Depressed cat?

[opiecat]

Hello, everyone. I am looking for advice on my cat, Baby. I apologize if this ends up being long, but greatly appreciate any advice.

A little background information: I have 2 cats-Baby (female) is 6, and Opie (male) is 3. I live in a house with my boyfriend, and both cats stay indoors only. I sometimes take them outside on a leash, but I always hold on to one end-I never leave them unattended. 

I adopted Baby when she was 10 months old. She was a "police department surrender," and lived at the shelter for about 3 months. The shelter informed me that she was found as a stray, and her original family was notified that she was at the shelter, but did not want her back. At the time of her adoption, I was in college and living with my mom, who also had a cat. Baby adjusted well to her new home and her new friend. When I moved out of my mom's home about 4 years ago, I brought Baby with, and adopted Opie so that she would have a friend. She adjusted very well to Opie, as well.

Baby's behavior has always been a concern. I feel as though she is a very depressed cat, and longs to be outdoors, since she did spend most of the first 6 months of her life outdoors. She is not very affectionate, hates to be picked up, does not snuggle, etc. Twice in the past 4 years, she has "freaked out," as I call it. Both times, I came up behind her and picked her up (I thought she knew I was there), and she just went crazy. She made a horrible screeching sound, and scratched my hands up so badly that I had to seek medical attention.

Recently, she has begun sleeping in the basement almost all day and night. I rarely see her anymore. She is eating and using her litter box as normal. When I visit her in the basement and pet her, she does purr. Today I brought her upstairs so that I could take her outside, and hopefully brighten her mood a bit. She was SO excited when I took the leash out of the closet. However, when I took her outside, she was fixated with the smell of a bush we have out front. I think another animal may have marked it. She was growling, and when I tried to get her attention, she growled and hissed at me. My heart was pounding as I was trying to figure out how I was going to get her inside the house without getting hurt. I was seriously worried that she was going to attack me.

She is so moody and unpredictable. I love her, and want her to be happy. However, I have to think about myself and my family. I would like to have children someday-hopefully in the next 5 years. I would not feel safe having Baby around small children. I just don't know what to do with her. Her behavior seems to be getting worse throughout the years, and I do not trust her. I don't think her behavior can be "fixed," either. I would never put her down, or surrender her to a shelter. I have asked a few relatives if they would like to take her in, but no one wants her. 

Any suggestions??? 

 

[aeevr]

Are u certain your cat doesn't have any hearing or seeing problems?

The way u describe her getting scared when u start petting her/trying to pick her up from behind makes me think that. 

There was a recent episode of "My cat from hell" where the cat had the same (or very similar) issue.

 

[opiecat]

I don't think she has hearing or vision problems...If I call out "nummies" she comes running from any corner of the house. When I took her outside the other day, she spotted a cat from a few yards over. 

 

[otto]

First, take Baby to the vet for a complete check up, including blood work and urinalysis. There's a good possibility that Baby is sick. Make sure to request thyroid testing, with the blood work.

My next thought is to provide a cat safe outdoor enclosure so she can go out when she wants. This can be as simple or as fancy as you like.

Consider her diet. What are you feeding her? If she is eating something that her body has an intolerance or sensitivity to, she could be feeling like crud all the time. A diet change may be all that is needed.

Many cats don't like to be picked up or held. I have a big scratch down the back of my hand onto my wrist right now, because I dared to pick Queen Eva up when she did not want to be picked up. Some cats do like to spend a lot of time alone, too.

It's possible she was abused in her early months, she may even have some chronic pain somewhere. A friend had a rescue cat for years who always seemed a little "off". It wasn't until she had an x ray for a possible intestinal blockage when she was about 15 that they discovered she had a bb in the muscle of her flank. Someone had shot her in her early life, and all those years, she was walking around with that pain, and no one ever knew, until she was 15 years old.

My feeling is she is either sick, or needs a diet change.

Welcome to TCS. Please keep us posted.

 

[opiecat]

Thank you for the response.

I think a visit to the vet seems like a good idea.