Hi I have 3 cats they are all very affectionate and as normal each with their own personalities.
One of these is a female tabby who up until about 5 weeks ago I could pick up and stroke without a problem, I used to sometimes pick her up and cradle her like a baby but there is no chance of that now as she has become quite aggressive, growling as soon as she is stroked, though sometimes she is more tolerant than others and will let you stroke her but may growl after a short while.
The biggest change we have noticed in her are her pupils, they are huge almost all of the time, she looks angry and as though she is not happy, she also walks around the house, usually along the perimiter of a room as though she is looking for something or more likely scared of something and checking the area, she often stops every so often and her head moves side to side, I have also noticed her cleaning herself more than normal, she also seems to have poor balance around her back end and if pushed lightly she will trip, further to this her reaction time seems to be very slow certainly for a cat, moving something past her eyes there is a definate delay before she follows and also when dangling a string and cotton mouse she is not capable of getting it, not compared to my other cat who gets it every time with precision.
I have just had a brief look into the reasons for behavioral changes in cats and I came across Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, a lot of the symptoms rang true although they say there are others that maybe confused with it including poisoning.
I remember the day I first noticed the changes and only a day or two before I had sprayed a small amount of weed killer on two big weeds in the garden, I used a fair few sprays to test its affectiveness but have not used anymore out of worry, it was a known brand though somebody has since told me you can buy cat safe stuff, though I did only spray two weeds I can't help but wonder if its anything to do with this, of course I have asked the vet about this and they just keep saying keep an eye on her,I took her in within a day of noticing the strange behaviour, I use the blue cross (free vet) as I am currently unemployed but I just get the impression that until there are visible symptoms such as a seizure or something then they will not see a problem, they just say keep an eye on her, I know 100% that she has changed a lot but I am unsure what to do, she eats plenty of buscuits and a little food from pouches where as the other two are the opposite, she has very wide sides as though she is bloated but I am unsure if this is common in females or whether it could be the buscuits, my other two are male.
I am sure something is not right, I believe it is stress related as she is so on edge, she often runs when she hears my footsteps but if I call her name in a soft voice she stops and comes to me, I did notice other cats coming in the garden, infact I had two cats coming in the kitchen through the cat flap but I always shoo them off and its only happened a few times and not for a while, as far as I am aware of course, one is next doors and my cats dont seem disturbed by him and the one in question used to have a thing with him (wink) there was one in the grass that I have chased a couple of times as it was stalking my male tabby who is the son of Cookie but to be honest the cat in question has always been the least adventurous spending more time in the house than out of it.
I just want to be sure she is pain free and happy but I don't have a great deal of faith in the vets at the blue cross and even imagine if I took her to another vet they would not do anything because they do not physically see anything wong, I think I need to take her back and tell them she is definately not right but then I was quite thorough last time and they was clearly not interested, I find its always the same when you are concerned for your pet but without much physical proof. My girlfriend noticed the growling though she never really did it to me as they are my cats and i live on my own but recently she is growling much more and when I went to stroke her she scratched me, although I got the impression it was a reaction and she never meant to do it, I even thought maybe her eyesight is not that good and she saw it as more of an object moving towards her rather than my hand, but the huge pupils are always there and she never used to look so mad all the time. , Sorry about the long post i'm just worried for her and I guess the more info the better.
If anybody can give advice or may have any idea what could be wrong I apreciate your responses, Thanks

Sounds like hypoglycemia to me, but I'm no vet! I'd definitely take her to another vet and describe it just like you have here, because she's obviously not right and she needs to be seen again. Isn't there another vet you can go to?

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She definitely needs to be seen again, it sounds like they need to run full bloods to get to the bottom of this. I would be concerned about the pupils remaining large - it could be high blood pressure which if left untreated can lead to blindness as well as other problems. I'm wondering if she's reacting to you by growling and scratching because she's not seeing so well and is taken by surprise by your touch.

I never read it all only 3 or 4 lines but, my Toby has just recently started snapping at the other furbabies and growling at me and my family and scratching, biteing people. He sliced my brothers lip about 2 weeks ago whilst he was holding him. Should i be worried either?

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Any major change in normal behaviour is a cause for concern and needs to be seen by a vet so they can rule out a medical problem.

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I would definitely take her back to a vet - trust your instincts. If you feel the PDSA vet isn't listening then go to another vet - ask if you could work out a payment plan in advance as you are unemployed.

Do keep us advised. I hope you find the help she needs.

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For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Hi There
Unfortunately, as with humans, it can be tricky to diagnose animals who don’t suffer from physical symptoms but I wonder if perhaps a behaviourist may be better placed to help you as the changes seem to be behavioural? We have behaviourists at our centres and I am sure if you call upon them they would be happy to speak through your cat’s sudden change in behaviour. Please do not hesitate to contact us and we shall give you our wonderful behaviourist’s number. Good luck with your cat and I hope she feels better soon. Let us know the out come,

TBX

Thanks for the replies, I have booked her in with the blue cross again and am going to ask if they will run some blood tests, I will update with the outcome of that although I expect It may be a short one with the words "keep an eye on her" I will be working before christmas so if I'm not happy I will take her elsewhere