My husband of 29 years passed away in our bedroom last August. Our oldest cat, Tiny slept in the bed with us every night was in the bedroom while I gave CPR, and while the medics were with him. After the men from funeral home took him away, she shot out of the bedroom and ran to the back door. I let her out as she and all of our kitties are indoor/outdoor types.
Since that night, she has not let me pet her once, and has not come back in the house for nearly a year. When it got cold this last winter I thought she would come in, but she did not. I live in CA so the winters here are not that harsh...even so she is 14 years old and I want her back in at least at night. She spends all of her time in the backyard and does eat from the bowl I set our for her. I ended up making her a cat shelter with straw because I just couldn't stand seeing her crouching on the picnic table.
The other three kitties never showed any type of stress or grief, even the one who favored him the most; Holly who greeted him at the door of his pickup truck every day after work. They do seem to give me more attention than they did before, especially if it is a down day for me or they see me crying. My husband had numerous low blood sugar emergencies in the middle of the night, he was a brittle type one diabetic, and so all of the kitties had witnessed various levels of rescue (glucose by mouth, glucagon shot, and fire/ambulance/medics) in our home over the years.
I have tried coaxing her with tuna, catnip, and treats....nothing seems to work at all and she walks away when I come near her. I have even considered getting an animal psychic in to talk to her...and have a friend who tried doing some Reiki techniques.
Has anyone had any experience with something like this? What did you do? Any advice appreciated.
Since that night, she has not let me pet her once, and has not come back in the house for nearly a year. When it got cold this last winter I thought she would come in, but she did not. I live in CA so the winters here are not that harsh...even so she is 14 years old and I want her back in at least at night. She spends all of her time in the backyard and does eat from the bowl I set our for her. I ended up making her a cat shelter with straw because I just couldn't stand seeing her crouching on the picnic table.
The other three kitties never showed any type of stress or grief, even the one who favored him the most; Holly who greeted him at the door of his pickup truck every day after work. They do seem to give me more attention than they did before, especially if it is a down day for me or they see me crying. My husband had numerous low blood sugar emergencies in the middle of the night, he was a brittle type one diabetic, and so all of the kitties had witnessed various levels of rescue (glucose by mouth, glucagon shot, and fire/ambulance/medics) in our home over the years.
I have tried coaxing her with tuna, catnip, and treats....nothing seems to work at all and she walks away when I come near her. I have even considered getting an animal psychic in to talk to her...and have a friend who tried doing some Reiki techniques.
Has anyone had any experience with something like this? What did you do? Any advice appreciated.