A friend caught a stray she had been feeding for over a year and brought him to me before she moved. He is an unneutered male who stinks so he is in groundfloor bathroom till I can bring him for surgery. Have had him over a month, no surgery yet as my medical issues and snow and ice have prevented me from the 1 1/2 hour drive to surgical site. Brought him to vet to make sure he was healthy enough for surgery, he is FIV positive. Bring food down to him 3x day with added vits/minerals/lysine. He is not very affectionate but I can pet him though sometimes he raises his paw to hit me, getting me twice. No growling or hissing and was good for vet exam. He eats the wet food I bring down while I sit with him for a few minutes. Then I leave and when I return there is the amount of food that he was eating when I left. Also does not eat much from the bowl of dry food. He loves Temptations though. I have not experienced this behavior of not eating after I leave. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.
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stray eats only when I am in room
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- Start Date
Cats that live in stable clans often stand guard for each other while they are doing things where they feel like they might be in danger like eating or going to the bathroom.
It would be a rather undignified end for a cat, living in the wild, to get caught by a predator in mid-squat, while going to the bathroom. Cats know this and they look out for their buddies. The same thing goes for eating. They'll often eat their fill then stand around while the other cats take their turn. Consider the way a pride of lions eats their kill.
It's my guess that your cat isn't eating unless you are in the room because he wants you to stand guard for him.
If you pay attention you might find that your cat does this for you, too. Our cat, Casper, does!
Casper is a former stray/abandoned cat who lived on his own for at least a year. He won't eat any human food but he still insists on "inspecting" our food before we eat. He'll sit there and stare at you as if he's begging for food but, when you offer him a piece, he just sniffs then goes on with his business. We figure that Casper is guarding us while we eat.
If your cat intrudes in the bathroom while you are trying to do your business, that might also be a sign that he's guarding you while you are indisposed.
Basically, cats do these things because they think of you as part of their clan... You're THEIR human and they want to look out for you just as they would another cat in their clan.
It would be a rather undignified end for a cat, living in the wild, to get caught by a predator in mid-squat, while going to the bathroom. Cats know this and they look out for their buddies. The same thing goes for eating. They'll often eat their fill then stand around while the other cats take their turn. Consider the way a pride of lions eats their kill.
It's my guess that your cat isn't eating unless you are in the room because he wants you to stand guard for him.
If you pay attention you might find that your cat does this for you, too. Our cat, Casper, does!
Casper is a former stray/abandoned cat who lived on his own for at least a year. He won't eat any human food but he still insists on "inspecting" our food before we eat. He'll sit there and stare at you as if he's begging for food but, when you offer him a piece, he just sniffs then goes on with his business. We figure that Casper is guarding us while we eat.
If your cat intrudes in the bathroom while you are trying to do your business, that might also be a sign that he's guarding you while you are indisposed.
Basically, cats do these things because they think of you as part of their clan... You're THEIR human and they want to look out for you just as they would another cat in their clan.
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- #3
I say to just keep doing what you have been doing and make sure that he feels safe in your home.
Do get him neutered so that he can roam your house, freely. That'll give him more confidence, once he acclimates to his new surroundings. Once he starts to settle in, gradually move away while feeding. Talk to him while he's eating and, as you move into the background, keep talking so that he knows you're still there.
Cats have super-duper hearing. Better than a dog! They can actually locate the source of a sound in 3-dimensional space. Some say that cats' hearing is almost as good as a bat!
Point is... He can hear you and he knows where you are, almost anywhere in the house, just by sound, alone.
Once he builds a 3-D map of the layout of your entire house, he'll probably start feeling less anxious about feeding times.
Just keep reassuring him that there is nothing out to get him and, hopefully, he'll gradually be less anxious and won't need you to be "right there," anymore.
Do get him neutered so that he can roam your house, freely. That'll give him more confidence, once he acclimates to his new surroundings. Once he starts to settle in, gradually move away while feeding. Talk to him while he's eating and, as you move into the background, keep talking so that he knows you're still there.
Cats have super-duper hearing. Better than a dog! They can actually locate the source of a sound in 3-dimensional space. Some say that cats' hearing is almost as good as a bat!
Point is... He can hear you and he knows where you are, almost anywhere in the house, just by sound, alone.
Once he builds a 3-D map of the layout of your entire house, he'll probably start feeling less anxious about feeding times.
Just keep reassuring him that there is nothing out to get him and, hopefully, he'll gradually be less anxious and won't need you to be "right there," anymore.
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- #5
Thanks. He looks like your Caspar, all white with green eyes. I'm not sure how the acclimation will go, I currently have 12 indoor cats and 12 ferals outside. All of the indoor cats were strays or ferals who for one reason or another I couldn't "return" after T and N. Since he is white I can't sneak him in past husband who will kill me if I have another cat. He knows I am waiting to get him fixed but have not admitted to him that I will most likely keep him if I cannot find a home for him. I shall try a rescue to help find a home for him once I get him neutered.
All-white cats should be kept indoors.
Not only does their light color make it harder to hide from predators and bad people, the lack of melanin in their skin makes them more prone to skin cancer from too much exposure to sunlight.
Casper is a 100% indoor cat. He's never been outdoors except for a couple of brief escapes.
One time was because there was a female in heat lurking outside our front door. Casper is neutered, of course, but the scent of an available female can be irresistible. We corralled Casper back into the house and I scared off the female. That problem hasn't happened, since.
The first time he escaped was just after we adopted him. He did the basic "door dash" when we weren't watching closely enough.
It was snowing, at the time. Casper hit the front stoop, stopped, looked around then he decided that he liked it better inside where it was warm. It didn't take much to shoo him back into the house. There he stayed, ever since.
Casper likes being a house cat, now!
He was abandoned, outdoors, before we adopted him, just like your cat seems to have been.
Either abandoned or strayed. Right?
So... If your white kitty is anything like our white kitty, it'll take him some time to settle in but, once he does, he'll do just fine!
If you're planning on rehabilitating him then adopting him out, I feel confident that he'll find a good home!
Not only does their light color make it harder to hide from predators and bad people, the lack of melanin in their skin makes them more prone to skin cancer from too much exposure to sunlight.
Casper is a 100% indoor cat. He's never been outdoors except for a couple of brief escapes.
One time was because there was a female in heat lurking outside our front door. Casper is neutered, of course, but the scent of an available female can be irresistible. We corralled Casper back into the house and I scared off the female. That problem hasn't happened, since.
The first time he escaped was just after we adopted him. He did the basic "door dash" when we weren't watching closely enough.
It was snowing, at the time. Casper hit the front stoop, stopped, looked around then he decided that he liked it better inside where it was warm. It didn't take much to shoo him back into the house. There he stayed, ever since.
Casper likes being a house cat, now!
He was abandoned, outdoors, before we adopted him, just like your cat seems to have been.
Either abandoned or strayed. Right?
So... If your white kitty is anything like our white kitty, it'll take him some time to settle in but, once he does, he'll do just fine!
If you're planning on rehabilitating him then adopting him out, I feel confident that he'll find a good home!
