Cat spending all day in the bushes?

[liamf1981]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone may be able to advise or help with the recent stange behaviour of my cat?

I have two male cats that are five years old from the same litter. Both were neutered when they were young. We moved home three weeks ago and kept them locked in for the first two weeks to build up their scent withint the house before unlocking the cat flap. The first week of freedom went very well with them coming and going and always around for meal times.

Then on Saturday morning one of the cats wasn't in for breakfast - he is the more cautious of the two and doesn't usually roam or wander. We waited until Saturday evening and since there was no sign of him we had a walk around the adjacent streets and pathways to see if we could spot him. Eventually we heard his meow 100 metres or so from our home inside a woodland area covered in thorns and stingy nettles.We managed to get close to him but he was spooked and didn't want to come out? Eventually we coaxed him out and got him home. He was shaking and nervous so we fed him and left him to sleep. The next day he wasn't again in for breakfast - we went back to the same bushes and heard him in there. He didn't want to leave. We tried on four separate occassions to coax him out with treats and a can of tuna. On the fifth attempt he did wander out to eat the food as he was probably starving. I'm worried he is going to continue spending all day in the bushes and wait until he is very hungry before being coaxed out and taken home.

Has anyone else encountered this behaviour from their cat?

Thanks,

 

[talkingpeanut]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone may be able to advise or help with the recent stange behaviour of my cat?

I have two male cats that are five years old from the same litter. Both were neutered when they were young. We moved home three weeks ago and kept them locked in for the first two weeks to build up their scent withint the house before unlocking the cat flap. The first week of freedom went very well with them coming and going and always around for meal times.

Then on Saturday morning one of the cats wasn't in for breakfast - he is the more cautious of the two and doesn't usually roam or wander. We waited until Saturday evening and since there was no sign of him we had a walk around the adjacent streets and pathways to see if we could spot him. Eventually we heard his meow 100 metres or so from our home inside a woodland area covered in thorns and stingy nettles.We managed to get close to him but he was spooked and didn't want to come out? Eventually we coaxed him out and got him home. He was shaking and nervous so we fed him and left him to sleep. The next day he wasn't again in for breakfast - we went back to the same bushes and heard him in there. He didn't want to leave. We tried on four separate occassions to coax him out with treats and a can of tuna. On the fifth attempt he did wander out to eat the food as he was probably starving. I'm worried he is going to continue spending all day in the bushes and wait until he is very hungry before being coaxed out and taken home.

Has anyone else encountered this behaviour from their cat?

Thanks,

It doesn't sound like he feels safe outside. Can you keep him inside?

 

[liamf1981]

We locked the cat flap last night to keep him inside and make sure he ate this morning. The problem is we have two cats. Our other cat has had no issues and likes going outside so we don't want to keep him in all day while we are at work.

I don't understand why he is venturing all the way to the bushes when he can stay in and around our garden and re-enter the house if scared? We have a microchip cat flap so no other cats can get in.

 

[mixedstripes]

Cats reall, really hate moving.  USually people are advised to keep their cats indoors for at least a month until they get used to their new home.  Inevitably some cats will get easily scared in their new environment.   I am sure your cat will feel more comfortable in time.  Perhaps you should keep him in for a while longer and just let him out for a while before calling him in.  That way he can gradually get used to his new territory. 

 

[talkingpeanut]

Cats reall, really hate moving.  USually people are advised to keep their cats indoors for at least a month until they get used to their new home.  Inevitably some cats will get easily scared in their new environment.   I am sure your cat will feel more comfortable in time.  Perhaps you should keep him in for a while longer and just let him out for a while before calling him in.  That way he can gradually get used to his new territory. 

How was your other cat when he was inside for the three weeks? It doesn't sound like it would be an issue to keep them both in for a while.

 

[liamf1981]

On the second week of being kept inside they were both meowing all night which we took as an indication they wanted to go outside. I'll keep them in a while lonher and hopefully that resolves the problem? I forgot to mention we noticed another cat in our Garden for the first time on Friday night so this may be why he wandered off and ended up in the bushes?