Why is he suddenly a mental case?

Mickey is my neutered, four year old cat. In his young life he has eaten a piece of foam and had 2 surgeries to find it, contracted a major infection (bartonella, or something similar) in which he nearly died and was on drugs and steroids for months, and last year he became blocked from UTI and had to be on a catheter for a couple days. He is down to 6 lives now.

He is indoor/outdoor, with an emphasis on indoor, but always loved summer when he can be out more. Something is now going on with him that is beginning to terrify me.

He hates being in. When he comes in, it's to eat, and then he hop/runs to a door, meowing to go out. He never used to meow much. When he runs to a door, he acts as though he can't stand to run on the floor, most of which is carpeted, some of which is wood. He will frantically jump on the table, or counter, or whatever gets him to the door quicker without having to walk on the floor.

He has fleas; I treated them all a couple weeks ago with Frontline Plus. We've used this many times, but I admit I was overdue in getting them treated. All 3 cats constantly dig at themselves as if I never applied anything, but Mickey seems to be worst. While he is in, he is constantly digging/washing. I'd be really concerned about over-grooming, but the other two are having just as bad a time.

Worst of all, he goes crazy if I bring him in at night. He always slept with me, but now he just crazy runs and hops and meows - waking us up, until I let him out. Or, he doesn't come in for the night at all. The weather is HOT, so maybe he's more comfy outside. But he can relax when he's outside - he's not frantically run/hopping out there.

I thought maybe this house is infested with fleas (carpets) and he's associated walking on it with being bitten. But the grass would be, too, right?

Nothing has changed with their food. He never liked Scaredy (formal feral, brought in last Oct.), but I can't imagine what she could have done to freak him out like this. Slowly during the past couple of months he has apparently also started doing his business outside - I rarely see him in or near a litter box.

I don't know if this is behavioral, or medical, or what I should do. This is SUCH a bad time financially (re: taking him to the vet for what is always an expensive diagnosis). Has anyone ever seen a cat suddenly exhibit any of these behaviors? Does anyone have any opinions on what could be going on here? I will take him for a checkup eventually, I'm just wondering if anyone has seen weirdness like this before? It's very upsetting...

Do you have a flea comb? Can you see if the cats still have fleas on them? Did you do anything to get rid of the fleas and eggs they would have left behind in the house?

I don't know what to say other than to ensure the cats don't have fleas, do whatever you can to rid the house of fleas (get a flea collar, cut it up, and drop it in your vacuum cleaner bag, and vacuum all the floors, carpets, and furniture). In fact - here's a thread with how-to-deal with fleas ideas: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=202546

...but as to the rest, I have no ideas. All I know is that when one of our cats exhibits a change in behavior, we take them to the vet.

Thanks for responding, LDG. I don't know for sure that this house is infested with fleas, but all 3 cats are digging a good bit. It is as if I never applied the Frontline two weeks ago.

I'm learning my lesson. I will be more diligent about treating them all monthly. I never heard of cutting up flea collars and using them to vacuum - that is brilliant. My vacuum is a bagless one - hopefully I can still use this trick?

I read your link, and there was a good bit of info on there, as well. I will work on this, even though I'm not convinced fleas are what is causing Mickey's mental problem. Obviously, something has happened to him while inside the house to make him this weird about coming in. If it was a flea problem, I think he'd be just as crazy outside, which he is not.

Thanks again for all the good info.

I have never experienced anything like this, as all my cats are strictly indoors 24/7. But maybe it could be something OUTSIDE? Even though he's an indoor/outdoor pet that's neutered, could he have kinda joined a group of feral/stray cats outside? I know that they are normally solitary animals, but I have heard of some cases where they all "join a gang" basically lol. I'd say maybe he has a girlfriend, but I think that situation only applies to some dogs.

I would radically go after these fleas- treat your house like it IS infested with fleas- even if you don't suspect it or don't have any evidence of it. And I would take him to the vet, just to make sure it isn't anything else (parasites, skin issues, etc.) Another thing- maybe try keeping him inside only for awhile? He may initially go even more loopy and nuts , but then maybe he'll think less and less of wanting to be outside and really start to appreciate his home more. No matter what you do, one thing that may make him want to stay inside would be to spend a LOT of time with him- petting, cuddling, playing, giving treats, whatever he tends to like (I know not all cats are cuddlers or treat eaters, everyone's different). That way he may figure out that when he's inside, he gets to be pampered and loved on like crazy. (also depends on how smart he is to put these things together- I know my cats would probably not be the smartest and figure it out )

I am sure there are other people on here that can give MUCH better advice/explanations than I can. But whatever it is, I hope that you get a lot more advice and answers/solutions to his issues, and that he comes out of this "weird spell" that he's in! Best of luck!

Thank you, mismaris. He's afraid of other cats from outside (of which I've only seen one of late), so I don't think he's joined them. It has occurred to me that he seems to be reverting to "outdoor cat" status, (stopped using litter boxes) even though he never was one.

At this very moment, he just came inside and ate a snack (it's 12:38 a.m.), and has hop/run through the living room into this computer room, and decided to go to the top of his cat tree. That's great - he wants to be up high, and that's a perfect place. He is also crying pitifully and looking outside - when I brought him in a little while ago, he was calm as ever sitting on our front sidewalk.

Again, maybe it's the heat of summer. We have had almost no thunderstorms this year, which normally would bring him running in. It's just heartbreaking that he seems to prefer the outdoors to being in, playing with Dusty, hanging out, sleeping beside me. I don't know if things will change when cooler weather arrives, or not.

You, too, gave some wonderful advice, and I will definitely take it under advisement. Sorry if I've been whining - I'm just really nervous about all this. Thank you for responding!

Originally Posted by threecatowner

Thank you, mismaris. He's afraid of other cats from outside (of which I've only seen one of late), so I don't think he's joined them. It has occurred to me that he seems to be reverting to "outdoor cat" status, (stopped using litter boxes) even though he never was one.

At this very moment, he just came inside and ate a snack (it's 12:38 a.m.), and has hop/run through the living room into this computer room, and decided to go to the top of his cat tree. That's great - he wants to be up high, and that's a perfect place. He is also crying pitifully and looking outside - when I brought him in a little while ago, he was calm as ever sitting on our front sidewalk.

Again, maybe it's the heat of summer. We have had almost no thunderstorms this year, which normally would bring him running in. It's just heartbreaking that he seems to prefer the outdoors to being in, playing with Dusty, hanging out, sleeping beside me. I don't know if things will change when cooler weather arrives, or not.

You, too, gave some wonderful advice, and I will definitely take it under advisement. Sorry if I've been whining - I'm just really nervous about all this. Thank you for responding!

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OMG- You're totally not whining hun, don't worry! You don't know whining until you've heard me get going . You're just looking for advice- I'd be doing the EXACT same thing! (Heck I call the vet in a total panic when one of them sneezes ONCE- now that's paranoia and whining all rolled into one!) You have a reason to ask- you're worried, and you want some help. Well ya came to the right place for that sweetie!

Maybe it is just the fact that it's just so dang hot. Do you have A/C? Maybe set a fan on the floor (I use a big box fan on the lowest setting) and they just love that. And make sure to do it on a hard floor. I put it in my guest bedroom that has wood floors. Just pick a spot in the house that you can easily get really cool, and set it up for him so that it can become
"his" cool spot.

Best of luck to you all! And stay cool in that crappy heat!