Cat has Been Crying and Seems Afraid to Go into the Bedroom

Update from Catherine: "Kitty update... I'm happy to say Kitty is doing wonderful and seems to be himself again. My father and I believe something has frightened him in the bedroom where he usually stays or sleeps.

He is eating and using the restroom just fine. I want to thank you all for your suggestions and helpful ideas. Kitty means the world to my father and I truly know he feels much better, too, now that Kitty is so much better. Thanks again my cat lover friends."

I'm glad that Kitty is doing much better and back to his old furry self again. The original description of the problem and my response are below:

One of our readers, Catherine, needs some help with what appears to be a behavioral problem. Her father's 10 year old male cat is not himself. The veterinarian has examined him and can find nothing wrong.

Here's a quick description...

My father's cat has been going through the house crying in a different cry, and seems to be afraid of going into the bedroom where he has always slept with my father at the foot of his bed.

Nothing major in this cat's life has changed recently.

Kitty

I've given some input, but we'd like to get more responses as this issue seems rather unusual. Below is the full description of the problem as was told to me, and my response below that.

If you have any input, please leave a comment.

Here is the full description of the problem from Catherine:

My father has a cat. His name is Kitty. Kitty is 10 years old and has always been a little stand offish with most people, including myself.

As of late he has been going through the house crying in a different cry. It's like a gurgle sound, and he is running up and down the stairs going into another room just sitting on the bed crying.

He has always slept with my father at the foot of the bed and now he won't even go in the room?

My father took him to the vet today and didn't find anything wrong with him.

He acts like he is afraid of the bedroom all of a sudden. He isn't afraid of my dad just the room.

Any suggestions? We are very puzzled by this new behavior.

My response:

I wanted to be sure that no one new had come to live there (or left), there were no change in pets in the house, no changes in the furniture, no construction, etc.

I also wanted to know if any cleaning products were used in the room that might have left a residual (cats are very sensitive to chemical smells).

But that's not it.

Anytime there is a major behavior change, I would always suspect illness or stress. Avoiding a room seems odd, unless there's an animal in the house that has made its way into that room.

Sometimes if there are animals outside the house (which you can't always easily detect), an indoor cat will go a little bonkers. There have been many situations where cats have marked territory just outside the house, and the indoor cat flips out over it.

There have also been some situations where a predator was outside and staring down the cat through the window, or leaving its scent on the property.

I'm not sure how thorough an exam the vet did (and I'm not a vet), but big behavior changes always make me think there's a medical issue.

I always say... trust your gut. If you think something's wrong with your cat, push until you find out what it is and don't accept a vet's standard answer after a standard exam.

Cats can develop some form of dementia as they age. This has produced odd behaviors or shifts in behavior. Disorientation and crying out is common with this condition. Cats can also suffer strokes which may produce a similar type of behavior.

On the other hand, if he's eating, drinking, playing, sleeping, urinating and defecating all on schedule and the vet has said there's nothing wrong, it might make you think environment.

Beyond medical, I'd be thinking... snake in the room, mice in the walls, and as I said... animals outside.

If you've experienced any cat behavior problems similar to this or have any words of wisdom, please share them in the comments and let's see if we can help this Kitty. Thank you!

Cat Behavior

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