cat suddenly frightened by familiar room

by sylvia
(chicago)

hi,

my cat has been displaying weird behavior at first: she started avoiding the upstairs area of the house, even though she usually sleeps on my bed (located in the upstairs area), and she kind of stuck to herself, didn't really avoid me but didn't seek me out. then about a week later i noticed a dilated pupil at one eye and she urinated frequently and drank a lot of water and milk. took her to the vet - they checked blood, urine, negative for FIV and toxoplasmosis. the vet said she had a inflamed bladder. we started antibiotics which caused her to be totally groggy, she couldn't eat, so we discontinued the antibiotics. first she felt better and ate her favorite food (tuna) but 2 days later she can barely keep down a bit of tuna and is not interested in her milk either - which she typically gobbles down. her dilated eye got a little better. she hangs out with me on the couch but still doesn't come upstairs. i took her up with me and she seems to be frightened but started hanging out in the bathroom and under my desk when i bring her up. she feels uncomfortable on the bed with alert eyes and swishing tail. as soon as i stop petting her, she takes off. i am thinking that something traumatic happened to her in the bedroom? the neighbor was constructing a dormer - visible from the bedroom window - at around that time. so i am wondering if a loud noise frightened her to death? have you ever come across a similar situation?
thanks,
sylvia


Answer by Kate
Hi
yes it sounds to be that she has experienced some sort of upset which has frightened her. Like you say it could be something as simply as a loud noise.

However it could also be caused by feeling anxious because she feels unwell. Often this can cause strange skittish behavior. If I were you I would speak to the vet about the antibiotics, there may be another type he can give her that will suit her better. She really should finish the course of medication to be sure that she does not get any worse.

Hope she is better soon

best wishes Kate

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