In need of advice

mariya · May 24, 2016

I adopted a lovely orange tabby from the shelter in November.I love him so much and we get him grain free food. Past few days, he is terrified of the main floor and won't even come to eat. I have to take his food upstairs to my room where he sleeps a lot. He's become very lethargic but is eating normally.
My guess is that this is because he's been terrorized by my younger brother who is 7. My parents let him and when my mom sees cat hair on her bed, she yells like a crazy person and locks our cat in the basement. My mom is geberally not a nice person and yells at me all the time and curses at m . IDC what she does to me but Leo certainly doesn't deserve to deal with this. I love him but I just feel so bad for him. It breaks my heart but I'm thinking of rehoming him. I have cousins who are cat lovers and they are all older kids. And their mom loves cats and their neighbors cat visits the . I am thinking of rehomeing him to their house. He is very attached to me but I don't want him to suffer like this. What do you think? I'm just frustrated in his treatment to the point of tears. This is animal abuse right??

catpack · May 24, 2016

Hi Mariya and welcome to TCS! You are a very kindhearted person to be thinking about the wellbeing of Leo!

My first thought is that since Leo's behavior is new there may be an underlying medical issue. He really needs to be seen by a vet. Are you able to do this?

mishicats · May 24, 2016

Hello Mariya, If you think Leo is being abused by your mother or your brother in any way you need to take action. It sounds like abuse to me. Cats are very sensitive creatures and yelling and screaming at them can cause almost as much harm as physical abuse. I know you love him but it is not fair to him to live in fear. You said he is lethargic. Do you think he may have been injured somehow? Maybe he is sick and needs to see a vet. In any case, please do whatever you have to to take care of and protect your kitty. Talk to your family about how they treat him. Tell them it is not OK. You may have to rehome him for his own safety.

Best of luck to you

mariya · May 24, 2016

So I doubt my parents will even take my concerns seriously. He was lethargic from Friday but he is suddenly his hyper active self again today. Thank god!no he isn't injured. He goes out on harness and was stung by a bee two weeks ago. But the swelling was gone in a few hours and he was alright.
Idk if its important but I changed his food. Leo isn't a fussy cat and did give trouble. He changed from taste of the wild to good natured, a grain free formula from petsmart. He doesn't eat a lot of wet food and loves his dry stuff. He gets 1/2 cup of dry food throughout the day and a spoonful of wet food as a midnight snack.
I agree I'm probably going to wait a week before bringing up the topic with my parents since I have midterm exams atm. I really appreciate ur responses!

mariya · May 24, 2016

Okay so an update. I spoke with mom and she took it surprisingly well and was apologetic about yelling at leo. She also agreed to keep ny brother occupied while I am not home so that he doesn't bug leo.
However leo still won't go downstairs and has even begun sleeping under my parents bed. He never did this before and used to sleep ON my bed.
No eating or litter box issues. Litter box is in the basement and I assume he goes down at night to do his business. He is comfortable in the basement since he has a tent with a bed there as well as his toys.
The problem seems to be the main floor and he used to follow me around for meal time. Now he only waits for food up in my room

its really upsetting.he used to sit on the couch with me and now he doesn't. I feel sad and frustrated. Its like he isn't the sane cat that confidently explored the house the moment he got out the carrier after adoption. I'm probably going to ask ny parents to take him to the vet after my exams. I feel so frustrated.

ginny · May 24, 2016

Your kitty seems scared of your brother. Can you keep him away from your kitty? Why is the litter box in the basement? Is that where the kitty stays or does he have to go down to the main level for food and then to the basement to do his business? That's way too far to make a kitty go to relieve himself. Can the kitty stay in your room away from your little brother? With food and a litter box? I'd lock he door so the little brother couldn't get in their to scare him.

mariya · May 24, 2016

Ginny said:
Your kitty seems scared of your brother. Can you keep him away from your kitty? Why is the litter box in the basement? Is that where the kitty stays or does he have to go down to the main level for food and then to the basement to do his business? That's way too far to make a kitty go to relieve himself. Can the kitty stay in your room away from your little brother? With food and a litter box? I'd lock he door so the little brother couldn't get in their to scare him.

I put the food in my room since leo is scared of the main floor. Usually his food is in the kitchen. My younger brother irritates Leo in the morning --- maximum of ten minutes on weeekends. On weekdays, he is busy getting ready for school. In the afternoon, he doesn't approach the cat.
Our house is a townhouse so it isn't too big.the litter is in the basement since its the quietest and he could get his business done peacefully. He never had any issues in the past because leo would usually be on the main floor so he would only have to go to the basement twice a day to use the litter. We put leo's toys and bed in the basement since he took a liking to it when he first came.leo like to think the entire basement is his.[emoji]128541[/emoji]the basement is carpeted so he likes to scratch and the rest of the house is hardwood. However, he also has a larger bed in my room but he usually just sleeps on my bed.
Unfortunetly no rooms in the house have locks.my room isn't big and my bed takes up most space. I don't want to restrict leo to my room but it's always open for him.

mariya · May 24, 2016

This behavior just started on Friday. For the past 6 months leo was totally normal and outgoing.and despite my baby brother botherong him,he and Leo would often play tag in the morning. So far I have noticed that Leo still approaches my younger brother although he is afraid of the main floor. I'm sorry I'm all over the place but its really worrying

mishicats · May 25, 2016

mariya said:
This behavior just started on Friday. For the past 6 months Leo was totally normal and outgoing.and despite my baby brother bothering him,he and Leo would often play tag in the morning. So far I have noticed that Leo still approaches my younger brother although he is afraid of the main floor. I'm sorry I'm all over the place but its really worrying

Hi Mariya, It sounds like something really scared him when he was down on the main floor. It may have been a loud noise etc. It may may take him a while to feel secure enough to venture back down there. If he likes treats, try putting some on the stairs to get him to go down them. Or you sit on the stairs and pet him and talk to him as you slowly go farther and farther down them. Hopefully he will come around.

