PLEASE HELP!!!

Please help!!!
Our two and half year old female cat is normally the picture of perfection. She purrs, lays on our laps watching tv, and cuddles in bed all night long. Three nights ago she was investigating the plastic grocery bags we'd just brought home when she seemingly got the bag stuck on her leg and took off down the hall. My girlfriend checked on her only a few seconds later but the bag was already off. It was not wrapped around her neck or anywhere else. She immediately seemed different and ran in the closet. She then began growling loudly, hissing, and shrieking (very, very loudly). This persisted for several hours until I got home. When I did get home, she was doing the same and then began urinating and defecating all over the apartment while running around. She has never had problems going outside of her litter box before. Her behavior was so distressing to us that we felt we had to take her to the vet ER (it was one in the morning). It was traumatic for both she and I getting her in the carrier. After I finally got her out from behind the washing machine where she was hiding, I had to wear leather gloves and throw a towel over her to keep from getting hurt. Still, she bit me hard several times on the hands which she has NEVER done before. The vet ER said her physical exam was normal, did blood work/urine that was also normal, and kept her overnight. They gave her a pain med and anxiety med but she never calmed down. I picked her up the next day in the same state, but she then seemed fine in the carrier on the way home, letting me pet her and rubbing against my hand. When we entered the apartment the hissing and shrieking began again. The vet thought she was frightened from the bag incident (though I have doubts about this because it was such a minor event) and suggested putting her in a room by herself to calm down for a day or two. She's been locked in my office for over 24 hours with no change. When I just checked on her and gave her more water she growled, hissed multiple times, started shrieking and urinated all over my desk. I apologize for such a lengthy post, but I don't know what to do!!! She is normally an angel and I'm very distressed and worried about her!!! If anyone has any suggestions/thoughts please help.

She went through a VERY traumatic thing! It doesn't seem like much to you, but obviously it affected her very deeply. I would bet it will take days if not a week for her to get back to normal. Calming treats would really help if you can get them quickly, and since you know now she can be traumatized you might keep some on hand. The urinating and defecating will stop once she is calmer, all cats do that when they are extremely stressed. Bringing her back to the apartment reminded her again of her trauma. I agree to keep her confined to a small area until she calms down, talk calmly to her, tempt her with treats, and try to get her to trust you again, it sounds like she might be thinking you are the reason for her scare, so try to gain her trust back. Go slow and good luck! She WILL calm down, but she is an animal working on instinct, not a human that can be reasoned with.

Calming treats such as Composure can really help.  Most pet stores carry them.  You will want to double or triple the dose for the first few days.  Also a feliway plug in might help.  Give her extra attention by sitting calming with her in a room.  You might try playing some soft calming music.  Bring her a special treat or snack such as cooked plain chicken, tuna, salmon or a bit of Gerber stage 2 chicken/turkey baby food ( the kind with only chicken/turkey and water, no spices or salt).  You might try playing with her calmly or brushing her if she likes to be brushed.

Rescue Remedy can also be used.  You can put some in her wet food, water dish, spritz around the room or place a few drops on her fur.  She has been through something that really traumatized her.  She might not have realized it was a plastic bag and possibly thought she was being trapped or attacked. 

A room of her own may help to calm her down, but please visit her and talk quietly and calmly with her.  If your visits upset her, keep them short and come more frequently.  Let her know that her world is safe and you will help her.

I am so sorry to hear about how your kitty reacted to the grocery bag being caught on her leg. The grocery bag story you tell is a common one and many a kitty have gotten stuck in one and ran off with the bag attached to them. Obviously - your kitty is extremely traumatized over this event with the bag. They all react in different ways over such a happening and your girl sounds like she went to the extreme of anxiety and fear over what happened. She is confused and frightened, terribly so that she is having trouble moving past it. She may be, in her mind, trying to figure out what went wrong, if someone did the scary thing to her, etc. It is possible she may need more than the OTC calming products so this does not become a permanent fear in her head and her fear become habitual. IF this continues for another day or so - ask your vet about Elavil (Amitriptyline). It is NOT to be given lightly and a full discussion with your vet is in order but since this was such a sudden emotional breakdown then short term use of the drug may get her to calm down quickly so she can feel safe and happy once again. Give her extra, extra love and attention right and some of her favorite treats and/or foods may also help break through this fear barrier that she has built up.

As for the bags - she may always have a fear of those plastic bags in the future. So try not to make much noise with them for awhile when you get home from shopping OR just use paper bags.

keep us posted !!!

Try the rescue remedy which is safe but stay away from pharmaceuticals.  I agree with the paper bags instead of plastic.  Or use fabric bags that can be reused.  It's better on the environment as well.  In Hawaii they have banned the use of plastic bags and there is an island in the middle of the pacific made up of them that is choking our ocean.  Also check your own fear meter.  Cats react to the emotions of their humans and when you are emitting fear of their safety, they pick up on this.  Having to put gloves on and throw a towel over her I'm sure got your heart pounding fear and her response was to bite and fight you.  It may not be about the bag any more but the energy that you are giving off from your concern for her.  You should take some rescue remedy and relax.  Do 30 deep breaths and be calm when you approach her.  Don't try to touch her, just sit in the room with her and let her come to you.  She will.  She knows you and loves you but there is fear there that she is reacting to.  

You have received great advice, and I do agree, in her mind, she was likely being chased VERY close by a predator. . If the bag was around her leg, as she ran it was swishing and right on her just like a predator would be. She must have thought her life was over at that moment, and needs to recoop with some calming scents/rescue remedy, and a quiet, secluded room/space. 

Visit her often, but I would really just sit on the floor with her and talk to her. Soon the memory will fade.

I would definitely not expose her to the bags again as it may trigger her behavior a bit again.

It reminds me of one of my board members in my rescue group who cares for 4 feral regulars at her job.

She told me the story of how, one evening she was leaving and caught this incident with one of the ferals there, being cornered and then chased by 3 fox. This IS how fox will go after a cat despite their size, they plan it out, use 2 for cornering and then one to chase and pounce, then the others go help.

Anyway, she was able to intervene and the cat got away. Whew!

However, the cat was never the same, just changed, didn't trust her anymore, despite that she saved him, it didn't matter, he was never again the relaxed, at home acting, lounge lizard he had become at her work over the years. He is a hidey cat, even after 3 years to forget this tramatic experience.

I imagine this is similar to what she went through in a way, or at least in her mind, but not as bad, it was over with so quickly.

Poor little girl! Gosh that's sad, she will be okay though, just be patient, in her own time she will be back to her old self.

Good advice all the way around.  A friend of ours had something similar happen to her cat when he was young and just as feralvr said, he had a lifelong fear of plastic bags.