Conference misery::feline

    Five years ago when my mother died, her cat Susie stopped eating.  
    She then wandered away and was never seen or heard from again.  
    I did a massive search, including posters with pictures and newspapers
    and the whole nine yards, but nothing.  
    
    Susie was 13, and she and my mother were very close.  I think that
    now both of them are in heaven - together as always.
    
    Once, when Susie had kittens, my mother decided to keep one of them.
    Well, the kitten (lets see, what was her name?....geez I can't
    remember!) was old enough to be weaned and away from Mom - Susie
    decided she hated her.  Susie's whole personality changed - she would
    lie in wait for anyone to walk by, and jump out and scratch or bite
    them.  She turned into a complete grump.  
    
    Now, Susie never, ever went near the road in front of my parent's
    house.  But one day my mother noticed that she was coming up the
    driveway from the direction of the road.  She thought this strange, 
    and when Susie came in the house, she had instantly changed into
    the sweet, lovable cat we all knew.  My mother was ill at the time, so
    couldn't go look for the kitten.  When my dad got home from work, he
    found the kitten dead in the road.  
    
    We're sure that Susie lured her out there, and that she knew she was
    dead.  This is the only >nasty< thing Susie ever did in her entire
    life.  Guess there's another side to losing a 'loved' one.  
    
    I don't see how any of this can help you - but I thought I'd share it
    with you anyhow.  Good luck with the depressed kitty.
    
    Sharon   &
    Max and Dixie - who are only depressed if I'm late feeding them!

    
    I don't know about depression, but a cat's behavior will certainly
    change in response to loss of a person or another cat.  For the first
    few days after Wabbit died, Merlin would look for her everywhere.  He
    soon started meowing for attention, as if he was lonely and afraid he
    might disappear too.  Since Wabbit's departure, he's been considerably
    more solicitous of affection; i.e., he won't leave me alone unless I
    make a point of ignoring him (very difficult and painful, but sometimes
    absolutely necessary), in which case he goes off to one of his favorite
    places and sleeps, but if I sit down or lie down someplace, it's like
    he senses it and he shows up a minute later to climb on board.  The
    crying for attention can drive you to distraction, though.
    
    I've known many cats that exhibit "displacement", where they'll take
    out a grievance on someone else, even another cat.  When Merlin was
    younger and he was naughty, he'd go take a whack at Wabbit or Monkey
    within minutes after a scolding.  Rufus, a friend of ours, routinely
    attacks his (human) "mom" by biting her ankle whenever a neighborhood
    cat shows up on their property and Rufus sees him through the window.
    More amusing, sometimes Rufus acts like he's considering biting his
    (human) "dad", who looks at him sternly and says something like "don't
    even think about it", whereupon Rufus runs off to find Mom and bite her.   
    
    len.

    It's funny you posted this note because a few weeks ago when we
    took in our latest stray....I really felt the kitty was truly
    depressed.   He would be fine if he was sitting on you...(he'd purr
    his head off) or when you actually played with him...but once you
    weren't paying attention he would just lay there staring at you.
    He wasn't like the normal cat who is very curious about being
    in a new environment and he didn't even wonder about his new
    territory.
    
    Well when we first took him in...he was confined to my cellar and
    spent 90% of the day alone...and really was acting depressed.  So
    we decided to try and confine him to my big cage in my living room
    where he can see all the excitement (9 other cats...so things can
    get very excited) and we have noticed a total change in his
    personality.  He is a very happy kitty...who no longer is depressed
    even if he is still confined to the cage.  I truly feel he just
    didn't want to be alone!!
    
    Sandy
    

    Well, my story has a happy ending... My other cat has been found & may
    have been the cat eating some of the food I thought my other cat had
    been eating (we have a cat door & my other cat had been gone for a
    week).  So, My Mitty must not have been depressed!
    
    Oh well, interesting topic anyway.  Thanks for the replies!
    
    Sonia (whose ecstatic about Willy being home).
                   

    My guess is YES to your question.
    
    I had a cat who suffered from S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder
    (Winter Depression).  She followed all of the same signs as a human and
    responded to the same treatment.  
    
    My group suffered a period of deep depression following the savage death 
    of one of their number (which I am pretty sure they witnessed).