cats sudden behaviour change

Question
Hi there. My cat is ten years old and has always been well behaved and quiet as well as slightly timid, she also goes outside. One morning we awoke to her making loud noises she was hissing snarling and growling and running about madly through the house. This continued for the rest of the day although she also would go through periods of calm when she was in her bed and would even purr and appear relaxed. We took her to the vet who checked her anal glands and expelled what was there. We took her home but the spells were just as bad so we took her back that evening and the vet gave her a painkiller. This did not make any difference and it has been going on for four days now. She will be sitting then look around to her tail and start a low growling then just flips out. I hope you can help it is quite a mystery why this has happened, we are not aware of any traumatic incidents, and nothing in her lifestyle has changed.During the spells she is evidently very distressed but the next minute she can be sitting calmly as if she has forgotten her previous distress.


Answer
Unexplained agitation in cats can often be an early sign of a health problem or manifestation of pain.  Given the fact that the painkiller did not make a difference I would start to focus on a neurological cause of the agitation. You mentioned that she goes outside, is she vaccinated against rabies?  Though this would not be the most common cause of neurological changes it is a significantly dangerous one to human health so is important to consider.  

I cannot be sure what testing your veterinarian has already performed but if not already done I would recommend a full neurological exam and blood profile.  If nothing out of the ordinary is discovered by those further testing such as MRI/CT may be possible depending on the availability of equipment in your area.

Please feel free to write back if anything presents itself on testing or she begins to exhibit any other behavioral or physical changes.  Best of luck to you and your feline friend.