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Cat acting strange
I have a 4 1/2 yr old male cat. He is quite a baby...throws up if I leave him for too long, etc. Does not like change at all! It seems that over the last week or so he seems afraid to come into the living room/kitchen area. That is where is food is at. Normally, he would be waiting for me at the door and would run to his food bowl. Now he just sits in the hall and seems afraid. If he does come to eat he takes a few bites then walks real fast back to the back of the house. I have two other cats and they are fine. He does not look sick..I pretty much know what to look for. Tonight I brought his food and water in the back room and he ate and drank just fine.
I have no idea what is going on. I don't know if something scared him. A couple of weeks ago I came home to find that the blinds in the window he sits in everyday had fallen. He seemed freaked out all night so I assumed he was just scared and maybe had been in the window when they fell. That seems to be when he started acting weird. The thing is...he still goes in that room so that doesn't really make sense.
Any ideas or suggestions??!! I am worried about him..
Also, sometimes I carry him around the house and he loves it. Well, now if I try to carry him as soon as I get into the living room he starts trying to get down and runs to the back of the house.
I have no idea what is going on. I don't know if something scared him. A couple of weeks ago I came home to find that the blinds in the window he sits in everyday had fallen. He seemed freaked out all night so I assumed he was just scared and maybe had been in the window when they fell. That seems to be when he started acting weird. The thing is...he still goes in that room so that doesn't really make sense.
Any ideas or suggestions??!! I am worried about him..
Also, sometimes I carry him around the house and he loves it. Well, now if I try to carry him as soon as I get into the living room he starts trying to get down and runs to the back of the house.
See? Kitty has been secretly seeing a therapist to work through issues (don't confront him, he'll be embarassed!). :)
In a few weeks he won't be allowing YOU in the living room...as he will decide he owns it!
In a few weeks he won't be allowing YOU in the living room...as he will decide he owns it!
Didn't think things would change so much in a day but they have! He greeted me at the door today for the first time in nearly a month, ate in the kitchen and hung out with us in the living room!! I am very happy!
Sorry to hear that. I was hoping it was that as it's easier to deal with. trying to get kitty to cope with a fear when you aren't even sure what it is can be tough.
Hopefully kitty will come to realize there are no bogeyman in the room. Like you said, as long as there's improvement, medication can be avoided...and hey, as long as he seems happy in the other rooms, I don't think medication would be the way to go. You never know the results your going to get when you start in with the med's.
Let us know how it goes.
Hopefully kitty will come to realize there are no bogeyman in the room. Like you said, as long as there's improvement, medication can be avoided...and hey, as long as he seems happy in the other rooms, I don't think medication would be the way to go. You never know the results your going to get when you start in with the med's.
Let us know how it goes.
I wanted to let you guys know that I was wrong in choosing the territory issue. After speaking to my vet and watching the cats very closely for the week...I realized he is just truly scared of something. I think because the younger cat is always jumping on him to play, when he does goes into the "unsafe zone" and she comes in, he doesn't want her to distract him from being on guard for whatever it was that scared him so badly so he runs out the room.
My vet suggested medication if he doesn't snap out of it, but I want to use that as a last resort. He is eating, drinking and is healthy and alert. He is starting to come into the scary rooms for a little while at a time.
As long as I continue to see progress, I guess I shouldn't worry.
My vet suggested medication if he doesn't snap out of it, but I want to use that as a last resort. He is eating, drinking and is healthy and alert. He is starting to come into the scary rooms for a little while at a time.
As long as I continue to see progress, I guess I shouldn't worry.
It doesn't sound like a health issue. Now...keep in mind there's a slim chance of something causing a neurological issue, but in my non-professional opinion it's not likely.
It sounds like boundries have been set in the territory...kitty has declared the back area his ground and the others are wisely not pushing it (cats don't care to go to all out war!).
Likely the situation won't change for a while. I hate to say it, but the 8 month old may need some time to get older and become more placid. At a year and a half, this tends to happen...if a change doesn't happen in the next few weeks, then it probably means you'll have to hope for that.
As an experiment, you can try taking a towel that kitty in exile sleeps on, and placing it in the disputed room.
One of two things will happen;
A: Younger kitty will become accustomed to exile kitty's smell being there and recognzie his right to be there (a sort of de facto invasion by secondary occupation).
b: Fights and spats will break out.At that point I'd stop the experiment, as it probably won't go well from there!
It sounds like boundries have been set in the territory...kitty has declared the back area his ground and the others are wisely not pushing it (cats don't care to go to all out war!).
