Should I be worried?

[sirrahved]

The past few days Marshmallow has been acting very strangely. It started with her coming up and loving on me like she never had before. She was constantly begging for me to pet her more, even when I was already petting her.

Now she's totally stand-offish, not coming when I call her, running away when I try to pet her. She was sitting in front of the window grinding her teeth this morning (I've never seen a cat do that!), and now she's off hiding again. How do I know if something is wrong with her?

[moosmom]

sirrahved,

It COULD just be her personality. Just keep an eye on her. If there is any change in her eating or litterbox habits, call the vet.

[Craftlady]

A vet will ask you, are they eating, pooping, peeing, on regular basis, do they have a temperature and any tender areas on their body.
So I would observe eating, litter box, check for temperature and tender areas on body. If any of the above are out of normal I'd call your vet.

[catcrazylady]

They can just be soooo moody sometimes it's hard to tell if you should be worried!! I think all the advice above is great. I would say if she continues this for a few more days that it won't hurt to have the vet check her. The one thing I know for sure is that you know your pet...if you think something is wrong then it probably is!!! A valuable lesson I learned from Pervy. I knew something was wrong but convinced myself that I was an over protective, paranoid meowmie! I wish I had followed my instincts!!

[sirrahbed]

Hi Sirrahved,
I know that my kitties pick up on stress. You have had company the past two weekends - strangers entering HER domain - could this be the answer? Emily and Eliot are used to such a quiet environment that any company throws them off a bit. Or maybe she just senses that you are worried about things? Really, these little furrballs are VERY sensitive to emotions - I have always noticed this. If I am feeling pissy - they stay away - if I am sad or worried - they tend to come around more. Have you ever had a good cry and had tears licked away? It happens at my house!!
Love ya!
(I am MIL - I can say this :D )

[catlover4ever]

I agree with everybody else. Keep an eye on her, see if anything changes in her eating, pooping, peeing, etc habits. I agree with your MIL as well, cats pick up on our stress and they really don't like it when their territory is envaded by strangers.