Is my cat depressed?

I have a four-year-old cat (Miss Kitty) who has had some serious
health problems for the past two weeks, and I'm getting desperate.
She started off vomiting and getting slightly listless. I took her to
the vet who found she was extremely constipated, completely impacted.
Two days of mineral oil and soft food produced no results, so he gave
her an enema. It cleaned her out quite effectively, but now she won't
eat, drink, play, purr, or clean herself. She still wags her tail
when we talk to her or pet her, but after a few minutes, she walks
away and hides in a corner, in a closet or under a bed. She seems to
want nothing to do with us, and although it sounds weird, it's as if
she's given up the will to live. The vet can find nothing physically
wrong with her and refuses to accept that it might be emotional.
She's at the vet's right now being rehydrated. Next, he wants to cut
her open ($600+) to see if there's any blockage in her intestine. No
evidence of this in any x-rays or blood tests. Leukemia and feline
AIDS tests are negative. I want to help her, but I don't want him to
cut her open. I believe she's had enough trauma for a while. My
question is this: Is it possible for a cat to become that withdrawn
(depressed?) because of the physical trials she has experienced
(constipation, vomiting, enema, barium, mineral oil forced down her
throat?) In the past, even when she wasn't feeling well, she still
ate, drank and purred. She's always been very obsessive about
cleaning herself, but now she shows no interest at all. It's been
several days since she ate and has had very little to drink. I don't
think she can last much longer and I'm at a loss. Any advice would be
welcome. Thanks.

in article , Terry at
wrote on 8/11/03 12:35 PM:

I have a four-year-old cat (Miss Kitty) who has had some serious
health problems for the past two weeks, and I'm getting desperate.
She started off vomiting and getting slightly listless. I took her to
the vet who found she was extremely constipated, completely impacted.
Two days of mineral oil and soft food produced no results, so he gave
her an enema. It cleaned her out quite effectively, but now she won't
eat, drink, play, purr, or clean herself. She still wags her tail
when we talk to her or pet her, but after a few minutes, she walks
away and hides in a corner, in a closet or under a bed. She seems to
want nothing to do with us, and although it sounds weird, it's as if
she's given up the will to live. The vet can find nothing physically
wrong with her and refuses to accept that it might be emotional.
She's at the vet's right now being rehydrated. Next, he wants to cut
her open ($600+) to see if there's any blockage in her intestine. No
evidence of this in any x-rays or blood tests. Leukemia and feline
AIDS tests are negative. I want to help her, but I don't want him to
cut her open. I believe she's had enough trauma for a while. My
question is this: Is it possible for a cat to become that withdrawn
(depressed?) because of the physical trials she has experienced
(constipation, vomiting, enema, barium, mineral oil forced down her
throat?) In the past, even when she wasn't feeling well, she still
ate, drank and purred. She's always been very obsessive about
cleaning herself, but now she shows no interest at all. It's been
several days since she ate and has had very little to drink. I don't
think she can last much longer and I'm at a loss. Any advice would be
welcome. Thanks.

Cats *can* become depressed, but I would sure suspect a physical problem
over that. If you want her to have a break, you could try some Feliway
(www.feliway.com) to see if it eases her stress. However, you *must* get her
to eat. Speak to your vet regarding this. Several days is much too long to
go without eating.

Karen

in article , Terry at
wrote on 8/11/03 12:35 PM:

I have a four-year-old cat (Miss Kitty) who has had some serious
health problems for the past two weeks, and I'm getting desperate.
She started off vomiting and getting slightly listless. I took her to
the vet who found she was extremely constipated, completely impacted.
Two days of mineral oil and soft food produced no results, so he gave
her an enema. It cleaned her out quite effectively, but now she won't
eat, drink, play, purr, or clean herself. She still wags her tail
when we talk to her or pet her, but after a few minutes, she walks
away and hides in a corner, in a closet or under a bed. She seems to
want nothing to do with us, and although it sounds weird, it's as if
she's given up the will to live. The vet can find nothing physically
wrong with her and refuses to accept that it might be emotional.
She's at the vet's right now being rehydrated. Next, he wants to cut
her open ($600+) to see if there's any blockage in her intestine. No
evidence of this in any x-rays or blood tests. Leukemia and feline
AIDS tests are negative. I want to help her, but I don't want him to
cut her open. I believe she's had enough trauma for a while. My
question is this: Is it possible for a cat to become that withdrawn
(depressed?) because of the physical trials she has experienced
(constipation, vomiting, enema, barium, mineral oil forced down her
throat?) In the past, even when she wasn't feeling well, she still
ate, drank and purred. She's always been very obsessive about
cleaning herself, but now she shows no interest at all. It's been
several days since she ate and has had very little to drink. I don't
think she can last much longer and I'm at a loss. Any advice would be
welcome. Thanks.

