Scared e-cat

[JDgreen227]

Guys, we have a three year old neutered male tabby who I have always thought was fearless...he roams the neighborhood, has no fear of vacuum cleaners or my electric blower, and earlier this year he stayed within 30 feet of the road out front when an entire pack of noisy motorcycles roared by, he didn't even flinch at the racket. While he is wary of cars and my tractor, he wasn't afraid of them very much.

Well yesterday morning I let him outdoors, and after about an hour I went outside and he was frantically running from house door to house door, then to the garage, behaving like there was being chased by something. When I went to pick him up, he ran into the garage and jumped atop a car, then to the top of the horizontal raised overhead door. I got a stepladder and climbed up, got within a few feet of him and he was hyperventilating like mad and wouldn't let me get within 3 feet of him. After a few minutes he jumped down and then took off like a bat out of hades. Usually he will come back to the house in mid afternoon to be let inside, but he disappeared although I stayed up most of the night to go out and call him (he frequently comes when called).

I finally got to sleep about 5 am this morning, and when I got up at 7 am I went out to call him again. He came running from the garage (had left the door open a little overnite) and got near the house then turned around and scrambled back to the garage and atop the door. Finally coaxed him down with fresh food, while he was eating that every time a car went by on the road maybe 230 feet away it would spook him and he would hide again.

So he is back indoors now, being very wary and any type of noise seems to upset him. He has no injuries at all and appears normal (if any cat can be called normal) and the only thing I can think of is that he was on or beside the road yesterday morning and a car blew it's horn and/or just missed hitting him. Which isn't such a bad experience because maybe now he will be more careful. Not sure what I should do to put him more at ease, perhaps keep him inside for a period of time?

I'm not looking forward to the inane racket of fireworks tonight because they are going to upset all our cats, but probably most of all this guy. There were none going off yesterday morning to scare him so I think the car situation is what frightened him. Any ideas as to how to help him deal with the trauma? Thanks.

 

[meburdick]

Aside from sitting him down and having a long heart-to-heart talk with him, there isn't a lot you can do.



Kidding aside... There isn't a lot you can do. If he has any particular items he likes to play with, be sure those stay available to him or are near his bed. Pay attention to him without being a "helicopter owner", and keep his routine as consistent as possible (feeding and such).

Remember that cats tend to gravitate toward the one person that isn't paying a lot of attention to them. That's largely because they don't feel threatened by that person as there is little or not eye contact between them. Don't look at him a lot thinking you're "keeping an eye on him" because he might feel intimidated by that.

Definitely don't "sneak up on him" while he's sleeping and startle him. If the trauma wasn't anything more than just a really good scare, he should settle back in (although he may now always be at least a little skittish around cars).

 

[joemd11]

Sounds like that cat had a confrontation with something that scared the daylights out of it. I wouldn't think a vehicle would cause that much stress unless contact was made and you said the cat had no injures. Maybe he was chased by fox or coyote? I would keep him inside for a few days and see if he returns to normal. He may need to go to the vet for a checkup.

 

[Baby Grand]

You got some good advice from meburdick, already. Give him a hidey hole where he can get away from everything/everyone. Maybe a closed up cardboard box with a "door" and a few small "windows" cut out and a fluffy towel on the bottom. Preferably in a cool place this time of year.

Our cats both hang out in "The Sky Box" when ever they get freaked out - which happens about 4 or 5 times a year. Usually it coincides with sightings of a fox or coyote. The Sky Box is actually the top of a cedar dresser that was left behind when we moved in. There's about 16 inches between the top and the floor joists, above. It's right in front of one of the basement windows, so it has a commanding field of fire on the North side of the house including the pumpkin patch. The view also includes our compost pile, which I'm sure is prime time cat TV at night. There's a few towels set on top of the dresser, which we clean and replace from time to time. It's a series of 2 or 3 jumps to get to and is very defensible, once they are there. They always seem to know when a vet visit is hours away and invariably are there, waiting, with ears flattened. Even before we lay hands on the cat carriers. Nearly impossible to grab them when they are up there - you have to bribe them.

Also, it's the one place in the house that we are not welcome, so I don't even try to make eye contact when they are up there.

-Jim

 

[s219]

Give him a small area to hang out in, maybe even close him in a room for a while with some toys, food, and a bedding spot. Stressed cats often benefit from some alone time where they have limited stimulation and can feel secure and safe.

Also keep an eye on the cat, as sometimes medical issues can manifest with totally different types of symptoms.

 

[meburdick]

Also keep an eye on the cat, as sometimes medical issues can manifest with totally different types of symptoms.

Excellent point. Watch how your other cats interact with him and see if it's different than previously. If he wants nothing to do with any of them and was social before, that can be telling.