Likely the situation won't change for a while. I hate to say it, but the 8 month old may need some time to get older and become more placid. At a year and a half, this tends to happen...if a change doesn't happen in the next few weeks, then it probably means you'll have to hope for that.
As an experiment, you can try taking a towel that kitty in exile sleeps on, and placing it in the disputed room.
One of two things will happen;
A: Younger kitty will become accustomed to exile kitty's smell being there and recognzie his right to be there (a sort of de facto invasion by secondary occupation).
b: Fights and spats will break out.At that point I'd stop the experiment, as it probably won't go well from there!
Both suggestions seem possible but I am thinking more the territory thing. One of my cats is the same age as him and they have been together since babies. The other one however, is only about 8 months old. She constantly is attacking him (just wanting to play). He is a very timid cat...he won't fight/play back. He just sits there and crys.
Last night I he finally came into the kitchen but just sat at a distance and watched the other two eat. It's all very strange because since I moved his food into our bedroom, the other ones try to eat out of that bowl and he doesn't seem scared or have a problem nosing them out the way to continue eating.
Do you guys think he will get over it or they will work it out? I hate to think of him staying in the back of the house by himself all the time.
Also, I wanted to make sure you agreed that this does not sound like any health issue that would warrant a vet visit. He looks fine.
Last night I he finally came into the kitchen but just sat at a distance and watched the other two eat. It's all very strange because since I moved his food into our bedroom, the other ones try to eat out of that bowl and he doesn't seem scared or have a problem nosing them out the way to continue eating.
Do you guys think he will get over it or they will work it out? I hate to think of him staying in the back of the house by himself all the time.
Also, I wanted to make sure you agreed that this does not sound like any health issue that would warrant a vet visit. He looks fine.
Most likely (assuming you live alone, and there's no one in the house who gets into "silly business" with the kitties);
While you where out one day a low level competition broke out into a full drag out brawl. In this case, the topic of issue being territory rights. The blinds sound like a classic case of one cat chasing another...and your poor kitty ran into the window...tried to go...up? Out? (Who knows, when they panic!) and they both brought the whole thing down.
the end result would be; 1: kitty lost this brawl and is now respecting/afraid to enter territory without permission of other cat (if at all).
2: Kitty got so spoked by the blinds incident he doesn't want to have anything to do with the area.
Actually, if it's the second, then he could have been spoked by a passerby or loud noise to the same effect.
Try watching the way the cats interact in general, especially when near the room. The signs will be VERY subtle, but there (if you know them, you can interpret an ear twitch, a non-look, even increase/decrease in distance).
Otherwise, you're getting into thinking up bizarre but possible events like nearby construction you can't hear causing sub-sonic vibrations in the living room that's freaking your cat out.
speaking of which, quite a few people are trying that new ultrasonic Riddex for bugs and mice...if a neighbor started using this system, it's possible the frequency is affecting kitty!!!
While you where out one day a low level competition broke out into a full drag out brawl. In this case, the topic of issue being territory rights. The blinds sound like a classic case of one cat chasing another...and your poor kitty ran into the window...tried to go...up? Out? (Who knows, when they panic!) and they both brought the whole thing down.
the end result would be; 1: kitty lost this brawl and is now respecting/afraid to enter territory without permission of other cat (if at all).
2: Kitty got so spoked by the blinds incident he doesn't want to have anything to do with the area.
Actually, if it's the second, then he could have been spoked by a passerby or loud noise to the same effect.
Try watching the way the cats interact in general, especially when near the room. The signs will be VERY subtle, but there (if you know them, you can interpret an ear twitch, a non-look, even increase/decrease in distance).
Otherwise, you're getting into thinking up bizarre but possible events like nearby construction you can't hear causing sub-sonic vibrations in the living room that's freaking your cat out.
speaking of which, quite a few people are trying that new ultrasonic Riddex for bugs and mice...if a neighbor started using this system, it's possible the frequency is affecting kitty!!!
It sounds like something spooked him in that room. I have a cat who had the same reaction to a certain corner of the apartment we lived in. Of course I did not realize that something was up until one day I was carrying him past that spot and he jumped away from me so franticly that I still have scars on my arm! Now for the 'duh' part of my story, there happened to be an outlet in that corner and I can only guess that he nibbled on one of the cords coming out of it and got a shock.
Since your cat is eating and drinking without problem in other areas of the house, I would just let him eat where he is more comfortable and don't make a big deal about trying to get him to go back into the living room. He probably needs to take his own time to determine when the room will be 'safe' again.
Since your cat is eating and drinking without problem in other areas of the house, I would just let him eat where he is more comfortable and don't make a big deal about trying to get him to go back into the living room. He probably needs to take his own time to determine when the room will be 'safe' again.
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