It's interesting where our minds go when we think of words. Since a previous day's word was graceful, where it's a appropriate to say, full of grace, I tried that with pitiful, but full of pity is closer to the opposite of what we mean.
Google wasn't tremendously helpful, either. :)
It sounds to me like the cat you described very much fit the bill of at least pitiful looking, but being a cat, it wasn't about to let you think it felt pitiful at all. In fact, it might as well have been thinking you were all an ongoing part of its misery. :)
Yes, words and their meanings can go so many places--even the placement or how they're spoken.
No, that cat may have felt anger, but I doubt pitiful. Thanks for that particular part of the comment, ties into a dream I had last night about a cat.