Cats may suffer feelings of melancholy or despair for a variety of reasons, such as an accident, illness, or the passing away of a member of the cat’s family to whom the cat had a strong emotional connection. If your cat has become shy or reticent after previously being outgoing and sociable, you must keep a close check on him or her. It is common for cat owners to be unaware when their cat is experiencing negative emotions; thus, it is essential to monitor your feline companion closely if you see any changes in their behavior. Find out more about the main circumstances that may contribute to depression in cats, the signs that you should keep an eye out for, and the best method to treat the disease by doing some further research.
Symptoms of a Cat Who Is Depressed
One picture is said to be worth a thousand words, according to an old proverb. Your cat continues to have the same outward look. You must keep an eye out for these signs that might mean your cat is suffering from depression.
Spraying or alterations in toilet routines: Your cat may be meowing more or less often than usual. These are audible indications that your cat may be going through some kind of difficulty. In most cases, the unpleasant noises emanating from the animal take the shape of low-pitched yowls. It is not always the case that purring signals that the cat is pleased; on the contrary, melancholy cats may purr more frequently to soothe themselves when they are feeling down. It is possible for other cats who are often pretty loud to become extremely quiet, and it is also possible for cats that are ordinarily very quiet to become quite loud.
Body language: Your cat’s eyes, ears, hair, and body may all be positioned in a variety of ways that might give you clues as to whether or not she is unhappy. How your cat carries themselves might sometimes provide you with a clue as to whether or not they are content. The ears being pushed back, the tail being tucked in, the fur standing on the end, and other bodily signs are all sorts of nonverbal communication that may be used to determine whether or not your cat is distressed.
Hostility or fear: Cats that are depressed have a higher inclination to display more reactive behaviors, such as acting out with anger or fear. This is because depression makes them more likely to act out. If you notice changes in your cat’s behavior, such as increasing shyness or antagonism that is out of the ordinary, your cat is probably suffering from depression.
Clinginess, a tendency to hide or conceal information, and an increase in introversion are all possible side effects of personality changes. When a cat is melancholy, he can lose interest in the things that he formerly found amusing and also for him to hide. When a cat is sad, it may become possessive or demanding, and its innate skepticism of new humans, which is something that seems to be shared by all cats, may become accentuated. Clinginess and demanding behavior are also frequent signs of feline distress.
Cats have a predisposition to sleep a lot, but when they are stressed or sad, they sleep far more than they do daily. Alterations made to the familiar surroundings of a favored slumbering posture are another possible sign of sadness.
A lack of sufficient personal hygiene or rapid shifts in one’s hygiene routine might be signs of unhappiness as well as disease. When cats are not feeling well or are sad, they may stop grooming themselves, which causes their coats to seem rather messy. This might be a sign that something is wrong.
Whether your cat has suddenly lost its appetite or stopped eating altogether, it is probably unhappy about something. You can tell if your cat is distressed by a change in its behavior. Whether or not your cat continues to eat is a good indicator of how it is feeling. Depressed cats are more likely to turn their noses up at things that they had previously enjoyed, and they may even lose interest in the treats that they normally gravitate toward.
Spraying or modifications in bathroom routines: A sad cat may attempt to cheer themselves up by urinating in inappropriate places or spraying their scent to make themselves feel better. Anxiety, hopelessness, and sadness are three of the most prevalent emotions that might cause a cat to pee outside of the litter box, although this behavior can be caused by a wide variety of factors. Your cat may urinate at strategic locations such as lookouts, your bedroom, or other areas where the odor of a deceased animal or a person who has gone missing still lingers to further disperse their smell. Your cat may be looking for a means to get in touch with the person or animal that has gone missing, and this is why it is acting strangely. If you find that your cat is defecating outside of the litter box, this is another warning sign that needs to be addressed immediately.
Clawing excessively: If your cat is sad or depressed, it may start scratching objects more than usual to reduce stress and establish its territory. This behavior is known as excessive clawing. The term for this kind of activity is “excessive scratching.”
Causes of Cat Depression
There is a wide variety of factors that might precipitate depression in a cat. Cats are capable of feeling sorrow. They are capable of experiencing grief when the dynamics of a connection are severed, which is regardless of why you should make sure to spend more time with it and pay extra attention to it until its level of satisfaction increases. They form attachments with both human and non-human members of the family and are capable of experiencing grief when these connections are severed. If you notice that your cat is experiencing any kind of pain, you need to get them to the veterinarian as quickly as possible.
Sickness and Illness
If your cat gets an illness that is caused by another organism, it is possible that it will not feel well and might be in discomfort. If the cat is experiencing discomfort as it is moving about, it is likely not going to be as energetic as it usually is. As a consequence of the illness, the cat may feel nausea, lose its desire to eat, suffer from an imbalance in its hormones, or have little energy. Additionally, the cat may suffer from an imbalance in its hormones. Significant health concerns such as fatty liver disease, FIV, FeLV, upper respiratory illnesses, diabetes, hypothyroidism, dental disease, and others might have a detrimental influence on the amount of pleasure that your cat gets out of life. If you suspect that your cat’s depression is because it is sick, you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible to schedule an appointment so that the cat may be examined.
Injury and Pain
Because of its injuries, your cat could no longer be able to take part in the activities in which it used to take great joy in the past. After sustaining an injury, your cat is probably not going to be as happy as it typically is since the accident probably caused it some amount of discomfort. You must ensure that you adhere to the recommendations regarding pain medication that your veterinarian has provided you with. Make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible if you notice that your cat seems to be in discomfort. Even if your cat has already had surgery or been wounded in the past, it is possible that it will continue to be in pain or discomfort and that it will need continuing care for its condition.
Death of Loved One
When a member of the family dies away, a sad moment is experienced by everybody, and your cat is not an exception to this rule. If another member of your home, whether human or animal, dies away or moves out, your cat may suffer sadness and become melancholy as a result. This is often only a fleeting inclination, and after some time has passed, your cat will finally return to his or her normal personality. If your cat is feeling unhappy as a result of the loss of another cat in the family, introducing a new feline buddy may be beneficial to its mental health (or it may not). Before taking on another roommate so soon after the last one, be sure to take the necessary measures. There are a few natural treatments, including pheromones and nutritional supplements, that might assist your cat in adjusting to new members of the family while you wait for time to be the most effective treatment. Nevertheless, time is almost always the most effective treatment for significant changes in the family.
