Cats are one of the most beautiful and intelligent animals to pet that eventually become your companions. Over time you begin to consider your pet cat as a family member. Hence you treat it accordingly. As a responsible and careful cat owner, you try your best to watch your cat’s activities and behaviors which might tell you if something is wrong with your little friend.
Cats are small creatures that do not have the luxury of expressing themselves vividly, unlike dogs which are pretty expressive whether it is love or nuisance towards anything. Therefore, if you observe that your cat has suddenly started to act strangely, it means something is going on internally with your cat, and you must find it out immediately before it is too late.
Your cat’s weird behavior all of a sudden may indicate that there is any hidden illness that your cat might have caught. This article discusses the reasons why your cat is acting weird. So, let’s get started!
Reasons for why your cat is acting strange
Like humans, cats also keep evolving in terms of behaviors. Likewise, their moods keep changing over time, and therefore if your cat’s sudden weird behavior is part of its expected growth, you indeed do not have to worry about it.
However, not every time your cat’s weird behavioral changes are natural; that is where you have to be extra vigilant and careful. There are several reasons related to your cat’s physical and mental health, which you must learn for your cat. So let’s have a light on these reasons;
1. Lack of appetite
No cat appreciates losing appetite for no apparent reason. If your cat has stopped taking meals or eating significantly less than usual, understandably, you will get worried for your cat. First, however, you must observe the frequency of this ‘no eating’ behavior in your cat. Would you please watch if your cat skips one meal or all the meals and for how many days it continues with this behavior?
If you find out that your cat has not eaten for days or eaten a little only, it would be best if you take your cat immediately to the vet. Losing appetite for days is undoubtedly a sign that your cat might be sick and battling with hidden illness, and we believe you would not ignore such a meaningful sign.
2. Increased appetite
It is not a rarity if your cat has started eating a lot like a crazy cat. Since you must have seen the entire growth phase of your cat, you must know its normal appetite. Therefore, any change, either an increase or decrease in your cat’s appetite, should alarm you so that you become a little more observant towards the overall behavior of your cat.
Cats can also develop diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and different cancers, like humans. Such illnesses increase your cat’s appetite, and it would want to eat more and more all the time, and still, the meal you provide would not be enough. Therefore, it would be best to visit the vet early if you observe that a highly increased appetite has become your cat’s constant behavior.
3. Increased thirst
Drinking water is not a strange behavior. However, if your cat starts demanding more water to drink than usual, it might be giving you a signal for suffering from a hidden disease. Usually, if you have taken your cat for an outside walk, exercise or playtime, it would surely demand an excessive amount of water to stay hydrated.
Moreover, the thirst of your cat depends on the climatic conditions as well. So naturally, your cat wants more water to drink when the weather is hot and humid. However, if you see your cat drinking water excessively in winters, you should be worried since it is not normal.
Increased thirst behavior in your cat for no apparent reason in cold weather may occur due to hidden kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, etc. it would be best to visit a vet immediately.
4. Sudden forgetfulness
As your cat becomes a senior fellow, the chances are that it will develop forgetfulness. For example, it may forget the house training it had when it was young as a kitten. In such a case, you will see your old cat peeing and pooping inside the house because it has forgotten the training. However, these weird behavioral changes are regular since they occur secondary to senility.
However, if your cat is young and healthy, and yet you see that it has suddenly started peeing or pooping inside rather than using a litter box, you should become careful. If your cat has suddenly developed forgetfulness, it might be a sign that your cat had an accidental head injury or any other psychological trauma.
5. Frequent vomiting
Understandably, vomiting can never be a routine behavioral change. However, you may ignore it if your cat vomits out once in a blue moon. But, if you see your cat is vomiting quite often over the past few days and consequently has lost its appetite, it indicates hidden sickness.
As mentioned earlier in the article, cats are one of the most intelligent animals, and they have all the tactics to hide their illnesses, which become problematic for their owner. Besides food poisoning, cancers are also responsible for making your cat vomit a lot every day. Therefore, it would be best not to ignore your cat’s sudden vomiting behavior and take it to the vet to avoid worsening the condition.
6. Change in grooming
Have you ever wondered why everyone prefers cats and dogs to pet rather than other animals? Well, indeed, cats and dogs are brilliant animals, but they are also quite hygienic. Therefore, when you start training a kitten or puppy, it would learn quickly the basic ethics related to living since they admire and appreciate cleanliness and hygiene.
Your cat keeps grooming itself over time in the best possible way. However, if it occurs excessively and obsessively, you should think about your cat is having a psychological issue like anxiety related to cleanliness. Similarly, suppose your cat has started to dislike cleaning up its sitting and sleeping area. It is also a worrisome behavioral change that usually occurs due to health issues like obesity-induced laziness.
7. Psychological changes
Like humans, cats also have a great tendency to suffer from psychological problems like anxiety, depression, fear, and phobias. However, since cats show subtle signs of any physical and mental illness, therefore you may not come to discover that your cat is dealing with mental sickness.
Your cat can develop anxiety for various reasons, like being left home alone for hours.
If your cat has a habit of being surrounded by many people or at least you all the time, it would be better if you do not leave it home alone for more extended periods. You can leave a radio or TV turned on while you are outside if you cannot take your cat along with you.
Cats also develop depression if a family member or their owner dies because their affection towards the specific person would be irreplaceable.
Another reason your cat is acting weird is fear towards a specific person, animal, or anything. You have to be extra careful in such a case! If you observe that your cat starts acting weird when a specific person visits your place or when it sees a particular dog from the neighborhood, it must have a fear growing inside.
Phobias are a form of worsened fear, developing over time. For example, your cat may develop phobias for lightning, thunderstorm, construction, fireworks noises, etc.
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In conclusion
Understandably, your cat’s sudden strange behavior may frustrate you if the changes do not go away over time. However, a change in your cat’s behavior may or may not be typical. Therefore, you must know when to call the vet! In this article, we have tried our best to summarize the possible reasons why your cat is acting weird and strange suddenly. Hopefully, the information will prove helpful!
Source
https://www.petmd.com/cat/slideshows/10-weird-cat-behaviors-could-be-signs-sick-cat