Cats *can* become depressed, but I would sure suspect a physical problem
over that. If you want her to have a break, you could try some Feliway
(www.feliway.com) to see if it eases her stress. However, you *must* get her
to eat. Speak to your vet regarding this. Several days is much too long to
go without eating.

Karen

Keep in touch with the vet.

Try some canned chicken meat. This is the only thing my cat would touch
after not eating for a few days when she was in mourning for her partner and
was running a high fever. Even after the antibiotic broke the fever, she
didn't have much appetite for a few more days. expect for the canned chicken
meat. I watched her like a hawk and kept in touch with the vet. Give a
little bit at a time as it will spoil if you let it set out.

Took allot of tries and then finally she came around. My vet and were in
touch on a daily basis till Kitty got her appetite back.

All is well now with her.

Linda

Keep in touch with the vet.

Try some canned chicken meat. This is the only thing my cat would touch
after not eating for a few days when she was in mourning for her partner and
was running a high fever. Even after the antibiotic broke the fever, she
didn't have much appetite for a few more days. expect for the canned chicken
meat. I watched her like a hawk and kept in touch with the vet. Give a
little bit at a time as it will spoil if you let it set out.

Took allot of tries and then finally she came around. My vet and were in
touch on a daily basis till Kitty got her appetite back.

All is well now with her.

Linda

It's been
several days since she ate and has had very little to drink. I don't
think she can last much longer and I'm at a loss. Any advice would be
welcome. Thanks.

I really doubt that it's emotional. Did she have a full blood panel? Nothing
abnormal in that? You do need to get her to eat and may have to force feed her
with a syringe...something like Hills a/d, available from your vet, or human
baby food, maybe chicken and rice (no onions), something. Whether or not her
initial problem was physical or emotional, she now has a physical problem from
not eating and could develop fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). They can
have blockages that don't show on x-ray. Is she prone to eating string or
anything like that? That won't show on an x-ray and can do a lot of intestinal
damage.

I don't think she would become depressed from the trauma of going to the vet
and she was ill to begin with so I think there's a physical basis. Has your
vet given you an appetite stimulant, such as cyproheptadine? He may be
reluctant to do so if he thinks it's a blockage, though. I guess if you could
get her to eat one way or another, you might be able to determine if it's a
blockage. But now that she's not eating, she is getting weaker and sicker. If
you don't trust your vet, maybe you should take all her tests and get a second
opinion. She needs some sort of help, though.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

It's been
several days since she ate and has had very little to drink. I don't
think she can last much longer and I'm at a loss. Any advice would be
welcome. Thanks.

I really doubt that it's emotional. Did she have a full blood panel? Nothing
abnormal in that? You do need to get her to eat and may have to force feed her
with a syringe...something like Hills a/d, available from your vet, or human
baby food, maybe chicken and rice (no onions), something. Whether or not her
initial problem was physical or emotional, she now has a physical problem from
not eating and could develop fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). They can
have blockages that don't show on x-ray. Is she prone to eating string or
anything like that? That won't show on an x-ray and can do a lot of intestinal
damage.

I don't think she would become depressed from the trauma of going to the vet
and she was ill to begin with so I think there's a physical basis. Has your
vet given you an appetite stimulant, such as cyproheptadine? He may be
reluctant to do so if he thinks it's a blockage, though. I guess if you could
get her to eat one way or another, you might be able to determine if it's a
blockage. But now that she's not eating, she is getting weaker and sicker. If
you don't trust your vet, maybe you should take all her tests and get a second
opinion. She needs some sort of help, though.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

Thanks for all the responses. We seemed to have a breakthrough last
night. We forced a small amount of soft food and some water. A while
later, she started eating a little on her own and then drank some
water. When I started to pet her, she started to purr, very softly,
but it was still a purr. She's also shown some interest in cleaning
herself, again very little, but it's a start. This morning she ate
more of the soft stuff and drank some water. Things are looking up.

Now, how do I ensure that she doesn't become constipated again and
start this all over?

Thanks again for your responses!

Thanks for all the responses. We seemed to have a breakthrough last
night. We forced a small amount of soft food and some water. A while
later, she started eating a little on her own and then drank some
water. When I started to pet her, she started to purr, very softly,
but it was still a purr. She's also shown some interest in cleaning
herself, again very little, but it's a start. This morning she ate
more of the soft stuff and drank some water. Things are looking up.

Now, how do I ensure that she doesn't become constipated again and
start this all over?

Thanks again for your responses!

(Terry) wrote in
om:

Things are looking up.

Now, how do I ensure that she doesn't become constipated again and
start this all over?


I'm glad that she started eating again! As for the constipation, you
definitely have to monitor her litterbox usage and make sure she goes and
its not small hard balls because if it is, it's something causing it.
Whether its not enough water intake, or something else, a vet would have
the diagnostics to find out what is causing it. I had a cat with chronic
constipation and something I noticed was he had a hard time going in the
box. Its like he had to walk around and wiggle out the little bit that he
could (sorry if that is too graphic).

--
Cheryl

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
-Mario Andretti.