Change in behavior possibly due to hitting head

[shaz1992]

Yesterday morning my 1 year old cat hit his head on a knob on some wood furniture.  It made a noise, but didn't seem like he hit it with that much force (just pulled his head back into it).  Ever since then, he has been acting very different than normal - very skiddish, pacing, running away startled when he sees me, shaking his head, hiding under the bed or a towel rack in my bathroom, obsessively licking/grooming himself, and generally acting like he's afraid of me.  His pupils look fine and his eyes follow my finger from side to side.  I'm trying to determine if maybe he just doesn't feel good and just wants to be left alone, or if there is some more serious damage and I need to take him to the vet?  Help.  

[dominosarah]

Im glad to hear he is back to normal and working his charm!!!!!!         sara

[shaz1992]

Update:  He appears to be back to normal now - yay!  The only downside is that now I feel like he's taking advantage - laying across the coffee table when he knows he's not allowed, but does it anyway because I'm still feeling bad for him and not as much of the disciplinarian. ;)  But I'm not complaining - happy to have him back!

[shaz1992]

Thanks all!  Ghilly - what you said is exactly what my vet said!  Now if only you could have responded over the weekend when I was panicked ;)  Thanks for the reassurance, though - very helpful.

[Ghilly]

I haven't read ahead to the other responses, so please forgive me if someone else has suggested this same thing, but if the cat is acting normally in terms of physical health (eating normally, normal bathroom habits, etc.), my guess would be that the whack on the head scared him, and now he's going to be flighty and "different" until he gets over it.  It might take a week, it might take two, but as long as he didn't do any physical damage, he WILL get back to his old self, he just has to get over what happened.

Ghilly

[marissposa]

Cats do seem to get wounded pride after an embarrassing lapse in their usually diety-esque composure. funny.

[zodiacqueen]

Thanks for the update and glad to hear the vet's good news!  Your kitty will probably be his wild self soon!  Maybe he needs some prozac?????  LOL

[shaz1992]

Thanks!  Vet said nothing wrong medically, all psychological.  He said that after a pet has been injured (gave the example of a cat fight), the medical issues are usually secondary to the psychological issues and it can take 1-2 weeks for them to get over it!  He said to just leave him alone and he'll eventually come around.  I'm just surprised his reaction is so severe for what seemed like a little bump on the head?!  Like you said, I do have peace of mind now.  I just hope he gets back to normal soon!

[zodiacqueen]

Well, good luck at the vets, and please let me know how everything goes.

ZQ

[shaz1992]

Thanks for your advice - I appreciate it!  I have an appt. with the vet today.  He still seems okay medically speaking (he's reactive, eating, not vomiting, etc.) but his personality has completely changed into a scaredy cat :(  Let's hope this is temporary.  But you're right - I'll feel better after hearing what the vet has to say.

[zodiacqueen]

If I was in this situation, I would take the cat to the vet.  They can do a physical exam and be able to tell if there's any damage.  It wouldn't be expensive, and it would give you some peace of mind.