You may just need to, in general, cut him a little more slack than usual.

I hope it all turns out well.

 

[JDgreen227]

Thanks everyone, for the very useful advice and the information you provided....we will probably never know what happened to him but I really appreciate the feedback and concern here....made me feel better, and hopefully my kitty will benefit from the advice you provided....

Just in case you wondered what he looks like.....here he is trying to snaffle my orange gummies...he has a sweet tooth.

Oh, meburdick...seeing how he gets along with our other four cats will be impossible...he hates them, always has, and will attack any of them given the chance so we have to keep him separate. They are mainly indoor cats, but he follows me around outdoors all the time.

 

[meburdick]

Well, if he starts socializing with them, or they start investigating him more, there might be something wrong that a vet should look at.

He looks like he at least has some Maine Coon in him. My last cat was a coon and he was pretty great.

 

[JohninCT]

Sounds like that cat had a confrontation with something that scared the daylights out of it. I wouldn't think a vehicle would cause that much stress unless contact was made and you said the cat had no injures. Maybe he was chased by fox or coyote? I would keep him inside for a few days and see if he returns to normal. He may need to go to the vet for a checkup.

That's what I was thinking. Maybe he had a run in with a fisher... Scare the heck out of any cat lucky to survive it.

 

[SPIKER]

mine a smaller female started acting like that one day out of the blue, she would follow me all over the property staying close usually meowing for a ride. She would dart from cover to cover following still but anytime she was out away from some cover her eyes were peeled to the sky... I'm assuming one of the frequent red tail hawks tried to make a snack out of her. it got to be pretty pesky with her right under my feet constantly after that. she did disappear a year or so later maybe was 9 years old is all at the time.

one of my pics of her

mark

 

[k0ua]

JD sorry to hear about your kitty, we had one that was pretty wary for a while after another large stray tom tried to kill him. I am guessing something tried to kill your cat. They will change their personality after a big enough trauma.. I have seen it. Usually near death experience will do it. Good luck with him.

James K0UA

 

[JDgreen227]

JD sorry to hear about your kitty, we had one that was pretty wary for a while after another large stray tom tried to kill him. I am guessing something tried to kill your cat. They will change their personality after a big enough trauma.. I have seen it. Usually near death experience will do it. Good luck with him.

James K0UA

Thank you, he has been staying in the house since the time he came back and will not go thru the door and if I carry him out he will fight to get away. Any noise bothers him...makes me sad he underwent such a scare.

 

[jmurray01]

Well that is a mystery... It could have been anything I suppose.

The best thing you could do is keep him inside for the time being and make him as happy and settled as possible.

 

[JDgreen227]

GREAT NEWS !!! After 10 days of staying in the house and being too skittish to go outdoors for more than a few seconds, yesterday morning Tiggs bounded out the door, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and took off to roam until noon, then he came back for chow, took off again until 5 pm, came back home, and today he has been pacing in front of the door meowing up a storm. Weird...I wonder what finally convinced him the world isn't such a big, bad, and scary place after all?

 

[meburdick]

One thing that I don't believe anyone considered is that he may have been sick, too. Or, it could have been a combo of illness and something "tweaking" him.

Regardless, it appears that he's [at least mostly] returned to his old self and that's a good thing.

:thumbsup:

 

[k0ua]

I am glad to hear your kitty is his old self again..A lot of folks discount that a cat could be a friend, that only a dog could be a good loyal pet, but it is not true, a cat while different, is no less a friend and companion than a dog, and we get just as attached to them. Some people think that a cat could care less whether you lived or died, because it is not slobbering all over you all the time.. but it isn't true, they get attached to us just as much, they just show it in different ways.

James K0UA

James K0UA

 

[meburdick]

I am glad to hear your kitty is his old self again..A lot of folks discount that a cat could be a friend, that only a dog could be a good loyal pet, but it is not true, a cat while different, is no less a friend and companion than a dog, and we get just as attached to them. Some people think that a cat could care less whether you lived or died, because it is not slobbering all over you all the time.. but it isn't true, they get attached to us just as much, they just show it in different ways.

Very true.

When I lived alone and traveled for work, I would leave very early on a Monday and return early evening on a Thursday. My cat had an auto-feeder and automatic water bowl, a freshly cleaned litter box, run of the apartment (including all of the great places to lie in the sun all afternoon), and someone to stop in and check things out / scoop the litter each day.

It never failed that he would follow me around for about two hours every Thursday as soon as I got home, never leaving my side, and meowing the whole time. It also never failed that he would sleep on my suitcase each Sunday night after I had packed and closed it. I don't interact with him like I do the dog, but that doesn't make his less loved or cared for. And, vice versa.