Pumpkin is certainly a unique cat - she was rescued at 6 months (nearly 4 years old now), and we don't have any knowledge of her life beforehand, but she is always full of confusing behaviors. Most of the time we chalk it up to her just being quirky, but this week has given me a bit of a scare.
Pumpkin belongs to my mother, but I live at home with my parents, so she is totally used to me being around and I am part of her daily routine/expectations. Parents have gone on vacation for the week, leaving me home alone with Pumpkin. I'll admit, having only one person around is a bit unusual for her, but it's far from the first time that this has happened - parents travel for vacation multiple times a year and I always watch Pumpkin, never having any real problems. I had to go to the ER a few nights ago, was discharged within a few hours, and spent the rest of the day catching up on sleep. Pumpkin even snuggled in bed with me, like she could tell I wasn't well. Her feeding schedule was not affected, but this is the only thing I can think of that would have changed anything. I've been home ever since, and Pumpkin has started hissing and yowling at me very suddenly. I haven't played with her or encouraged aggression in that way, and I haven't picked her up (which sometimes bothers her). She corners me in whatever room I'm in, rather than running away or hiding, and I have to wait for her to calm down just enough to leave the room myself (she still hisses as I pass by). About an hour ago, she approached me and I thought the hissing had passed; I let her sniff my hand, and all of a sudden she was screaming again.
She has had a hissing spell in the past, when the vet was trying an anti-anxiety medication that utterly backfired (another question for another thread), but that was months ago and she is long past any side effects from that medication. We have the Feliway diffuser, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't have any effect on her - we keep using it just to be consistent. It did occur to me that Pumpkin might be hurt or ill, but she won't let me near her to check, and I'm sure if I tried to put her in a carrier to take to the vet, she would attack. Usually, we get along like a house on fire, so it's dismaying to have her suddenly afraid of me for what seems to be no reason.
Any advice would be appreciated - thank you for reading this novel!
Pumpkin belongs to my mother, but I live at home with my parents, so she is totally used to me being around and I am part of her daily routine/expectations. Parents have gone on vacation for the week, leaving me home alone with Pumpkin. I'll admit, having only one person around is a bit unusual for her, but it's far from the first time that this has happened - parents travel for vacation multiple times a year and I always watch Pumpkin, never having any real problems. I had to go to the ER a few nights ago, was discharged within a few hours, and spent the rest of the day catching up on sleep. Pumpkin even snuggled in bed with me, like she could tell I wasn't well. Her feeding schedule was not affected, but this is the only thing I can think of that would have changed anything. I've been home ever since, and Pumpkin has started hissing and yowling at me very suddenly. I haven't played with her or encouraged aggression in that way, and I haven't picked her up (which sometimes bothers her). She corners me in whatever room I'm in, rather than running away or hiding, and I have to wait for her to calm down just enough to leave the room myself (she still hisses as I pass by). About an hour ago, she approached me and I thought the hissing had passed; I let her sniff my hand, and all of a sudden she was screaming again.
She has had a hissing spell in the past, when the vet was trying an anti-anxiety medication that utterly backfired (another question for another thread), but that was months ago and she is long past any side effects from that medication. We have the Feliway diffuser, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't have any effect on her - we keep using it just to be consistent. It did occur to me that Pumpkin might be hurt or ill, but she won't let me near her to check, and I'm sure if I tried to put her in a carrier to take to the vet, she would attack. Usually, we get along like a house on fire, so it's dismaying to have her suddenly afraid of me for what seems to be no reason.
Any advice would be appreciated - thank you for reading this novel!
