My cat is still shook up after the earthquake southern calif 5.4. how long will it take for her to be normal?

Question

My cat is an indoor cat and my family and I were not home when the 5.4 quake hit, things fell and broke, she had no where to go. she has been in hiding and will not come out. everytime she hears a noise she freaks. My family and I keep picking her up and giver her a lot of love and compfort. what can I do for her. I have never seen her this way before.

Answer 1

Let her hide for some more time.  Put some food and water near her hiding place.  Sit near where she is and keep talking to her but don't pull her out.  

Then if she doesn't start venturing out fairly soon talk to the vet about ways to calm her.  There are lots of products available to help calm kitties: http://www.revivalanimal.com/catcalminga...  It may take the vet suggesting something like that.  

Mine flipped out too, but luckily they got over it quickly.  We're close to downtown so not much fell.  One kind of flipped out and ran around all over the place and the rest just looked confused.  I was here with them, but I doubt it really mattered.  Yours would probably still be really upset I don't think there's really anything anyone can do for them when it's happening.  She'll come around, she just needs to start all over on feeling secure.

Answer 2

You might want to call her vet to see how long it typically takes cats to recover from such events.  The vet may prescribe some medication, or you can try Rescue Remedy.  She may also be reacting to some of the aftershocks, if there are still any.

I have extremely limited experience--I lived in Northern California in the mid-1990s and was affected by a mild quake centered near Milpitas.  My cat, however, was her usual self when we got home from work.  So it also depends on the cat.  Yours may be particuarly skittish or the fact that stuff fell may affect her.

Answer 3

One year and counting for me!  It was a factory explosion near my home; only a few things fell but there was a loud boom.

My girls haven't been the same since.  They're now both fearful during thunderstorms; even the sound of rain freaks them out and they go into special forces mode.

I don't have any useful suggestions, I'm afraid.  I'm clueless a lot of times when it comes to cat behavior!

You could try the Bach flower essence called Rescue Remedy.  You can find it at some health stores or the better pet stores and it's relatively inexpensive.  There are a number of ways it can be applied.  It will do no harm regardless of how it's used.  The method suggested to me is to put a few drops between the ears several times a day until the effect is achieved, then gradually ease off.

It can also be used at times of stress like during thunder storms or trips to the vet.

Another option is Feliway.  It comes as a diffuser or in a spray.  It uses pheromones to tell cats that they're safe (and incidentally not to pee where they smell it).  It can take up to two weeks to work, and some swear by it.  It is not applied directly to the cat.

Answer 4

take your cat to the vet for he or she can fell better with the nice docters ok

Answer 5

I think the best thing to do is to keep loving and comforting her, if after a couple of days she is still freaked out then I recommend getting proffesional advice

But give her some time first, and keep up the loving