Hi guys,
I have a beautiful bengal kitty, named Kitty (I am very creative, this I know), that my boyfriend and I found on Craigslist in January of 2009. She was already a year and a half, and I'm almost certain she was terrorized in some way everyday by the lady I got her from - she was breeding her so she could sell the kittens, and she also bred albino Yorkies in her home... When we came to see Kitty, there were at least 10 yapping dogs in the lady's living room, and she was being kept in an empty room behind her garage with no heat. It was in January - I live in Michigan.
Of course, I couldn't stand the sight of this poor cat's situation, and we took her home immediately.
It took her a few days to acclimate to us, but once she got used to us, we found that she was one of the most affectionate, loving cats I have ever met.
Fast forward to early this morning, around 4 am, I was woken up by thunder and the sound of Kitty pathetically crying to be let out of our room. This is only the second time she has ever reacted like this to a thunderstorm, the first time being about a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was strange that all of a sudden she was frightened by them, while for the past 2 years I never heard a peep out of her during a thunderstorm.
I realized that she is the same way now about when we put her in the carrier for any reason - car rides went from being slightly terrifying to her, with faint little cries, to full blown emotional breakdowns - now if we have to take her somewhere for any reason, she pees herself in the carrier. And she's only been to the vet twice since we got her - the other times have been for things like having to take her over to a friend's house while they fumigated our place or did a major repair that required maintenance people walking in and out the door all day.
The only major changes we've made since we got her was having her spayed, and moving apartments. Our roommate also got a kitten about 8 months ago, but they play together just fine, and we don't let the kitten into our room, where Kitty's litter, food, and favorite toys are, since we know that she has very delicate sensibilities, lol. Whenever she is done playing she just waits to be let in, and has a room all to herself.
I don't think anything is wrong with her, she seems just fine and healthy otherwise, and she interacts with everyone and our roommate's cat just fine, but I have just never had a cat or heard of anyone else's cat that became more scared of things over time, especially when everything else has pretty much remained constant. I worry because I am afraid that as she gets older, she will develop other fears, and I worry about how big changes coming up will affect her, such as making a big move out of the state in the next few years, and how we will accommodate that kind of change for her so she doesn't freak out to the point she is severely emotionally scarred.
Anyone else in or ever have a similar situation? Any insight or advice would be appreciated! Thank you for reading!
I have a beautiful bengal kitty, named Kitty (I am very creative, this I know), that my boyfriend and I found on Craigslist in January of 2009. She was already a year and a half, and I'm almost certain she was terrorized in some way everyday by the lady I got her from - she was breeding her so she could sell the kittens, and she also bred albino Yorkies in her home... When we came to see Kitty, there were at least 10 yapping dogs in the lady's living room, and she was being kept in an empty room behind her garage with no heat. It was in January - I live in Michigan.
Of course, I couldn't stand the sight of this poor cat's situation, and we took her home immediately.
It took her a few days to acclimate to us, but once she got used to us, we found that she was one of the most affectionate, loving cats I have ever met.
Fast forward to early this morning, around 4 am, I was woken up by thunder and the sound of Kitty pathetically crying to be let out of our room. This is only the second time she has ever reacted like this to a thunderstorm, the first time being about a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was strange that all of a sudden she was frightened by them, while for the past 2 years I never heard a peep out of her during a thunderstorm.
I realized that she is the same way now about when we put her in the carrier for any reason - car rides went from being slightly terrifying to her, with faint little cries, to full blown emotional breakdowns - now if we have to take her somewhere for any reason, she pees herself in the carrier. And she's only been to the vet twice since we got her - the other times have been for things like having to take her over to a friend's house while they fumigated our place or did a major repair that required maintenance people walking in and out the door all day.
The only major changes we've made since we got her was having her spayed, and moving apartments. Our roommate also got a kitten about 8 months ago, but they play together just fine, and we don't let the kitten into our room, where Kitty's litter, food, and favorite toys are, since we know that she has very delicate sensibilities, lol. Whenever she is done playing she just waits to be let in, and has a room all to herself.
I don't think anything is wrong with her, she seems just fine and healthy otherwise, and she interacts with everyone and our roommate's cat just fine, but I have just never had a cat or heard of anyone else's cat that became more scared of things over time, especially when everything else has pretty much remained constant. I worry because I am afraid that as she gets older, she will develop other fears, and I worry about how big changes coming up will affect her, such as making a big move out of the state in the next few years, and how we will accommodate that kind of change for her so she doesn't freak out to the point she is severely emotionally scarred.
Anyone else in or ever have a similar situation? Any insight or advice would be appreciated! Thank you for reading!
