Sad cat is sad

A few days ago our #1 pet started showing signs of depression. It came on quite suddenly, sleeping a lot, loss of appetite, no purring, no grooming, no marking. There seem to be several common causes for cat depression, including a new pet (check), moving to a new place (well, yes, but we haven’t got there yet), changes to the living environment (check, the place has been a mess for weeks since we’re packing) and abandonment (check, with an additional cat in the house and a lot of work to do he’s been getting less attention).

We were getting quite worried about this as there are a lot of other stress factors in his near future and a cat that’s not eating is not long for this world. Today however he seems to be getting better at a rather spiffy rate (asking for food, jumping on window sills, playing with cat #2). From what we know about depression it’s unlikely to start and stop suddenly, unless it’s part of a bi-polar disorder.

But I haven’t watched the first 5 seasons of House* without learning anything and I think we may have found the actual problem. A few days ago we took the cat out into the car so he could get used to the space and the smell. Like the little furry chicken he is he immediately started struggling once it became obvious I wanted him inside the car. However once inside I let him go so he could explore in his own time. His plan of escape was well planned and expertly executed; one massive leap through the open window onto the safe green grass beyond. Unexpected complication was that the window in fact turned out not to be open after all.

It was quite a massive, head-first collision and given the rate at which symptoms occurred and then dissipated a concussion seems more likely. Unfortunately we didn’t think of it early enough to test for anisocoria.

 

* and yes, season 4 was lame and season 5 was terrible and I stopped watching after that.