Frustrating Change In Behavior.

[Tabasko]

Ive had Tig in my life for about 7-8years. Had a roommate move in my place and he brought a 4 month old kitten (tig) with him. My friend wasnt the most responsible pet owner and obviously had zero or little experience. Tig took to me immediately. Within 1 week, he was sleeping in my room and hanging out with me. Within a month he did what nobody else thought possible, he started cuddling/sleeping right next to me. Anyways this bond strengthened over the next 6 months and my friend was planning on moving back to Mexico to be with his daughter. Judging by how irresponsible and neglectful he was with Tig, i pretty much put my foot down. And he also explained all the horrible things he had seen people do to cats in the town hes from so that cemented it. At that time i still consider tig his cat but i refused even the possibility of something happening to him and he realized I could give Tig a much better life than he ever could and he was officially mine. Over the years hes been my absolute best friend. Im very protective over him as for acouple dark years there, he was about the only consistant thing in my life. And always made me happy. Hes a super smart cat. Ive taught him to sit, shake back and forth with both paws, lay down, roll over, and dances(he throws both his paws up into my hands) beyond the tricks he just understand things. If hes into something he shouldnt and i use a specific tone or noise, he reacts immediately. Hes also been mostly super loving with me, but he doesnt really let others touch him at all. And he absolutely hates kids. Hes scared me with how brutally serious he is when he goes after them. Anyways thats just him. Smart, loyal to only me and hates children. My issue is after 7-8 years this past month hes been on and off distant. He went 2-3 days that he would hardly be around me. He would even run and hide if i went to bring him into my room. He even acted like he might be sore or something when id pet him or pick him up. It was really starting to get to me and was gonna take him to the vet and then like a lightswitch, he was back to normal. Following me around, being happy running around like a psychopath and sleeping in my room right next to me. It was a load off my shoulders. It was all the normal tig again......for 3 weeks. Now hes back at acting all distant n shit. Hes running from me but watches me from outside my rooms door. I try to figure out what he wants but he just runs behind the couch. Soon as i step away, he just walks back out and lays down either watching me from outside my room or he'll go sleep somewhere else. I dont get whats going on. Ive had him so long and i thought i understood him completely but this is breaking my heart. I havent done anything different. Theres no new animal, new roommate, kids havent been here in awhile, his food has been the same. He is still eating and drinking regularly too. And hes using the litter box as well. Only thing i can think of is i havent been giving him treats recently? It was getting out of hand so i started just giving him 2 or 3 per day for a week, to 1 per day for a week to nothing. Hasnt had any in 2 or 3 weeks. Anyways rant off. Cats really breaking my heart. Cant afford to risk bring him in just for them to tell me hes a jerk. No obvious signs that hes sick or hurt. He looks at me like i disgust him when i pet him. Other than that, no signs of why hes being so distant. What could this possibly be?

 

[Letta]

First of all you don't disgust him! Cats do not have such notions! and he is not a jerk, something is going on and making him distant. I don't think it's the treats and I think health check-ups are always worth it even if they tell you everything is fine, at least you will know that the problem is behavioral. And then it will be easier to find what is going on. Do you know if there has been any changes outside your home? Maybe he saw other cats outside from your room. If you are not in your room does he interact with you?

 

[verna davies]

Cats are sensitive when it comes to smell. Has anything changed with you such as new aftershave, shower gel etc.

 

[Tabasko]

I cant think of any changes, honestly. Most our windows are pretty high up, except the one in my bedroom thats facing the backyard and its got a 6 or 7 foot tall fencing it all in. Never seen a cat out there before. I suppose during the day while im at work he couldve seen another cat from one of the other windows.. but honestly, he doesnt have alot of experience with other cats. From a tiny kitten hes always been around big dogs. When he was a kitten he was kickin it with smaller doberman(Vi) and Australian sheep herding dog(Kane Toad). Tig and Vi(doberman) were so cute together. Totally homies. Always chasing eachother up and down the hallway and playing together in general. The herding dog(toad) put up with Tig but they never became "friends" in the 3.5 years they lived together. Civil at best. Then we moved into this house that we've stayed at for 3.5-4years. There was 2 bigger dogs living here when Tig and I moved in. A Giant german shepherd(Gia) and a fat blue heeler(val) Tig and Gia play occasionally, mostly Tig attacking her tail while Gia acts mostly oblivious lol. Nowhere near as exciting as it was to watch Vi&Tig together but they get something out of it. Mostly tig hah.. Val doesnt really play since shes fairly old but her and Tig seem to like eachothers presence well enough. So yeah since he was 3 or 4 months old hes only really been around those 4 dogs. Judging by the way he seems to like doing tricks and over listens/hears me more than your average cat, he probably thinks he is a dog hah. Hes probably grumpy because he thinks he has dwarfism and cant go on rides like the dogs do. I dont know. Funny thing is, the very next morning after my original post, i woke up and there he was. Laying right next to me. And hes been mostly cool since. Over the last 2 days he has shown alittle bit of that odd behavior tho. He'll give me that look in his eyes of a psychopath and then dart under my bed, only to jump up after ive settled in 5-10mins later. I know I should get him checked out but 1-money is extremely tight and 2-just putting him in a cat carrier and cruising down the block is hella stress. He starts making god awful sounds from the dark depths of his soul. Then he starts bracing himself against the walls of the carrier like hes the demon girl from the exorcist. It scares the hell out of me. Hes a damn contortionist. Im scared hes gonna push so hard he breaks a leg or somehow his neck. Its a seriously stressful thing for him. And shit, for me too. More difficult than it should be for sure. So its hard to force myself to try any preventive maintenance on my son if im not sure that hes due. Anyways ill see how things go from here. If he snaps back into that weird distant state of mind again, ill take him in. Thanks for the reply and reading my crappy novels.

 

[verna davies]

Glad things are going in the right direction. Life would be so much easier if animals could talk. Who knows what's going on in his mind. As long as he is eating and drinking and showing no signs of illness ( other than his fickle behaviour ) I would let him do his thing and see how it goes. I found your descriptions about the pets antics funny not at all crappy.

 

[Tabasko]

Thanks. I could write a book just about Tig & I pal 'n out! Obviously for the most part it would appear it was a false alarm. Atleast it lead me to this neat cat forum! Ill update if things go bad. Thanks again.