Love, separation, and emotions can be felt generally by all beings. As contrarily to humans, who can disguise their emotions rather well, animals tend to express their sufferings to seek solace and comfort. Cats, as adorable and playful they are, tend to suffer quite a lot from depression.
There might be numerous reasons that might stimulate feelings of depression in cats. Introduction of a new pet in home, illness, ignorance, boredom, loneliness, and death of companion might raise the stress levels of your cat making them depressed.
The Most Common Causes as per Studies
Studies show that cats are more resilient to a ‘sudden change’ in their normal routine and usually this ‘sudden change’ is found out to be the root cause of cat depression. You can follow this article to get your cat adjusted if you recently moved to a new home.
Compared to humans who suffer from deep and long-term depression cycles, cats suffer rather short-term depression or mood swing changes that can last for weeks. If not cured or attended, cats tend to run away from their masters to break the chain of depression.
Cats when sad, tend to mop their body around the house and tend to become more aloof and sleepy. Apart from this, we have listed the following behavior patterns that might give you an indication of your cats’ depression.
- Increase in Laziness
- Drop-in Diet
- Sleepy behavior
- Retreating from other pets
- Change in Bathroom habits
- Grooming resistance
- Cat Panting
- Isolation
- Loud Meowing
Cat Depression. Is it Dangerous?
To add more, cats can be considered as somewhat ‘solitary pets’ and this attribute makes cat depression rather more considerate. Some cats also tend to develop ‘hepatic lipidosis’ due to a drastic loss in diet which can even prove fatal in some cases.
With a little bit more care, affection, and warmth you can still cure your cats’ depression. However, if your cat passes through a continuous depression cycle then it is recommended to take your cat to a veterinarian on an immediate basis.
9 Result Oriented Ideas to Cure a Cat Depression
Play Some Music: Music is considered food for the soul. Humans use music to cast away anxiety and depression. Playing music for cats might also help them to diminish their negative emotions.
Get a new Kitten: If your cat is depressed after the death of a fellow companion, then the introduction of a new cat might help it to recover from the loss.
Spend Some Time: Cats can also feel depressed if their parents don’t care for them. Spend some fun time with your cat so it can feel your affection and care.
Bring Toys: Cats love playing around. Bring interactive toys for your cat so it can direct its attention and time in playing rather than longing for happiness. However, you can play without toys as well.
Change the View: Try to get a new and pragmatic view for your cat that might pull it out of boredom. On another note try to place your cat in a sunny room, as sunlight can cure mood swings.
Herbal Remedies: You can also add drops of herbal remedies like natural flower essence in your cats’ diet that act as a catalyst to make your cat happy.
Pheromones spray: Many brands of pheromones spray are available that can replicate cats’ natural pheromones, these sprays act as a stimulus to reduce the stress levels of your cat.
Medical Check-Up: If your cat is persistently showing depressed behavior, it is strongly recommended to take it to a veterinarian.
Antidepressant treatment: If required, you can put your cat on an Antidepressant medication with the consultation of the doctor. This might help to reduce the severity of depression.
Depression for animals, especially cats, can result in illness, runaways, and even death if not cured and cared for. Ideally, cats must be treated in a way that they never become sad. If for some reason your cat gets depressed, treat it with extra care and attention. Go for medical care if the depression signs prevail.