Inside kitty now

So we brought Katniss in right before thanksgiving, til then she'd been living in our porch for about 15 months. She'd shown up young and had been spayed. I had her vetted in August this year. I can handle her and she's sweeter than out other two combined...

.... until last night. She seems depressed? She normally comes when I call her and hands out in the kitchen with us, but starting last night she won't come to me. If I can catch her (but I don't want to stress her) she's fine and cuddles right in, even hanging out watching us wrap gifts on the couch last night. She's nervous of the dog, but that makes sense, and she's just steered clear of him.

My going theory is that she's a feral at heart (and outside she'd wander away for a day or two) and needs space once in awhile. We did remove a tick a couple weeks ago, maybe something from that? I haven't seen her eating, but she might have nibbled during the night.

Any advice is welcomed. I'm so worried about her. And it's Christmas. :-(

Thank you and happy holidays!

If she's made the adjustment to the inside, I would not let her out again.  She's safer inside.

As to her mood - is there a lot of holiday activity around?

If you've had company a lot, it might have spooked her.  We have one cat no one believes in because no one has ever seen him except my husband and me!  My granddaughter spends three weeks in the summer with us and she's never seen him.

Something as seemingly simple as new decorations might have upset her, too.  Let the dust settle from the holidays.

Having said that, though, if she doesn't improve in a day or so, a trip to the vet might help determine if she's actually sick.  Cats react in a lot of different ways when they don't feel well.  One of them is hiding.

Good luck and thank you for rescuing her!

We think we figured her problem out, and it's actually kind of funny. Yesterday I brought home a bag of new food, that had a picture of a bob cat on it, that's when she went to the basemen. It took me about 10 minutes this afternoon, but I was finally about to coax her to me and bring her upstairs, but I noticed her trying to sneak past the bag. My husband had noticed one one of the other cats doing the same thing. So I've got the bag hidden (no one will eat it either, but we're switching to strictly canned) and she's been in the kitchen ever since.

She's definitely not going outside again! We were prepared to let her out of she insisted, but she hasn't so much as glanced out a window. In the spring she might change her mind, but I think we're going to make a cat door into the screen in porch for the cats.
Thanks again for the advice! 24 hours in and this site is already a sanity saver!
Happy holidays!

Tcbemis said:

 Yesterday I brought home a bag of new food, that had a picture of a bob cat on it,
 

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Yeah, lynx cats are great enemies of  our cats, being one of the few animals actively hunting on adult cats.

Interesting to notice some cats do recognize pictures!

the food was "Call of the wild"?  One of the best brands of dry.  You can surely use it, as long as they dont see the pics.   But do proceeed with the swithching for canned - its better in the long run.

Good the problem solved - Ondines suggestions were otherwise my tips too.

Good luck!

The food is Blue Buffalo Wilderness I believe.... Still good for now? Only one of them loves it anyway... And she'll eat /steal anything. Tortellini is high on her list. And chick peas, she's a freak.
Katniss is totally back to her sweet little self, too funny (now anyway).

Any opinions on Trader Joe's canned food? The ingredients list is similar to Wellness, but no fruits or veggies. And they all historically will at least pick at it. We're headed today to get a few cans of that (69 cents /can!) and some other brands at Target.

I apologize for not answering sooner.  We were away for a few days.  We use Wellness and all our cats like it.  I am not crazy about the fruits and veggies in it though but apparently, it's OK.

Our nearest Trader Joe's is 50 miles away, so we don't shop there.  But I would say try a can or two and see what happens.  If the ingredients are good, the price is right and the cats like it, go for it.

I use both Wellness and Trader Joes wet food.  It gives them all a nice variety.  Trader Joe's only sells 4 flavors.  My boys like them all, but I only give the Tuna every one and awhile.  I love the price of Trader Joes.  I did find some really good deals just after Thanksgiving on Wellness through Wag.com and Chewy.com.  Their prices on full cases are cheaper than my pet store and I always order enough to get the free shipping.  If you are a first time customer search around as they have some coupons floating around, sometimes $10 off your first order!

Thanks for the tips! They like the Trader Joe's, and I'll definitely get more this week, but our store seems to have dropped a variety, or at least didn't have it in Stock. Our feral, Katniss, has decided she really likes Evo venison. Is this OK often? It gets her off the fish at least lol.

Our small size order of tcfeline is coming tomorrow, I can't wait for them to try it, we have the chicken thawing now.