I am so glad you talked to your Mom about being nicer to Leo. Have you tried to talk to your brother about it? I know he is young but he might understand if you take the time to explain things to him. I would suggest that you continue to read up on cats either on this site or get some books from the library. The more information you have about cats and their behavior the better it will be for you and Leo.

ginny · May 25, 2016

mariya said:
I put the food in my room since leo is scared of the main floor. Usually his food is in the kitchen. My younger brother irritates Leo in the morning --- maximum of ten minutes on weeekends. On weekdays, he is busy getting ready for school. In the afternoon, he doesn't approach the cat.
Our house is a townhouse so it isn't too big.the litter is in the basement since its the quietest and he could get his business done peacefully. He never had any issues in the past because leo would usually be on the main floor so he would only have to go to the basement twice a day to use the litter. We put leo's toys and bed in the basement since he took a liking to it when he first came.leo like to think the entire basement is his.[emoji]128541[/emoji]the basement is carpeted so he likes to scratch and the rest of the house is hardwood. However, he also has a larger bed in my room but he usually just sleeps on my bed.
Unfortunetly no rooms in the house have locks.my room isn't big and my bed takes up most space. I don't want to restrict leo to my room but it's always open for him.

Well that makes sense, cats do like privacy. I'm glad your mom is being nicer to Leo now. And I'm glad the little brother doesn't always bother him.

mariya · May 25, 2016

Mishicats said:
IMG_20160525_132540.jpg

mariya

May 25, 2016

aislinn · May 25, 2016

Such a beautiful boy!

foxxycat · May 25, 2016

I would recommend adding a catbox in the room-you can always arrange the box behind something so its not seen-its too far to go into the basement-have you checked with that special light to look for urine-wonder if he is going under the bed and pee/poo? ultraviolet light is what is used to look for urine spots on surfaces-petco sells a keychain type so its easy to use. Asking your brother to not hurt the kitty is a good idea. and of course asking him why he does it was very perfect! Its hard to have time for everything-you are doing great coming on here and asking questions.

When you feed him does he eat all at once or does he pick at his food?

One thing to do is ask your brother to feed kitty=cats are usually easier to train by the person who is giving the food-this may help kitty learn to trust your brother again. Likewise any other house member.

mariya · May 25, 2016

foxxycat said:
I would recommend adding a catbox in the room-you can always arrange the box behind something so its not seen-its too far to go into the basement-have you checked with that special light to look for urine-wonder if he is going under the bed and pee/poo? ultraviolet light is what is used to look for urine spots on surfaces-petco sells a keychain type so its easy to use. Asking your brother to not hurt the kitty is a good idea. and of course asking him why he does it was very perfect! Its hard to have time for everything-you are doing great coming on here and asking questions.

When you feed him does he eat all at once or does he pick at his food?

One thing to do is ask your brother to feed kitty=cats are usually easier to train by the person who is giving the food-this may help kitty learn to trust your brother again. Likewise any other house member.

I will look for the uv light. Wouldn't it smell if he did though? TBH the reason I want to keep the litterbox in the basement is because I want him to have contact with the rest of the house. I'm scared he may even stop going there! The basement is still the safe haven but he likes being upstairs when im home.

His eating ritual is the pretty much the same: when I bring his food, he comes right away but doesn't finish it all at once . he comes back throughout the day to eat. (1/4 cup dry food twice a day: morning and evening around 5-6pm) and he get a spoonful of dry food mixed with water as a midnight snack. Ive tried giving him more wet food but he stops eating after the "spoonful mark".

he meows whenever he sees something he likes/want. and he has always drunk plenty of water. he refuses to drink from his dish and drinks from a glass xP

once again thank you for the advice!

foxxycat · May 25, 2016

My cats also drink water out of a cup. I found these tiny milkglass type of dishes from the 1960s at a yard sale and my Honeybee drinks water from it but she licks the side of the dish to drink water. My other cats paw at the water then drink.

I understand why you want to keep the catbox out of there but I was thinking temporary. Like a week. Some cats don't use it in a certain spot. My pumpy only uses the one in the hallway even though there are three other choices. But that's where she wants to go. I hate having it visible but at least it doesn't smell.

As far as smell not necessarily. Poop is not usually smelly unless its fresh. You would be surprised how much they get away with before its discovered.

Maybe try adding wet food. Fancy feast classics are well liked. Mashing food with fork then add a can of hot water to it helps make it more appealing. Most cats love the turkey or liver flavor. Its something I give every morning and dry as well. They love their slurry and they lick the juice up then I add more water mash again with fork and they will pick away at it.

mariya · Jun 2, 2016

UPDATE
Leo's litter box is now on the upper level beside the stairs and he is faithfully using it.
So we took Leo to the vet yesterday and he got a clean bill of health. He is a bit chubby though but he was totally calm.
He told us that something could've scared him and that we should wait for him to get confident enough to go downstairs.
I managed to coax him halfway down the stairs yesterday but he looked at the living room and went back up. I decided to carry him down and them go back up and give him a treat so that he gets accustomed slowly.

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