Cat living on fridge

[m935]

It's been a month. I've had him 10 years.. about that age. Never before has he done this... now literally living there!!! Will use litter box but runs back.

I miss him. He eats well. He was living on cat tree for awhile before this... but he had a window.

There is no window in my galley kitchen. Really worry about mental issue. He's very loving cat normally.

I did get a new dog 3 months ago... they were sleeping near each other.. so not sure it's that.

I can't get him down.. he'll fight me. Should i block it or let him be happy?

Thanks for any info!!

 

[Margot Lane]

What kind of dog, if you don’t mind me asking? Is there any cat activity going on outside (cats can smell other cats even through windows). All I can tell you is he feels safe up there. Cats are also good at hiding things…when was his last checkup?

 

[ArtNJ]

Whenever you have an unexplained significant behavior change, a vet visit is a good idea. And that is more true now that the cat is getting up into senior territory.

I'd classify this as unexplained given that the dog has been around for 3 months and things seemed to be going fine.

 

[m935]

Thanks... yeah... that's the problem too... getting him down! He was also using my top of fireplace for awhile before i blocked him. So he definitely wants to be up high now for last 2 months maybe.

Dog is a terrier mix... chihuahua maybe. So he's same size... my other 2 dogs were big pits.

Now he did chase the cat a few times a month ago.. but that stopped abd they were fine again. They aren't left out alone.. so nothing happened i didn't see..

 

[Maggsy]

Could something have happened between the dog and cat while you weren't there to see it?
( what's his name?)
It appears to me that he may be afraid of the dog, any jealousy there, d'you think?

 

[Kflowers]

When I had this happen, my cat was sort of peeing off the back of the fridge. I put a small one cat sized litter box in side a plastic under the bed box that was about 1/3 the size of the top of the fridge. There were some shelves next to the fridge so she had a bit more room. Later moved a chest of drawers on the other side of the shelves so she had more territory. She seemed content and liked watching the rest of us from there.

 

[m935]

Could something have happened between the dog and cat while you weren't there to see it?
( what's his name?)
It appears to me that he may be afraid of the dog, any jealousy there, d'you think?

Boo...is his name.

No.. I don't think. I would see/ hear..my place is very small. They both have laid next to me on couch...no jealousy.

 

[m935]

When I had this happen, my cat was sort of peeing off the back of the fridge. I put a small one cat sized litter box in side a plastic under the bed box that was about 1/3 the size of the top of the fridge. There were some shelves next to the fridge so she had a bit more room. Later moved a chest of drawers on the other side of the shelves so she had more territory. She seemed content and liked watching the rest of us from there.

When I had this happen, my cat was sort of peeing off the back of the fridge. I put a small one cat sized litter box in side a plastic under the bed box that was about 1/3 the size of the top of the fridge. There were some shelves next to the fridge so she had a bit more room. Later moved a chest of drawers on the other side of the shelves so she had more territory. She seemed content and liked watching the rest of us from there.

So she came down... Lived normally?? There's not much to watch in my kitchen.. It's a tiny dark room actually. Im rarely in there.

 

[Alldara]

I'm with A ArtNJ on this one. Your cat needs a vet visit with senior bloodwork asap! This is a severe behaviour change and often times that is caused by a medical change.

Cats are excellent at hiding pain or discomfort and often times behavioural changes like choosing a new sleep spot can be the first sign.

In the meantime if you can put all his needs into a bedroom and get him into the bedroom to give him some space to relax fully, that would be best.

 

[Kflowers]

No, our cat never came down. She spent the last several of her years up on the fridge, but there were the shelves and the chest of drawers so she did have bed space and several perches above the other cats' areas. The chest was low enough to pet her and basically in my study which was part of the kitchen. Before that she'd, by her choice spent a year in a cabinet, with the door open so she could look out. The other cats respected her space. So, I think they understood what was going on with her even though I didn't.

In your case, A ArtNJ and Alldara have good points. My cat did see the vet regularly and was deemed healthy.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just a long shot, but do you treat your dog and cat for fleas/mites? If so, the treatment may not be as effective on your cat to entirely rid him of them. There are also multiple kinds of mites that can bother a cat, and some may not be treatable with a flea treatment.

I say this because my cat started spending an inordinate amount of time on our coffee table, which she had never done before. She was being treated for fleas, but it was just not effective enough to get rid of them completely. This went on for years, and fleas never got out of control in the house enough for us to even notice, nor could you see them on her unless we did an intensive flea combing. Even then we would only find a few. But, apparently, there were enough of them that she preferred to stay off the floor as much as possible.

We have lived in the same house for 40 years and never had a flea issue before this all happened, even with other cats, and prior to this she had not had any sort of flea treatment given to her.

 

[m935]

Just a long shot, but do you treat your dog and cat for fleas/mites? If so, the treatment may not be as effective on your cat to entirely rid him of them. There are also multiple kinds of mites that can bother a cat, and some may not be treatable with a flea treatment.

I say this because my cat started spending an inordinate amount of time on our coffee table, which she had never done before. She was being treated for fleas, but it was just not effective enough to get rid of them completely. This went on for years, and fleas never got out of control in the house enough for us to even notice, nor could you see them on her unless we did an intensive flea combing. Even then we would only find a few. But, apparently, there were enough of them that she preferred to stay off the floor as much as possible.

We have lived in the same house for 40 years and never had a flea issue before this all happened, even with other cats, and prior to this she had not had any sort of flea treatment given to her.

Thank you! Uh... Yes actually... My other dog never got fleas... This one has and have been treating pets/home with natural stuff.. Not sufficient so just got frontline yesterday... Anyway... That's interesting. Thanks again!!