Cat Mental Health Issues
If you are friends with cats or a cat parent, you must have had your friends or yourself refer to cats as abnormal or crazy. Have you ever stopped thinking that your cat could have mental health issues? Is it possible for cats to have mental illnesses?
Mental illnesses are mental health conditions that interfere with our perceptions, thoughts, behaviors, and decision-making. These conditions may strain our family, work or social life. A lot of the human population suffers from one or the other mental health issue. Mental illnesses are treated with the help of medication and therapy, which enable the individual with a mental health condition to cope with their condition and manage their life in a better way.
Your cat may experience the same mental problems as you. Cats can have mental health disorders like us, such as depression and anxiety. Although cats cannot verbally express their feelings, their physical signs and behaviors might provide information about their mental health.
Many researchers believe that cats, along with other animals, suffer from mental health issues too. However, proper research has not been assisted on cat mental health, and due to this reason, diagnosis of cat mental health issues cannot be accurately made. However, veterinarians take particular measures to evaluate the presence of mental health conditions in cats.
Cat mental health issues symptoms
Cats also show symptoms of mental health issues like humans. Signs of mental disorders in cat may include:
Body language changes
Cats can’t express their feelings vocally, but they can tell you about their feelings through their body language. Signs that indicate your cat has mental health issues include holding their ears back, avoiding eye contact, keeping their tail close to their body, flicking their tail, having dilated pupils, or staring.
Escaping or hiding
When threatened, a lot of cats hide, and they may chew or scratch on windows or doors if they feel trapped.
Inappropriate urination
Cats with mental health issues often avoid their litter box.
Over grooming
An anxious cat, and self-licking calm cats may groom extremely, in a few cases causing wounds or hair loss at the grooming site.
Excessive vocalization
Cats commonly meow to get your attention, cats having psychological issues often meow excessively and generally in a different tone than they commonly meow.
Appetite changes
As in humans, mental health issues can cause your cat to eat less or more than usual.
Gastrointestinal (GI) issues
Some ill cats experience GI issues such as diarrhea or vomiting.
Reactivity
Metal health issues may make your cat react excessively toward you or other people or pets in your home.
Mental Health Issues in Cats
Mental health issues in cats may include:
1. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is a mental health disorder that causes excessive thoughts (obsessions) that causes repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Believe it or not, this disorder is not limited to humans.
According to Pet MD, cats having OCD “engage in exaggerated, repetitive, behaviors that are apparently without purpose”. For instance, they may compulsively pace, obsessively groom themselves until their fur is rubbed off, excessively repeat vocalizations, etc. It is suspected that these type behaviors come about in order to lose pain-relieving chemicals in the brain. With that said, cats can develop OCD as a coping mechanism therapy when the cat deals with a stressful environment.
2. Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
FHS, or Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome is amongst pretty rare cat mental health disorders. This disorder can develop at any age. FHS causes the cat to react to physical impulses that should not cause pain. When they feel the pain, the muscles and skin on the back of the cat often can be seen rolling or rippling. Due to this, FHS is also known as rippling skin disorder.
Additional signs of this disease can be salivation, aggressive behavior, wild vocalization, and uncontrolled urination. With FHS, cats have quick explodes of erratic behaviors like licking all over or an obsessive biting, that is why it can sometimes be confused with OCD. In addition, FHS seems to be more conventional in Asian cat breeds, one example being the Siamese. This can be as a result of a genetic predisposition.
3. Feline Cognitive Dysfunction
Feline Cognitive Dysfunction, also referred to as senility, is like the cat-similar to Alzheimer’s Disease in humans. Although Alzheimer’s Disease is not a psychological disorder, it is still a disorder that affects the brain, that’s why we decided to include it on the list of cat mental health issues .
Feline Cognitive Dysfunction commonly occurs in older cats over the age of 15. With feline cognitive dysfunction, cats may fail to recognize familiar people and their owners. It can also cause aimless wandering, confusion, and getting stuck in corners. With this disorder cats can also forget how to use a litter box. The reason why this disorder seems like Alzheimer’s is that these symptoms are occasionally caused by a waxy protein called beta-amyloid deposits in the brain, which can grow and cause mental deterioration. These reserves are exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
4. Depression
Cats can become sad or depressed for numerous reasons. It can be difficult to assess the emotional state of a cat due to their subtle body language and facial expressions, but that doesn’t mean your cat or kitty doesn’t have emotions and feelings.
Cats can experience depression that is similar to what humans go through. Felines have a vast range of emotions, including affection, sadness, fear, and contentment. However, they don’t generally express their feelings the same way people do. If you think your kitty is feeling down, sleeps longer than usual, or has lost interest in play, it’s not necessarily just part of getting older. All these may be signs of mental disorders such as feline depression in cats.
5. Chemical Imbalance
Chemical imbalances are also included in cat mental health issues because it leads to other mental health issues in cats. Urine is chemically imbalanced in a clinical condition known as Hyposthenuria. This may be due to abnormal hormone release, trauma, or extreme tension in the kidney.
The normal regulation and concentration of urine normally depends on an extensive interaction among antidiuretic hormone (ADH), the protein receptor for antidiuretic hormone on the renal tubule (the tube which plays a vital role in the filtering, re-absorption, and secretion of solutes in bloodstream), and extreme tension of the tissue within the kidney.
Abnormalities can also occur due to barriers with the synthesis, actions, or release of ADH, damage to renal tubule, and changes in tension (toxicity) of tissue within the kidney (medullary interstitium).
How Long Does Cat Depression Last?
For most of cats without any underlying health conditions, cat depression is short-lived.
How to Cheer Up a Depressed Cat?
Depressed cats can be cheered in many ways. Cats are not fans of mistrust, so having steady times for cuddles, meals, and playtime can help them feel more relaxed and comfortable. Play with cats. A depressed cat may not be willing to play, but it’s beneficial to engage them with a favorite activity or toy. Shower them with love.
Cat Mental Health Issues Treatment
Cat mental health issues treatment generally include:
- Divert them safely. Try turning your cat from the undesirable behavior by appealing them in a more positive one, like being groomed, playing a game or enjoying a small treat
- Keep you cat on a regular schedule
- Reduce stress of your cat
- Make sure they get exercise
- Ensure they have something to scratch
- Shower them love and care
- Don’t punish cats
- Be patient
Can Cats Die from Depression and Other Cat Mental Health Issues?
Depression and other psychological issues in cats itself aren’t fatal, but it can cause your cat to deteriorate to a dangerous point. For example, cats who refuse to drink or eat may become dehydrated or lose an unhealthy amount of weight. These issues can generally be prevented by early treatments with the help of your veterinarian.