Last Updated on October 9, 2021 by Woody Pet

How can you tell if your cat is sad? They cry, but that’s not only it.

Tears can be a sign of something going wrong or very good indeed for a certain human. It may be a good motive to start crying (like a celebration for instance) or can be an answer to something painful, something that can inspire fear or something that it is really sad.

Most mammals have lacrimal glands that produce tears to lubricate and clean the eyes, and for humans they can go out as a response for an emotional situation.

They can even go out just by pressure in the forehead, when yawning for instance.

For a cat, the system is mostly the same as humans but it is more for the practical reasons (cleaning and lubricating the eyes of the cat) than for an emotional response.

That does not mean a cat could not show sadness, it is just different and shows in its behavior. Here are some ways and other answers you can tell if you cat is sad.

How Can You Tell If Your Cat Is Sad? What Are the Ways to Tell?

There are many ways to know your cat is sad. In principle, cats are very solitaire creatures, but that does not mean they can’t feel sad by a certain time, for different reasons.

First thing to look up in a sad cat is its behavior. If it sleeps way more than normal, if it starts to eat differently than before, or not eating at all, if it is suddenly more aggressive with you, other pets and people, if it stops caring about its fur, if it isn’t meowing at you like normally does, if it hides more or stops using the cat box, those can be symptoms of a depression.

You can tell if you can it’s a very sad cat then.

If your cat is presenting some of these changes in behavior, your must ask your trusted vet for information and give your cat the love and affect it requires in that moment.

How to tell my cat is sick?

When it comes to diseases, there are some subtle differences between a sad cat and a sick one. Yes, most of them are related but these are some ways to tell if your cat is sick.

When it comes to digestive issues, it is not normal to see a cat vomiting, not wanting to eat (or suddenly wanting to eat way more, especially in older cats) or having diarrhea, though in this last one it depends on the cause of the diarrhea.

Sometimes just by changing the diet progressively and not at once can make wonders in that aspect.

Changes in the way they drink water or don’t, the way the weight changes (especially in weight loss), changes in urination and breathing, issues with their eyes or ears, irritation or infections on their skin, bad breath, swelling or problems while moving or jumping can indicate numerous other illnesses that would need attention soon.

They can indicate an underlying medical condition that must be addressed.

Your cat, just like you and many others, does not like to be sick and probably would try to hide it from you. This is pretty normal because is something nature has already told that to cats (including big cats like tigers and lions).

Being sick would show to possible predators that they are weak in that moment and so, they would try to hide that fact, even though they are in your home and there aren’t any predators around, probably.

How to help a sad cat?

Sad cats are a thing. It is not like they would look at us and cry to get our attention (they can, but that does not necessarily mean they are sad) but they would definitely show us some traits for us to tell they are sad.

There are many ideas in how to help a sad cat after you tell if your cat is sad. The first of which is attention.

Cats are solitaire by nature, but in a home environment they would look us for our attention. It is time then for give them the affection they need, playing with them a little, trying to be there with them to make sure their sadness is gone.

You should also avoid being far from them from long time periods, like when you go out because you don’t want to be at home (bad idea in these times of a certain virus wreaking havoc).

Your cat would actually feel lonely because you are not there with it. If you need to go out anyway, try giving them toys that can stimulate its activity. You can also leave the curtains up to them to look outside.

They like to be clean and they preen themselves quite a lot. If you see that your cat actually ignores this behavior, try to do it yourself and clean its fur, clip its nails and all the necessary “beauty options” (come on, cats are actually very careful with their looks). You can see later the results in its overall happiness.

Cats are attention seekers, but try not to give them way too much attention. There is a limit.

When you cross it, cats can become a little bit aggressive or purr to give you an indication of pain instead of satisfaction. Balance your way to give affection to not reach to that point.

How Can You Tell If Your Cat Is Sad – Conclusion

The cats are not just the very serious, very cold looking beings that don’t like to be around humans.

They can become sad when they don’t have the attention they are looking for from you and other people.

When they become saddened, they would show you in their behavior.

The way you can tell if you cat is sad is by looking in how it behaves around the house, with other pets and people, what they are doing that they do not normally do and so on. 

It is on us to give them the affection, attention and care they deserve and they are looking for. Just remember to not go overboard (because they can still bite you or scratch you if you become like a bubble gum) and try not to leave them alone for longer periods of time. After all, you can’t resist a little ball of fur seeking for your attention.