Why is my cat depressed? She only seems happy when she has kittens.

There are calming supplements and diets which can be very helpful, as well as pheromone and comfort zone diffusers which can help cats adapt to such situations. A full health check and possibly blood panel should be considered to rule out medical causes especially if there is any weight loss or altered thirst

I suggest you try some Feliway diffusers in the house. Feliway is "happy cat" pheromones and really helps to de-stress cats in these types of situations. https://www.feliway.com/uk Usually adding new cats/kittens to the mix is not a good idea. It usually just causes more stress. Hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Mystique! I would start with a Vet exam as she is a senior cat to be sure the symptoms you are seeing aren't medical in nature. At almost 15 I would worry about kidney and liver disease, diabetes, an over active thyroid and cancer or even arthritis for her depression. It has also been 3 years, animals do feel sadness when the house hold changes but that is a long time to assume her behavior is due to that. If she medically checks out fine I would try to enrich her environment to stimulate her and get a few Feliway diffusers. If you want to repost with her symptoms of depression we can get specific with tips. Good luck! https://indoorpet.osu.edu/sites/indoorpet/files/assets/documents/Herron10_EE_for_Indoor_Cats.pdf https://www.petco.com/brand/comfort-zone

We certainly see depression in animals, and I have seen depression in a kitten before. However it is challenging to treat. First, at 13 ounces, your foster kitten is certainly underweight if he is 5-6 weeks old. If he has been malnourished before you got him, he may need some extra time to recover. There is some research that Omega 3 fatty acids (especially DHA) are important for brain development, so you might consider adding that to his food. I normally recommend Wellactin ( http://www.welactin.com/cat ) for cats. I have also had good luck with using Bach Flower Essences for depression in animals. They are homeopathically prepared flower essences that were developed for humans for mental issues. The most common formula is Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ), but you can also design a custom formulation. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I would recommend having Lilly see a veterinarian. I would want to make sure it isn't medically related and more related to having the other cats gone. If they don't see anything medically going on I would recommend making sure you are spending extra quality time with her doing things she loves and then discussing medication with your vet. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I suggest you try some Feliway diffusers to see if it will help him. Give it a couple months to see if it helps. The diffusers must be changed every 30 days and you need to get enough diffusers to cover the square footage of the house. Also, some environmental enrichment would be a good idea. ( https://www.feliway.com/uk/Products/FELIWAY-CLASSIC-Diffuser ) ( thedrakecenter.com/materials/environmental-enrichment-indoor-cats ) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejmrLa_Cs4 )

I would have a health exam performed on her first to make sure there is no hidden illness that can cause this in such a young cat. Otherwise, If you are willing and able to provide a good home for a second cat then that is great way to give your kitten someone to play with if she likes other cats. If taking care of 2 cats is too much, then you can look into other ways to help her not be bored. You can find different toys for cats and a tower for her to climb that looks out window to relieve boredom.