northcoast Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 We have a fixed, outdoor male cat, approx 4-5 years old, we adopted from the shelter 2 years ago. All the sudden two days ago he started acting scared, skiddish, and doesn't want to be in the garage or our screened porch which are his favorite places to get out of the rain. He doesn't want to touch his food bowls or water either. DD washed both food bowls and water bowls and now he will at least eat & drink. Could an animal have gotten on our porch or garage and marked things? There is a pet door so that it possible. He doesn't always want touched either. Before he was always around if someone was outside unless hunting. He would love to sit on someone's lap or be petted never turning away attention. He is current on rabies shot and distemper. There is not any obvious injury. So what is going on? If something has marked, how should it be cleaned? Not that this would make much difference but we were gone all last week with someone to check in on him. We were home one day before abnormal behavior began. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) Cat people? I am not an expert on cats. I might guess residual fear from a stranger taking care of him. Or maybe the stranger to him brought someone along. I'm guessing there were people that usually aren't there, not other animals. Maybe prowlers? Or wild aggressive animals, raccoons? A snake? I hope he gets over it soon. Our cat has acted like that when we had house showings. Scared to come out of hiding. Edited to add: Cat people please chime in. See my first sentence? Not what I meant! Edited July 1, 2016 by Gaillardia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 The person checking on our cat has checked in on him before. Our cat definitely does not want to use the cat door. Since I last posted, our daughter tried lure him with treats. No success. He is not had a problem with the cat door before. So something has traumatized him so he doesn't want the cat door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Poor kitty. :sad: First off, I'd run him into the vet, just in case there's an injury that's not obvious. That's a huge behavioral change you've described and I'd want him checked out. There are enzymatic cleaners that do a pretty good job getting out urine odors. Nature's Miracle is one brand, but there are others. I'd at least scrub down that pet door and the surrounding area. Has anything else changed in the porch or garage? I ask because earlier this spring my cat was acting similarly frightened to go out on our back deck, something he's done fearlessly for many years. I thought maybe an animal had marked it or he'd had a run in with the dog in the yard behind us, etc. I don't know if any of those things happened or didn't happen, but he was acting so skittish one day I unplugged the strand of tree lights that had been strung across the deck and suddenly the world was right again. I have no clue what set that off because the lights had been lit up on and off for months, but suddenly they became an issue for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I would wonder about wild animals in area that have scared him. A coyote recently got a neighbor's cat. If that just couldn't be it, I would definitely take him to the vet. Not eating or drinking is big. Alley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 I can't think of any changes that would set him off but will think on that some more. We are wondering if a raccoon got on the porch. DH has set up a trail cam to see if anything comes wandering by tonight. The cat is eating and drinking now that the food bowl has been washed. Will better wash the porch tomorrow. If that doesn't help, we will try a vet check up. Thanks for input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Worms or other internal parasites could account for the skittishness, hiding, and poor eating. Especially with an outdoor cat that would be the first thing I'd eliminate from my list is a thorough vet check and stool analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 Update - the cat ate quite a bit today when a family member was around but he was wary, watching the door. So after more observation, we suspect that maybe something like a raccoon got to him while he was eating on the screened in porch. The person watching him put more food out than we do. So food was out at night. The plan now is to continue to work with him to calm him while on the porch and in the garage. Thanks for all the advice and tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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