One of my female cats is VERY VERY scared. she will run and hide under the bed. she will come out to use the bathroom and eat but then runs and hides again. it seamed to have started after a bunch of bad storms and then people shooting off fireworks. shes also now pulling out the hair on her legs. shes starting to look like a poodle. none of my other cats are like this. she will run from my moms son and husband so maybe she does not men for some reason. she was not a stray she was born into this family.

 

Flirty,

You don't mention how long this as been going on. Was it since last year's July 4th, or more recently? Either way, it sounds like she needs some direct special attention. Do take her to the vet, to be sure she doesn't have any health issues, that would cause her to lose the hair.

Another thing that you may want to do is to try some Rescue Remedy, or check with your vet to see if they can reccommend a good calming med.

What I mean by special attention, I would separate her into a quiet room with nothing for her to hide under, with her litterbox and food etc. Then every time you have a chance go in and sit with her, pet/stroke/love on her for as long as you are able to hang out. Keep the room quiet, and spend as much time each day as you can.

Most often these sort of changes in behavious are caused by fear and over time, working with her you can pull her back out of her shell. She seems to be doing the hiding because of the louds noises. What we do around our house is turn on the stereo, and keep the music up reasonably loud during fireworks and thunderstorms etc. It helps the outer loud noises seem less threatening.

Hope this helps, and do keep us posted.

 

its been going on for about a week or so i would say. she will come out eat and sleep out in the open but as soon as she sees my moms son or husband she takes off fast and runs under a bed. about a week ago we had a bunch of bad storms in one day then the next someone set off some fireworks from a park.

 

Flirty,

I am glad it was very recently. Not glad it happened though. It simply means that it will most likely take less time working with her, to bring her back around. The steps mentioned before are still what I would suggest, especially keeping her in a room where she can't hide Under something. If she has a corner to go to where she feels protected, like behind a chair or something, that's ok. You can reach over/around the chair to love on her. The call to the vet may still be a good idea, though she is probably doing it out of nervousness. The good news is as long as she is eating, drinking and using her litterbox normally, it probably is only stress from the noise.

If you can add a radio in the room where you put her, try to keep it on at volume where it is the only real thing you hear in the room for the most part. It's kind of like using white noise, when you live in the city. Your conscious mind only hears the white noise (like a fan or air cleaner) running, instead of all the city/traffic noise.

Hope this helps and please do keep us posted.

 

Is a sudden allergy possible? A few years ago, the non-ex-feral cat in my house was taking out fur all over his body. Put him on Frontline the next year and no problems ince then even though I cannot afford the 6 month cycle of Frontline for 3 catsthe past couple years.

 

it appears shes starting to come around. this morning my moms son was able to approach her and pet her and was purring like she did before hiding. then later on during the day she ran away and hid under the bed. just now he was able to approach her without her running and hiding and was petting her and she was purring like a normal cat. so still skittish but appears she might be coming around.

 

well shes staying out in the open more and more. still runs and hids now and them but its alot better.

 

Flirty,

I am so glad she is starting to settle back in. Keep working with her and I am sure she will get better with time.

 

UPDATE it appears shes back to normal. no longer hiding and meowing for attention now. she also has acne now around her neck.

 

Flirty,

Glad to hear she is back to normal. As for the skin issues, has she been treated for fleas? I prefer Advantage as it is the safest over all of the others, with decades of safe use. I can tell you that if a cat is having skin issues, most often it is fleas, or flea bite dermatitis. Probably best to take her in to the vet soon anyways, to have her fixed, and have the skin issue checked at the same time.

If your vet is open to helping you out, you can buy the dog Advantage in the medium/large sizes (the regular Advantage, NOT the Advantix) and split that up on your cats, I don't remember how many cats you have...I buy the 55 Pounds and up, and use one tube for all the little critters, and one tube for the big dog(I have 7 cats, and 1 little dog, and one Big dog). It saves you a lot that way because a 6 month supply (for me) will last 3 months for ALL my animals.

DO keep us posted and hope this helps.

 

This cat is fixed. all my cats are fixed except for the one who keeps peeing in the corner and that's the stray i took in. I have 7 cats.

 

Flirty,

Ooops, my bad on the fixing. I misremembered.

I hope the Advantage suggestion will help out cost wise. All the other info still applies. Did you change foods or a new collar or anything? It could be an allergy as mentioned by NOP as well, the flea bite is the first that comes to mind, but she may have gotten something when she was up under the bed hiding as well.

 

check out 1800 pet meds. I am just a customer of theirs, they are cheaper than the vet's office, at least where I live, and no vet visit, around here $75 i think.

