Is my cat traumatized?

Yesterday we brought my cat Icarus home from the vet where we had left him while we were traveling for a week. He has a bad mite infection so he needed medicine daily and had to be dipped, so we left him in the care of the vet's office. Well, since hes been home, he hasn't been purring! He's been keeping to himself a lot and when we scratch his ears or rub his head which he normally enjoys, he does not purr! He always used to purr very very easily and it was very loud! Now, if he purrs at all, its very quiet. Can he be that upset over the vet?

It probably is a combination of being upset with you being gone, being at the vet, and most importantly, mite infections are very uncomfortable. How do his ears look now? Does he let you look at them? Sometimes they are difficult to get rid of and it is often very painful for them, their ears are very sensitive.

His ears are fine, but the mites were actually on his feet. We had noticed that he kept biting his feet and they were becoming very red and bloody. He also couldn't eat much because he was preoccupied with the itching, and since has become very thin and bony. We checked his ears and they are fine. The vet said it was a really rare type of mite. I feel really bad for him.

That is so sad! Well it sounds like all proper precautions were taken. How are his paws now? Are they dry, does he seem to be relived from itching? Something he would enjoy immensely if needed is putting fish oil on his paws to help the dryness. Another is chunk light tuna in water and feed him this every few days for the 2 weeks to 1 month or so, it will help his skin moisturize from the inside out. Hopefully it will also get him back into the eating game! Always tuna in water and not to much, even the small cans should be split in 2 feedings. I like to give Maia atleast 1-2 cans a month just to keep that sheen and of course she loves it!

Im so sorry to hear about your kittys mites and his personality change You have the mites under control and right now you just need to give him his time to adjust. Talk to him softly and gentle. Reassure him that everything is ok and he is home again.

Cats are very territorial and its not easy for them to go from one territoty to another. Some cats it affects more than others. Poor baby, keep giving him loves

Well, it's only been a day, I'd give him a couple more. I think he missed you, he was scared and unsure a the vet's, he was stressed because of that situation and the mite situation, and he's mad at you for leaving him at the vet's. You probably realize that animals do not like change. He just needs to realize that he's home, he's safe, and relax. It could take a few days for him to get comfortable again.

When I came home to visit after being away at college longer than I ever had been away from home before, my dog Lady was p***ed at me! She made it a point to ignore me for several hours until she decided she had "punished me" enough and jumped on me happily. I swear, nothing is more surreal than your dog being spiteful and actively ignoring you. (She was happy to see my mother, who had picked me up.)

Also, Loki, my kitty, had only been with me for 10 days when we moved. My Mom, sister, and stepniece were helping me move into the actual apartment. I was riding in the van with my Mom, and had my sister and niece take Loki since they were taking a car. There was a really bad ice storm, and my Mom and I stupidly decided to try to make another trip (2 hours away) to get some more of my stuff, leaving my sister and niece at my apartment with Loki. Several hours later we made it back to my apartment alive, and Loki was not happy to see me! My niece was asleep, and so my sister, Mom, and I and were talking in the bedroom, and Loki was in there with us. He kept ignoring me and was acting cold toward me, and I thought he was going to hate me forever! When my sister got up to go to bed in the living room, Loki reached out quickly and grabbed her arm. It was very sweet, but I was a little freaked out because I was worried that all of a sudden he got attached to my sister (literally!) and liked her more! After everybody left and it was just me and Loki, it still took him time to warm back up to me, but after awhile he was fine. And it turned out he loves his Mommy more than his Aunt!

If your kitty still isn't back to normal in a week, perhaps, I'd call your vet and ask him for some tips, but don't just hop in the car with your kitty and go there! Just call first, and see if it's necessary to go in. You don't want to upset your kitty-cat more! Good luck!

Tricia

Icarus's feet are looking a lot better and he is starting to purr again and get back to his crzy self. Thanks for everyone's input, and I hope he does not have to go through that again!

Oh thats good to hear. Stick around, everyone around here loves our cats and its a good place to learn and share things with others too!

Paws up to happy feet!