Cat is afraid of everything all of a sudden.

[Moose]

Hi All,

I have 3 yr old Maine Coon, she hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. Took her to the Vet today and he suspects shes got a cold. But since this morning before I took her to the vet she has been acting very strange. She is afraid of everything on the ground such as: slippers, shoes, boxes, and even her food bowl. She also attacked the remote when i put her on the couch.

She has never acted like this before I don't understand what would all of a sudden cause this.

She is an outdoor/indoor cat but she hadn't gone out today and last night she was acting fine.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Heidi n Q]

Welcome to CatForum. Without knowing more, it would be hard to say what exactly triggered this new behavior.
IMO, she has had an encounter with *something* that startled/frightened her and she is behaving in a very reactionary manner due to her natural instincts for self-defense and self-preservation. I'd try to be calm and reassuring for her, showing her that the things in her home are safe/normal and hope that she regains her confidence and returns to her usual and confident behavior soon.

My husband brought home a cat from his work that had a huge abcess on the underside of his neck...and when I say 'huge', I mean the abcess was as big as his head, almost the size of a tennis ball. I took him to the vet and they drained it and put in 8" of stitches and I bandaged and wrapped his neck every day with a new bandage until he healed and the stitches could be removed.
After he had healed he regained weight and energy and was ready to play...BUT...he reacted *very strangely* to me dragging the leather string. He would LEAP on it, POUNCING with his front paws stiff-legged and then he would DART his head down to BITE the leather string.
He wasn't "playing", he was deadly serious about it. So, we believe he received his neck injury from a *snake* and not another cat biting him. His behavior was what he felt he needed to do to keep himself safe. Eventually, he stopped being so reactive to the leather string but it did take a while before he was comfortable around it and realized it wasn't a snake.
heidi =^..^=

*Another CF member from Australia had a cat who encountered a snake outdoors and she was behaving like your kitty; very jumpy at everything. I don't know how that behavior got resolved.

[tracey11474]

Have you recently applied flea spot treatment?
I've read that it can cause that type of reaction.

[Moose]

I think she saw a snake.

I also think she has some sort of a head cold and can't smell that well. Because she hasn't been eating except wet food. She is being very lethargic and staying in quiet areas. It also sounds like she has some sort of a cough and congestion.

The vet checked her temperature and said that I should just wait it out, and only be concerned if she doesn't eat wet food.

[Josh 91]

Originally Posted by Moose

I think she saw a snake.

I also think she has some sort of a head cold and can't smell that well. Because she hasn't been eating except wet food. She is being very lethargic and staying in quiet areas. It also sounds like she has some sort of a cough and congestion.

The vet checked her temperature and said that I should just wait it out, and only be concerned if she doesn't eat wet food.

I hope she dosnt fall the same way my chloe did, chloe had a python near who food bowl in Decemeber 2008, and she still hasnt recovered properly, she is always scared checking things out jumpy at everything, i hope that your kitty doesn't go the same way...