Deafness??

Hi all

I am new to the site and landed here while "googling" for answers about my cat.  

Savanna has been with us for 3 and a half years.  I got her at the local animal shelter when she was already grown, we suspected she was just over a year old.  In the beginning she was so, so shy and scared.  She would lie on her own away from us. But as she got used to us, her place is now right next to me, wherever I sit. Sadly she isn't one fur cuddles but loves attention and is very vocal.  We have a daily routine every morning of talking and petting and then I let her out. After a while she will come back and wants food.  My husband leaves for work just after 6am and then she will come cuddle up next to me on the bed.  

Sunday I took her to the vet for a shot.  She has some kind of allergy that causes her to  constantly lick and bite her stomach until there are barely any fur left on her tummy and the inside of her hind legs. She got her first depo medrol shot in June 2011 and it lasted for almost 3months.  In Sept she got a hormone shot but that lasted only about 2months. When I took her to the vet on Sunday he told me he preferred the hormone shot due to the side effects of the depo medrol but that we can alternate them.

Suddenly this morning I noticed a change in her behaviour.  She didn't join me on the bed and when I called her she didn't even look at me. Usually, when I make a soft, high pitched whistle sound, she will answer en come to me.  Today she doesn't respond at all.  She is very quiet. Although she is usually just lying around during the day, it's as if she is even more lethargic today.  But the fact that she doesn't respond to me calling and talking to her.  That is completely opposite of her usual behaviour.

What can be the reason?

When you took her to the vet on Sunday, did he give her a shot at that time, and if so, what did he give her? Perhaps she is having a reaction from that medication? I have had a cat get somewhat lethargic at first from a depo shot, and I've never had any of mine on hormones so can't tell you the adverse reaction to those. You will want to call your vet to ask about this. If nothing else, they can note in her records that she had a bad reaction so they don't give it to her again.

If she's feeling bad, she may be focused on herself and not her surroundings, thus the reason she is ignoring you. The fact that she is lethargic tells me that she doesn't feel well.

Another thought about treating allergies. They are maddening because it is often hard to isolate the allergen that is causing the problem. Because of this, vets often simply treat the symptoms without finding the cause. In your case, if the medication is making her ill, then you might want to pursue finding the allergen and removing that to avoid the medications. With cats, it is more often than not a food allergy and its usually the grains that they put in cat food. I know cats that are allergic to fish and chicken. You can always find foods without these ingredients and often you find out they are allergic to something by removing things one by one from their diets. Vets can run tests on allergies is you want to pursue it that way.

Momofmany

Yes,she got a depo medrol shot on Sunday.  

She is still not herself.  I did however notice that she does hear sounds in the environment, it's just as if she's ignoring it.  We have another cat and this morning when he was walking down the corridor, meowing all the way, she was with me in the room and I could see she heard him because she immediately went into "pounce mode" and the moment he entered the room she "attacked" him.  I put it in " because that's what they do almost daily as part of their play routine. She is still however ignoring my whistles or when I call her. She did "talk" a little more but it's as if everything is just to much effort. I will keep an eye on her today and if she isn't better by this afternoon I am going to call the vet and ask him about it.