Hello all, new user here. Found your site researching the issue below.
We are a family of five, two adults, three children, ages 10-14. Two dogs, very friendly and three cats, all very friendly. The dogs are both female and two of the three cats are female. The one that this post is about is the single male cat.
"Boots" was brought to us in a snow storm last winter as a kitten. He was only about 5 weeks old, frozen nearly to the bone and entirely infested with fleas. Through my daughter's loving care, he was returned to health. He has always been a "paranoid" cat, whereas the other two cats cannot stay off my lap. No amount of coaxing will get him to come to me or any member of my family except my daughter, and even then not fully willingly. Recently, I have taken an interest in some really odd elements of his paranoia that I am unable to explain yet. He has daytime paranoia. Between about 7am and midnight, you cannot get near him. He stays at a distance, hides and is generally just unsocial. However between midnight and 7am he wants nothing more than to be picked up, petted, played with, etc.
Though this behavior preceeds this event, we recently moved. When we brought him into the new house, he found a hiding place under the staircase where he remained for four days without coming out at all during the daylight hours. Eventually he came out and has adjusted just as he had at the last home and we're back to the on/off paranoia. Any suggestions or ideas?
We are a family of five, two adults, three children, ages 10-14. Two dogs, very friendly and three cats, all very friendly. The dogs are both female and two of the three cats are female. The one that this post is about is the single male cat.
"Boots" was brought to us in a snow storm last winter as a kitten. He was only about 5 weeks old, frozen nearly to the bone and entirely infested with fleas. Through my daughter's loving care, he was returned to health. He has always been a "paranoid" cat, whereas the other two cats cannot stay off my lap. No amount of coaxing will get him to come to me or any member of my family except my daughter, and even then not fully willingly. Recently, I have taken an interest in some really odd elements of his paranoia that I am unable to explain yet. He has daytime paranoia. Between about 7am and midnight, you cannot get near him. He stays at a distance, hides and is generally just unsocial. However between midnight and 7am he wants nothing more than to be picked up, petted, played with, etc.
Though this behavior preceeds this event, we recently moved. When we brought him into the new house, he found a hiding place under the staircase where he remained for four days without coming out at all during the daylight hours. Eventually he came out and has adjusted just as he had at the last home and we're back to the on/off paranoia. Any suggestions or ideas?
and a lot of these cats are one person cats too. I have a tamed feral that is the same way. Stays in her tent all day. I can bring her out for pets during the day but she soon retreats back to her hiding place. At about eight o'clock each night she turns into a playful, attention demanding cat.
