have a cat you should always have a carrier to for when the cat needs to go in for his yearly cheakup and also for emergencies and other things.

Something is definately up with the cat and I would have him looked at asap.

Throw a big towel over him and wrap him that way long enough to get into the carrier. I have to say though, that I think he might just be freaked out by all the changes, and even if it's possible your nephew put his hand close up to be sniffed, that alone could have set the cat off if he felt trapped by the cage with new people closing in.

I gave him a sock filled with some catnip and he came out and he was happy.. I had locked the door incase someone came in and he started to panic. I touched him all around to see if he screamed or anything.. but nothing. It seems that he isnt hurt. My neice came in and he was playing with her too. But it's something about my nephew that he doesnt like. I opened the door and he saw my nephew walk by and immediately he hid under the bed and meowed.. I'm not sure what is going on. I keep asking my nephew if he did something to the cat, but he says he didnt.. I cant take him to the vet until monday because my husband wont be home till 4 and walk-ins are before 1. I have no transportation and the vet isnt opened on sunday. I really breaks my heart to hear him screaming like that, and i've never seen him like that ever. Thank you all very much for the support.

Originally Posted by Larke

I have to say though, that I think he might just be freaked out by all the changes, and even if it's possible your nephew put his hand close up to be sniffed, that alone could have set the cat off if he felt trapped by the cage with new people closing in.

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I think he did feel trapped. When he was in the cage screaming, he was surrounded by people who aren't always here. It just strikes me as odd that its only with my nephew. He also screamed when my neice was imitating the cat screaming and he screamed too. I'm not sure.

Can you ask your nephew to just stay far away from him for now (as long as possible) if only to keep the peace? Make it like he'll be doing a big favor rather than being 'punished'.

Your kitten is so beautiful! I'm so sorry to think of him frightened or in pain, or both. If you haven't already taken him to the vet, it's too late today, I guess... I surely hope he isn't seriously hurt.

Have you been able to examine him yet? Do it very gently, and be sure to brush his fur backward all around to reveal any small cuts or sores he might have. Try to look inside his mouth, too.

I know your nephew claims innocence, but few children would do otherwise. I think you should keep the kitty safely away from everyone, if you can. And if he's still crying tomorrow, it's time to consider the emergency vet.

i think your nephew is lying, just to cover himself up, they did something and feel guilty about it and they don't want to say anything to you, i had a close friend who has a cat, and one time his nephew, was horrid to the cat, after that they cat was always hissing at him and lunging at him and the nephew could never get any close to the cat, i would confront the nephew seriously and find out what is really going on. and about the vet thing, register with the vet first and then you can ask to borrow one of their carriers to transport the cat to the vet, you usually don't have to pay anything and you can return the carrier after you have done.

Does your kitty often meet with strangers? I would think that if he's most used to just his immediate family, then he was feeling frightened and territorial. My girls don't like strangers much because we don't often have people over, but they don't scream. Just WATCH, but they'll give a shriek with a well-time scratch if the stranger tries to pet her (mostly this is Willow).

Willow did scream at me once, and chase me to the corner of the room, the day she came back after a 3-day romp outside. She'd snuck out through a hole in a window screen, which we weren't aware of, and when she came back she tried to go through the hole again. I pulled her out (she was halfway through by the time I realized what she was doing), put her on the floor and shut the window, and that's when she started screaming and chasing me. She wasn't in pain, wasn't hurt, was just on a high from being outside (we also think a dog chased her up a tree, since she had sap all over her). Her mood was all out of wack for a few days, and it took a week for her to come back to normal.

I'm a little confused, do you keep him in a cage? Cats get pretty upset if they are confined.

I also think that there may be something wrong with the cat and I would make a vet trip asap (Monday) just to make sure the cat is not injured. It could be something internally that you cant see. Hope he'll be alright.