 

well its fleas. at least now it is. i noticed these very very small black bugs on them along with "flea dust" as its called. I got some stuff to treat the cats with along with some flea and bed bug killer to spray on the carpets and furniture etc.

 

Flirty,

I had thought it might be...I am glad you know for sure now. Now you can fix the problem, most likely what is called Flea Bite Dermatitis. Cat's skin gets irritated by the saliva of the flea when they bite. Once the fleas are no longer biting, the hair will grow back fairly quickly.

 

i think one of my cats who i let outside to roam the backyard under supervision sense i can't trust her to stay in the yard anymore must have got them from the bushes she hides under to watch the birds. they never got fleas before.

 

something i thought of. my cats might have gotton the fleas from the dogs next door. my new neigbors have 4 dogs. they moved in over the winter and my cats got the fleas this year. possible?

 

what about this to kill the fleas in the carpets and stuff. will it harm the cats if they ingest it. Amazon.com: Concern 97064 Diatomaceous Earth Crawling Insect Killer 4 Pound Bag: Home & Garden

 

Flirty,

The DE is something you would put down and leave on the rugs then vacuum up. If you are going to use it, you would need the food grade for inside. I actually use a product that RAID puts out specifically for indoor flea use. It is spray that is a micromist that can be sprayed upside down, and once dry is not harmful (we allow 2 hours minimum before allowing the pets back on the carpet) This product has an IGR (insect growth regulator) and works wonderfully. The last time I bought it (last year) it was in a purple can. It is very easy to use, and as I said, we have been using it for a long time with no ill effects.

 

yeah i been using this stuff called flea and bed bug killer from home depot. about $7 a can. not cheap and you almost need 1 can per room depending on how wet you get the fabric. so the DE is a better option not to mention no lingering odor.

 

Flirty,

I know the Raid stuff is only about 4 bucks a can, and since it is a micromist it goes a LONG ways...we have a 700 Sqft house and the can usually will cover the majority of the house and furniture.

If you are using the DE, be sure to buy the food grade, as it is a smaller molecule/partical and less likely to cause problems with the pets inside. Let us know how well it works for you.

 

well in about a week or so i will get that advantix stuff sense i found it in a magizine on sale. will also get some other carpet powder. meanwhile im getting by with liquid lysol mixed with water to spray on the carpets and homemade light traps. the light trap is a green nightlight with a bowl of soapy water under it. the fleas are attacted to the green light and jump into the water. i have one with a blue light but its not doing as good. what is it about the green light that they like.

 

Flirty,

For the flea trap, I had never heard of green light, only a nightlight bulb, it is the warmth they are attracted to...I would suspect the blue light is cooler than the green.

Another thing, do NOT use ADVANTIX on a cat, unless it is specifically formulated for CATS. The dog Advantix will kill a cat. Only ADVANTAGE can be used.

Also vacumm several times daily for a week or soto help get the active fleas and larvae.

 

i meant advantage. you know by now i can't spell. EDIT its frontline PLUS that im going to use.

 

Flirty,

I figured you did mean Advantage, but wanted to be sure, better safe than sorry!

I haven't used Frontline Plus. I have always used the Advantage due to it's safety, even on very young kittens/puppies.

The other thing I thought about reminding you of is that if you wear white socks in the house, you can tell fairly quickly how bad the flea situation is at any given time. Wear them and walk through the rooms, then check your socks each time. That is an old but useful trick my old vet (teacher) told me about.

 

you know theres a warning out there about the flea stuff. i guess theres some counterfits out there now. they say make sure the package is 100% in english and that the tubes mach the barcode or serial number. the tubes must be seperate and not loose.

 

Yes which is why I buy mine from reputable dealers on ebay or from reputable well established companies online. I have actually come across some, that a friend bought really cheap. When I saw it, there were obvious indicators on the package and tube that it was fake. There are a lot of good companies that sell online, at really reasonable prices.

 

well i called my vet and they use a product called revolution. $118 for 7 cats and you can only get it by perscription. so will order directly from the vet. they used to use frontline but its not as effective. so i will use the revolution for the first month then for the next 2 months use frontline. vet said its ok to switch.

 

Flirty,

Yes Revolution is a great product. I simply can't afford it for all our critters. It also takes care of earmites which can be a big issue with cats. I do that the old fashoin way with mineral oil. Glad that you are getting a good deal on the meds for the critters! Sounds like you have a good vet.

 

update. got the revolution pet stuff for the cats and applied it. also put flea powder down in the carpets and brushed it in. all cats have been treated and will see if it works.