- Joined
- Jan 7, 2018
- Messages
- 4
- Purraise
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Hello everyone! This is my first post on this site and will apologize in advance if it becomes too long. I have a short haired black cat named Chester who is almost 11 years old. My family got him as a kitten and has been an outdoor cat pretty much his whole life. He is a single cat and from what I gather he is perfectly healthy (no prior health problems). His daily routine has virtually remained unchanged for many years. This includes sleeping (night) at the foot of my parents bed or by himself in a separate room. He usually goes out early (recently he goes out later) and returns ocassionally for food throughout the day. This is pretty much the only interaction I have with him apart from maybe 15 minutes a day where I'll pet him. If the weather outside is nice and warm, he might stay out longer than usual but he eventually makes his way back when we go to bed and goes back to sleep.
This is it. This hasn't changed for at least 5-6 years. He was more playful and curious when he was younger but not by much. I have been reading articles online and I'm starting to get the impression that he might be depressed or lonely. He doesn't mind being picked up but his interaction with us is very short. If I set him down next to me on the couch, he usually leaves after a few seconds or might actually settle down for maybe 10 minutes tops (either goes to bed or door). He has never settled in my lap. The same story goes for the bed. He'll leave my side and sleep at the foot of the bed away from me (when I rest on parents bed). He does purr and knead but not much. He also likes to face away pretty much everytime he decides to settle next to me. He's not playful at all. We've tried buying him toys in the past but he just ignores them. The laser pointer is the only thing that gets him moving but my parents don't like me using it. The only time he seems to personally want to interact is to get us to open the door or to feed him if the food is running low.
I'm not sure what he does outside when he's away. There are other cats in the neighborhood but I doubt he interacts with them that much. There was a female long ago that was curious enough to visit but she disappeared shortly after. I'm guessing he spends most of his time alone exploring more than anything. When he's close by, he either sits by the door looking away or sleeps around the corner of the house. I know that cats are typically solitary animals but watching him live out his life like this is heartbreaking. I blame myself often that maybe I didn't give him enough attention when he was younger. I never let him sleep in my bed because I'm a light sleeper and can't sleep if he's constantly moving around. He would cry at my door wanting to come in but he hasn't done this in years. If I try it now he just faces away and eventually leaves the room. To clarify, he did sleep with my parents but they would often move him out for the same reason. I absolutely feel awful now about this.
Have I failed him as an owner? Could I have done more for him? Or am I overreacting? I sometimes think of getting him a friend but at this point, I think it's too late. And honestly, I just can't see myself ruin another cat. We did have 4 cats prior from 2000-2007 that all died quickly. First two were hit by cars and never reached 2. Third disappeared before he ever reached 3 (most likely killed by wild animals). Fourth was a female that was adopted at an older age (around 5) and she also disappeared after about 2 years. Probably killed by a wild animal. We clearly had bad luck with them and I told my mom to stop adopting them because we were just killing them instead of letting them live out their full potential. I just feel horrible right now and I don't know what to do. Again, I apologize for the long post. I had to share this somehow and this was the only way I could find.
This is it. This hasn't changed for at least 5-6 years. He was more playful and curious when he was younger but not by much. I have been reading articles online and I'm starting to get the impression that he might be depressed or lonely. He doesn't mind being picked up but his interaction with us is very short. If I set him down next to me on the couch, he usually leaves after a few seconds or might actually settle down for maybe 10 minutes tops (either goes to bed or door). He has never settled in my lap. The same story goes for the bed. He'll leave my side and sleep at the foot of the bed away from me (when I rest on parents bed). He does purr and knead but not much. He also likes to face away pretty much everytime he decides to settle next to me. He's not playful at all. We've tried buying him toys in the past but he just ignores them. The laser pointer is the only thing that gets him moving but my parents don't like me using it. The only time he seems to personally want to interact is to get us to open the door or to feed him if the food is running low.
I'm not sure what he does outside when he's away. There are other cats in the neighborhood but I doubt he interacts with them that much. There was a female long ago that was curious enough to visit but she disappeared shortly after. I'm guessing he spends most of his time alone exploring more than anything. When he's close by, he either sits by the door looking away or sleeps around the corner of the house. I know that cats are typically solitary animals but watching him live out his life like this is heartbreaking. I blame myself often that maybe I didn't give him enough attention when he was younger. I never let him sleep in my bed because I'm a light sleeper and can't sleep if he's constantly moving around. He would cry at my door wanting to come in but he hasn't done this in years. If I try it now he just faces away and eventually leaves the room. To clarify, he did sleep with my parents but they would often move him out for the same reason. I absolutely feel awful now about this.
Have I failed him as an owner? Could I have done more for him? Or am I overreacting? I sometimes think of getting him a friend but at this point, I think it's too late. And honestly, I just can't see myself ruin another cat. We did have 4 cats prior from 2000-2007 that all died quickly. First two were hit by cars and never reached 2. Third disappeared before he ever reached 3 (most likely killed by wild animals). Fourth was a female that was adopted at an older age (around 5) and she also disappeared after about 2 years. Probably killed by a wild animal. We clearly had bad luck with them and I told my mom to stop adopting them because we were just killing them instead of letting them live out their full potential. I just feel horrible right now and I don't know what to do. Again, I apologize for the long post. I had to share this somehow and this was the only way I could find.
