This is Cleo. She is 2.5 years of age. I have posted about her before actually. I worry about her because she gets so anxious that it harms her. She has had an outbreak of hives on her skin, especially her ears, for the last week or so, and she has been picky about when and what she wants to eat, if at all. We got a kitten in June and she gets along with him, so I don’t think that’s the issue. Most of the time we find Cleo hiding and terrified of human contact, and we have to be very gentle with her. She does not like eating with her siblings. They were all born here in a stable, non-abusive environment by the way. Lately she has been bonding with me, but on her terms. Is this something that requires veterinary intervention?
Sounds like you need to go to a vet.
How do you know anxiety caused the hives? Couldn’t the hives have caused the anxiety? Or couldn’t they be separate?
Take it to a vet, if you haven’t already.
Seriously, you have a pet with a health problem, this is exactly what vets are for. Whether it’s a problem that’s physical, mental, or environmental, the vet is the one best able to figure out what the problem is and how to solve it.
Warms my heart when all the top comments direct the OP to seek professional help.
TAKE HER TO THE VET
She’s been anxious for her whole life thus far.
Our anxious cat had her teeth removed (feline resorption) and we noticed she was much bolder while she was on gabapentin to recover from the dental surgery. We talked to the vet and he put her on a daily dose of it. We experimented to find the smallest amount that gave her Courage without making her sleepy. (Having her painful teeth out helped a lot too, but it wasn’t her whole problem.) Now for normal days she gets 25 mixed into one can of food and spread throughout the day, but for a recent airplane trip she had 75 in one small meal before being put in her carrier.
Time to see a vet.
One of my cats has both a food allergy and is higher anxiety. I caught her ripping her fur out a couple of days after I brought her home. We put her on a prescription diet, and I give her medication for the anxiety. She does much better now. Her anxiety will never completely go away. I know some of it comes from either neglect or abuse from her original owners.
I hate to suggest it, but maybe someone is abusing her and you just don’t see it? I don’t know how big your household is if it’s just you I apologize.
No, nobody is abusing her.
She looks like a Russian Blue. This breed is actually quite susceptible to feline hyperesthesia, which it sounds like may possibly be the case with yours, given the mention of the skin problem she has.
I had a Russian Blue a long time ago with this condition, and it was awful to see her outbursts. She would become very anxious and aggressive during these episodes, and would often start violently biting and scratching at herself, sometimes even attacking anybody who would try to help calm her down. But when the episode would pass, she’d go immediately back to her loving, affectionate self as if nothing had happened.
If you can, I definitely recommend getting her checked by a vet. Hopefully it’s not feline hyperesthesia, but if so, there are medications that will help with it.
I mean, she does have shorter plots of fur near both of her thighs.
I also have a very nervous cat. What’s helped her is switching to a biscuit brand containing tryptophan. She’s much more willing to leave her hiding spots and relax in the sun now.
We found out around that time our cat was allergic to seafood. We switched to an all chicken diet and has improved.
I have a cat who constantly licks the fur off his body. He would give himself little rashes on his skin.
We tried for years to figure it out, even vets weren’t sure. They gave us Feliway, told us to reduce any stress, get more toys, etc. Didn’t work.
When we moved, our new vet said to try bathing him because it could be allergies. This was the problem and bathing him has fixed it.
I’m not a vet at all, but if the vet says it’s anxiety (and not a physical ailment) you may want to try bathing your cat. I bathe mine twice a week using baby shampoo per the vet’s recommendation.
Hives suggests she’s allergic to something. Yeah, see a vet.
We had an anxious cat and give her half-a-pill of gabapentin with wet food every morning and evening and it has made a huge difference in her quality of life.
Found this excerpt from a documentary on the subject of feline mental health.
