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I have a beautiful 2year old solid black Bombay who's behavior has dramatically changed in 6months. For some strange reason she has been ripping her fur out of her back in massive chunks, she's extremely twitchy (to the point where she wont let anyone or anything touch her in that area), she's become extremely aggressive and agitated, she's urinating on EVERYTHING!!! (anything from fresh laundry, tops of her litter boxes, my appliances, house hold electronics and most recently my food!) and then to top it all off she has blood in her stool. I've been going to the vet over this issue for the past 6months with no improvement. they're one of the best vets in our area and they also dont know what is wrong. they say she's extremely stressed but over all she's healthy from what they can see. they tested her stool sample and nothing came up to indicate a reason for the blood in her stool. they say the twitching and peeing is due to stress so we have her on Amitriptylin (an antidepressant) and some antibiotic's for the bleeding. I've even bought feliway in hopes to balance out her hormones via scent and added an additional 3 litter boxes on top of the three we already have! she's still eats normal and hasn't really lost weight... but she's become paranoid and skittish towards everything. An since I've been forcing the Amitriptylin down her throat (because she taste it in her food if mixed) she has in turn become fearful and hateful toward me!! Please please please someone tell me what might be wrong. I'm at my wits end and its breaking my heart. I dont want to get rid of her but the peeing and temper is too much to bear. my kids dont even go near her anymore.
Sorry....I have no idea. But you would get rid of a cat because she is sick?
If the vets say she is extremely stressed...then you would have to find the source of her stress. Maybe, it is the kids themselves. Or...what has changed in your household? Furniture, rugs, lifestyles?
I would keep her confined to one room...make her comfortable and let her feel safe. Then slowly open up her world to her again. Confined, she may start using the litterbox again. Be sure to spend some quality time with her...not just isolate her...and maybe leave a well worn t-shirt of yours with her when you can't be with her...the scent will help to calm her.
Last edited by ShelbyGirl1; 06-22-2010 at 02:05 PM..
I agree with Shelby. Something must have triggered your cat within the last six months in order for this behavior to manifest. Think. Really think....because sometimes what humans wouldn't consider to be stressful IS to a feline. Behavior as you described just doesn't happen out of the blue for no reason.
I too, think it is a really good idea if you begin all over with your cat, by putting her in a small room with food, water, and a kitty litter and spend as much time with her as you can. I think at this time, your children wouldn't be a good idea to interact with her. Play soft music to soothe her and play with her.
Possible triggers for cats: relationship changes, furniture changes, litter changes, routine changes, job schedule changes, a new addition to the family, new/ different cleaning solutions/laundry detergents that your cat may be allergic to, SOME CHANGE. If you can figure out the source of the behavioral change, you will find a solution for the problem.
I'll echo Shelby and GOE's suggestion to confine her to a smaller space, it will hopefully make her feel safer and less stressed!
I'm also thinking maybe she's allergic to something either in the house or in her food...ripping out chunks of fur could be from stress, but it could also be that she's itching and uncomfortable. Any signs of this being the case? It would also make sense concerning the other behavioral issues...when cats don't feel well, they often act out to "tell" us something's wrong, and pee is a surefire way for them to get their Human's attention. If there are any good pet allergists in your area, that's where I'd start... Many people feed their cats commercial foods that say "Complete & Balanced" nutrition, but this is far from the truth in most cases...they're filled with grains and by-products and other things cats can't digest, and things might seem fine for a long time and then suddenly go downhill fast...if your kitty's eating a food (especially if it's dry) that has these things in the mix, that could very well be the culprit! At any rate, good luck and I hope you are able to resolve this quickly and restore some harmony in your home!
Have you tried to give her a private quiet room with toys, food, water and a litter - going in to visit, maybe some soft music, anything is worth a try in your situation.
Has she had an entire blood chemistry test done? If not, I would suggest it, as well as really thinking about what might have changed in the house. Any little thing can stress a cat out. I had a cat get stressed out one time, because we started using our basement (finished) for our computer room. We moved the computers and desks downstairs and she tweaked for months afterwards.
All excellent suggestions, and I agree with all of them. I'll add that there may be multiple causes. It might be both stress and allergies or a combination of other factors. It could be exposure to some kind of environmental toxin. Those can hide in the most obscure places: carpet, curtains, cleaning products, etc. What about toys? Treats? Blood in the stool but with negative tests. Test again. The first might have been a false negative.
I'd definitely follow the excellent suggestions posted so far. I'd also take her to a different veterinary for a second opinion. Perhaps even a veterinary school if one is not too far away. Sometimes the vet schools can offer new technology. I'd definitely get a second opinion.
I sure hope she improves, because she's definitely crying out for help.
Get a pill popper. Once I got the hang of it, I can pill my cat in one attempt. The stress level from being pilled subsided quickly. Reward with food afterward. If you have multiple pills, you can purchase empty gel caps at put 2 pills in one cap. That can reduce the stress for both of you by half.
Another option is to check with a compounding pharmacy to see if they can put the meds in meat flavored liquid. Some cats take liquid better, others take pills better.
Also make sure they've done a test for hyperthyroid. One cat went schizo quickly before the weight loss showed up.
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