- Joined
- Dec 17, 2008
- Messages
- 5
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Hello all - desperately seeking some help/guidance please. I have two cat brothers (4 years old) and just adopted a kitten about 2 1/2 months ago - he is now about 6 months old. He was the most relaxed (regularly slept on his back all sprawled out), playful, loving cat I've ever had - just a wonderful addition to our home as he brought us all so much joy. My existing two cats adjusted to him very quickly and they all became very close - playing, eating, and sleeping together everyday. I'm speaking in past tense because beginning about 3 weeks ago, it came to an end literally overnight. He is now constantly frightened, extremely skittish, hides a good bit of the day, and refuses to play. It is like a switch was flipped. Literally nothing has happened to cause this - no trauma or abuse, no issues with the other cats, and no physical illness (took him to the vet for full exam 2 weeks ago and he checked out perfectly fine). The vet had no explanation for what was going on.
Over the course of the last 3 weeks, he has gotten somewhat better (less frightened, a bit more relaxed, but still refuses to play), but then will regress for no reason at all. There is no trigger whatsoever (that we can see) for his regression. It feels like we are on a rollercoaster with his behavior. I've been doing a great deal of research on the internet and unexplained, 180 degree behavior change like this is sometimes tied to the cats ability to see ghosts. Some cats apparently can't see them at all, some can and are not bothered by them, some see them and get very aggressive, and finally some see them and get extremely frightened. Before I continue, let me say that I am really not a believer in ghosts; however, I may become one as it would make sense why the sudden unjustified/unexplainable behavior change.
That said, certainly I am not the only one that has a cat that has experienced this extremely sudden shift in behavior (unrelated to physical illness) - thus why I am posting so I can tap into this huge cat lover community and am hoping for some guidance on what I can do. I feel incredibly helpless and it is very sad to see my sweet kitten suffering like he is. I would be extremely grateful for any feedback, thoughts, guidance that the community could provide me as I am desperately searching for a solution.
Thanks in advance!
Jeremy
Over the course of the last 3 weeks, he has gotten somewhat better (less frightened, a bit more relaxed, but still refuses to play), but then will regress for no reason at all. There is no trigger whatsoever (that we can see) for his regression. It feels like we are on a rollercoaster with his behavior. I've been doing a great deal of research on the internet and unexplained, 180 degree behavior change like this is sometimes tied to the cats ability to see ghosts. Some cats apparently can't see them at all, some can and are not bothered by them, some see them and get very aggressive, and finally some see them and get extremely frightened. Before I continue, let me say that I am really not a believer in ghosts; however, I may become one as it would make sense why the sudden unjustified/unexplainable behavior change.
That said, certainly I am not the only one that has a cat that has experienced this extremely sudden shift in behavior (unrelated to physical illness) - thus why I am posting so I can tap into this huge cat lover community and am hoping for some guidance on what I can do. I feel incredibly helpless and it is very sad to see my sweet kitten suffering like he is. I would be extremely grateful for any feedback, thoughts, guidance that the community could provide me as I am desperately searching for a solution.
Thanks in advance!
Jeremy